When it comes to leveraging social media for marketing campaigns, video content plays an essential role in capturing an audience for the first time. Video has become a winning asset for marketers to boost their campaigns as it’s the most engaging form of media for audiences.
To put it into perspective, there are over 1 billion hours of videos watched on YouTube everyday. Keep in mind that this number comes from one social platform. Imagine how many hours of videos are being played across other platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Now that social media platforms have become a chock-a-block place with online videos, you need to make yours stand out!
Social Media Videos: Do They Matter?
According to Statista, roughly 3.6 billion people in the world have social media accounts, with Facebook becoming the most-used channel worldwide. No matter the business, social media has been proven as an effective way build an audience from the ground up.
Due to the massive number of users, social media is a high-potential platform to set a business profile and build an audience base.
Regardless of the platform, video is king when it comes to engaging people. Whether they’re watching Facebook videos, Instagram reels, or Twitch streams, most people that are scrolling through social media are looking for visually-evocative content.
How to Optimize Your Social Media Videos
Making high-quality social media videos can be daunting especially if you’re new to it. After all, you want to wow your audience and give them a video experience they will remember.
There are many factors to take into consideration when videos for social media. How you shoot your video, what you include in the video, your tone, and the call to action that you use are all important factors. But don’t fret! Here are five easy tips to follow when you’re creating videos for marketing.
1. Determine your goals
When creating a social media video, it’s important to have a final goal in mind. Ask yourself, “who is this video for and what am I trying to achieve?.” When you know the purpose of your videos, you can think about the messaging and style that makes the most sense.
For example, for example if you’re seeking positive reviews about your products to create trust and social proof, testimonial videos can be an excellent outlet to share customer stories.
@node.appthanks for the shout out @siempreeco 💛 ##influencermarketing ##marketingtips ##startups♬ original sound – NODE
2. Convey meaningful stories
One of the most common mistakes entrepreneurs make when creating video content is forgetting to tell their audience why they should care. Go beyond product features and address the in-depth aspects of your products.
People love narratives, and your videos should take them on a journey that relates to their particular lives.
This Adidas commercial beautifully captures the social problem into a captivating story that viewers can agree on. Plastic pollution has been a major problem over the decades, yet there’s no significant move progress being made to solve it. However, Adidas came up with a solution that everyone can relate to.
This is a great example where the brand has successfully captured the crowd. If you create a meaningful story, you’ll have more chances of getting organic exposure and avoid appearing like a blatant advertisement or commercial.
3. Win the first ten seconds
People can scroll past social media posts without giving them another glance. They easily get diverted to the next shiny object.
The best way to capture their attention is immediately is to create a strong intro. Asking them questions or highlighting their pain points in the first few lines of the video can be a powerful way to convey a message across.
Since human attention spans last around 8-10 seconds, it’s crucial to optimize videos within this short time frame so they can stay engaged until the end.
For example, one of the best first ten-second portrayals comes from Apple commercials. As you can see from the video below, Apple cleverly gives a snippet of the content in the very first of its opening.
People can resonate well with this video from the beginning as it shows how they overcome the difficulties working at home. As soon as the video plays, you’ll feel a strong connection right away since you’re in the same circumstance.
Due to the pandemic situation, Apple uses this method to answer any concerning questions and offers a solution to how people can adapt to this new “work at home” environment. The idea is genuine as it presents a stark reality of what people are facing and starts with panic. That’s why the first ten seconds of this video captures the audience’s attention immediately.
4. Add a clear call to action
It doesn’t matter how brilliant your social media videos are. If the user is not convinced, you’re losing a potential customer. Therefore, you need to add a clear-to-action (CTA) to your video.
Using an appealing CTA copy can persuade viewers to take action and enter the marketing funnel for your products or services.
When you include a CTA, social media users understand where they should go next and what actions they need to do—whether to visit your blog, download your app, or make a purchase. They won’t get misinterpreted if they can understand your guidance through a concise copy.
5. Create platform-specific videos
People consume content on LinkedIn much differently than on YouTube. On LinkedIn, users are seeking B2B-related content about jobs, industry insights, webinars, and info related to their profession. Meanwhile, YouTube users mostly use platforms to find videos for entertainment and sometimes education.
All social platforms are created differently, each of them has different user demographics, interests, preferences and algorithms.
While it’s common to repurpose videos across multiple social platforms, you should have one key channel in mind because your video will be less effective if it’s trying to please every social platform.
Takeaways
Whenever possible, you should try to propose a solution to the negative issue.
In some cases, you may be able to offer refunds or discounts to appease the situation. Or, other times, you might want to propose a one-on-one phone call where you can discuss the issue further.
Either way, by taking the initiative to offer a solution, you’re showing that your business is proactive and genuinely wants to keep its customers happy.
Social media videos can be a powerful tool for marketers to catch more eyeballs. To help you determine which social platforms are best for your videos, check out this infographic below.
