With 46% of today’s businesses already implementing social videos, and another 26% planning to implement them in 2018, you’re running out of time to be ahead of the curve on video. In fact, as HootSuite put it, social video isn’t just an algorithmic advantage for company pages anymore; it’s proving to be a table-stakes tactic. Today, if you want a seat at the table with the other industry-experts, prospects will expect to see expert-level content from you, and that includes high-quality video production.
To help you maximize your video efforts on social and boost your reputation with your prospects, here five tips you can follow to better leverage your social video:
If you’re going to invest the time and resources to make a high-quality video for your company, you want to get your money’s worth with its promotion. This is where it’s important to share that video on all your social channels, from Facebook to Twitter, and LinkedIn and YouTube as well. With Twitter and Facebook, you can upload videos directly to company pages to boost their views, as native videos on Facebook have been shown to have 62% more reach than YouTube videos, 110% more interactions, and a 477% higher share rate!
Yes, it’s true that videos typically earn the most engagement across social channels, with Facebook videos proving to be 5x more engaging than images. That said, don’t fall into the trap of thinking every post you make should be a video, or that every video you post will be a hit. Users aren’t just watching any video in their feed; they’re watching videos that are compelling, done well, and keep their attention. If a video doesn’t meet their standards, social users are just as likely to exit out and keep scrolling as they would if it were an article they didn’t enjoy.
If you think your video doesn’t provide enough value—whether it’s information provided or even laughter—don’t be afraid to wait for a more opportune moment or subject. Remember: low-quality, low-value videos will hurt your reputation as much as high-quality, high-value videos will help it.
Keeping your videos short and easily consumable is another part of the quality vs. quantity argument. Social viewers don’t have an unlimited amount of time to spend on social media; they want to get the information they’re after and keep scrolling to the next interesting thing they see. For marketers, this means your videos need to be attention grabbing and somewhat concise (2 minutes or less), as social users are becoming wary of longer videos today.
According to Locowise, the average length of videos on Facebook has increased 315% over the past few years, going from 55 seconds on average to 3 minutes and 48 seconds. However, the average watch time has decreased 44% in that span, as social users now only watch about 10 seconds of video on average, compared to 18 seconds in the past. So what gives? As more and more video makes its way onto social media, viewers are starting to know what they like don’t and don’t like. Make sure you let viewers know what they’re in for within the first 10 seconds of your video, and make it compelling enough so that they stick around till the end.
Have you ever played a video on your phone in a crowded, quiet area with your sound on full volume? It’s certainly one of the more embarrassing moments you can experience in modern society today, and a mistake you aren’t quick to repeat. That said, to avoid embarrassing scenarios like the one above, Facebook data shows that 85% of users now watch videos with the sound off, to ensure they don’t disrupt anyone around them.
For marketers, adding captions to your videos can significantly help improve their watchability with these sound-less followers, as viewers can get all the information they need, even if they’re somewhere where they can’t listen to the audio. In a trial by Instapage, they found that captioned videos received 18% more 10+ second views, 17% more reactions, 15% more shares, and 26% more CTA clicks.
Looking for more tips on how to effectively use video for your marketing? Stay tuned to Weidert Wednesdays, and check out our free Content Creation Templates for more useful content tips.
If there’s one thing just about every business can benefit from these days, it’s making helpful, intriguing high-quality videos. In addition to making sure you share all of your videos on your different social channels, you also want to make sure you’re taking advantage of the different types of video available on each network. Many social users have started gravitating towards live video content, and networks like Facebook have shown it generates six times more interactions than regular video posts. Just make sure you have a plan in place before you go live, and don’t be afraid to run through a few non-live rehearsals to make sure you’re comfortable before the real deal.
Live video is one medium that’s been somewhat hard to master for marketers. Over the past few years, live video services like Periscope have exploded in popularity, as internet users can now interact with their favorite content creators and celebrities in a live, almost face-to-face to setting.
That said, B2Bs have had a hard time standing out from the crowd in the live video realm, as marketers figure out the finer details of live video, like how to successfully coordinate a live shoot, what live video channels are best to reach their personas, and what types of live video content will really capture their followers’ attention. To help give you some ideas for using live video in your own marketing strategy, we discussed two proven ways today’s businesses have had success using live video:
Business professionals out there have probably seen, or at least seen an advertisement for, some kind of webinar online. Whether it’s a presentation and Q&A session with an industry expert or an in-depth tutorial on how to use a new software program, for example, webinars are a great video format for longer content. And while not all webinars are live these days, for businesses anticipating a lot of questions about their presentation or want audience participation during it, there’s nothing better than live video to personally answer viewers’ questions and help explain your message.
Another benefit of webinars is their ability to be used as advanced content for your site. If you’re presenting live, you’ll want to set up a sign-up form beforehand, which can double as email opt-in form. You can also share a recording of the webinar once it’s finished, and gate it behind a landing page to get more new leads.
While live video features such as Instagram Stories, Facebook Live, and Periscope have been tricky for some businesses, marketers are starting to have more success as they start to include more video in their content strategies. With live social video, followers of your company pages will be notified whenever you go live, and can comment on your video or like it in real time for you to see. In fact, Facebook’s data shows live video generates six times more interactions than regular video posts, making it even more appealing for businesses after Facebook’s recent algorithm change.
Live social videos are great for quick one-to-“one” interactions with your followers, like doing a surprise interview with someone, or showing off your tradeshow booth to all your Facebook fans who couldn’t be there. They key is having a plan before going live, and keeping the content short, interesting, and consumable, as your followers will eventually want to keep scrolling through their news feed.
Stay tuned to Weidert Wednesdays to learn more about how to effectively use video in your content strategy, and check out our social media guide for complex industries to learn more ways to engage your audiences.
Topics: [VIDEO], Content Marketing, Social Media
