So, you’ve got the photos, the tweets, and the Facebook posts down, but what’s your next move for social media marketing?
We suggest you dive on into the world of video. Videos shared on social media platforms have a tendency to increase your credibility and create an appreciation for the time and effort you put into creating these custom videos. Statistics show that 61% of customers rely more on companies with custom content, such as videos.
Video content can be used on all social platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkdIn, YouTube, and Snapchat. These videos don’t have to be awe-provoking to get your message across, lots of companies will even do slideshows of photos with text overlaying the photos to convey the message that they’re trying to send. One company that Social Motto works with that uses video content very well is Eastern Market, check out one of the videos we created for them here.
In addition to posting videos to your social pages, another thing to consider is live videos. Live videos will only be available on your pages for a short amount of time, which creates a bigger demand amongst viewers. The bigger urgency to log in and see the video that you have posted brings in more traffic because your followers feel the need to see your posting before it’s too late. While live video may have less reach than other content, it has more engagement, and with a large number of internet users these days, engagement is more valuable than reach. 82% of consumers actually prefer live video over any other social content!
The average social media user retains 95% of a message when it is presented in the video, compared to the 10% of a message that users retain when a message is presented in the text. Videos shouldn’t be too long, because viewers will lose interest, try to keep videos down to 30 seconds, that way viewers will get your entire message, these are called “bite-sized videos.” If a video is dragged out, a viewer will more than likely exit out of the video before the important message that you’re trying to convey is received.
There are several things that you can do to make your video content more appealing, therefore getting higher engagement.
Video content should be well planned, it should tell a story. If your video can engage the viewer, it has a better chance of having the message sticking with them. Another thing that’s important to consider is that most video content is watched at work, or in settings where the sound cannot be on, because of this, if your video doesn’t fully portray the message you’re trying to send through the action, consider adding subtitles so that a viewer can read what it is that they’re supposed to get from watching your video.
It is also important to keep your videos short, because, as mentioned earlier, viewers will lose interest and may not receive your entire message if the video is too drawn out, with that being said, it is also important to try and capture your viewers attention early on in the video so that they have the desire to continue watching.
As far as the mechanics of your video content go, these are easy things that you can do to make your video higher quality!
The first thing that we’ll address is the lighting, make sure that the video you’re shooting is in a well-lit area. If a video is poorly lit, the quality can come across as grainy.
Another thing is to avoid digital zoom, this can cause blurry sections in your video, it’s much easier and safer in regards to quality to simply step closer to the thing that you’re filming. Keeping a steady hand is also very important to video quality, you don’t want shaky frames. If you have an unsteady hand consider buying a tripod, here is a list of some top sellers!
It is also important to create your final video content for the social platform that you plan to post it on. Each platform has different length requirements and different quirks that help a video to perform best. Each platform has a unique audience, so be sure to take this into account when editing! While each platform has their differences, horizontally shot video performs best across them all.
Now that you’ve got all the tips, it’s time to head to the drawing board. Video content is a great addition to any social platform, preferred amongst users, and offers a unique look into your brand. Time to get creative, future bite-sized filmmakers!
