The power of video on social media is no secret – these statistics tell it all:
Views on video content had increased by 258% on Facebook in 2017.
If consumers have the choice, 72% of people would rather use video than text to learn about a product or service.
Social video generates 1200% more shares than text and image content combined.
And if statistics don’t convince you, think of it this way:
When you scroll through social media, what is it that makes you want to stop and engage with a post? Well, if you had the choice between some text, an image, or a video, we’re guessing it’d be the video every time.
So while images, text, curated content, infographics and other types of content still have their place in your social media strategy, you should make including video a priority. Here are our top 5 tips to do just that:
1. Set your social media marketing goals
Before setting out into the world of social media marketing, you need to set goals. Without them, you won’t know if you’re achieving anything, and you’re unlikely to earn a return on your investment – whether that’s time or money.
Do you want to increase engagement with your brand, build a community, create awareness of a launch or generate more website traffic? How will you measure your progress – is it through likes, shares, or website acquisition data? These are your KPI’s.
Make sure that any video you create ties in with this to help you reach your overarching social media goals.
2. Understand your audience
What’s the point in creating a video, only to upload it to a place where none of your audience hangs out online? Spend some time identifying where your target audience is – do they use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn? Do they predominately use a mobile phone or computer to browse social media? You’ll get some great insights into your audience via Google Analytics.
The answers to these questions will help you determine how long your video needs to be and what style would suit. According to Hubspot, these are the most recommended time frames for social media video to get the best results:
Instagram: 26 seconds
Twitter: 45 seconds
Facebook: 1 minute
YouTube: 2 minutes
3. Keep your viewers hooked
All videos on social media need to be shareable. You’ll need a striking thumbnail image which draws viewers in and a strong hook within the first few seconds to ensure they keep on watching.
Oh, and there’s no point using the hard sell in online videos – people aren’t interested. Storytelling helps to build your brand’s personality and enables the business to resonate on a deeper level with your audience.
Ultimately, every video needs a clear, compelling story and to ooze authenticity. That doesn’t mean you can’t include your products or services – it just means you have to be creative and subtle in the way you do so.
4. Track your results
What’s the point in making videos if you’re not getting anything back? Tracking your results and ROI (return on investment) can help you understand what videos are working for you and bringing you some reward. Go back to your original goals and KPI’s and record the numbers (whether that’s traffic, likes, engagement or shares) for each of your videos.
If you’ve got some star performers and some underachievers, you’ll know which type of video to focus on as time goes on. Measure, measure and measure some more! It’s all about results.
Just do it!
If you keep these tips in mind, you’ll be well on the way to creating a compelling video social media marketing strategy. Don’t be scared to get stuck in and give it a go – the best time to start is now!
If you’re looking for further help and support on your social media marketing strategy, feel free to get in touch with 3twelve today. We love all things marketing and would love to get stuck into your brand and help you generate more sales online.