It’s no secret that the use of video in marketing is on the rise. In fact, 87% of online marketers use video content while half a billion people are watching videos on Facebook every day. Videos contribute to your brand’s authenticity and can make a big impact on your consumers. Whether your business is big or small, video marketing is essential to your social strategy.
Do you know what to look for when creating a social video? Here are the main components to videos on social media.
Define clear goals & have a clear message
You only have a few seconds to capture the attention of your viewer. What do you want the user to do or learn from your video?
- Determine the type of video you want to create. Here’s a few examples to get you started:
- Demo Video – showcase how your product works, providing a tour of what to expect
- Brand Videos – showcase your company’s vision, mission, products or services
- Event Videos – highlight reel of any company events such as conference, fundraisers, etc.
- Educational – teach your audience something new or assist them to build foundational knowledge
- Case Study or Customer Testimonials – your success stories are your biggest advocates, show potential clients why your company is successful
- Center it around the story, not the sale. There’s plenty of sales clutter on the internet so there is room to separate yourself from the competition. Make the most out of emotive power and appeal to your customers needs and desires
- Thoughtful storytelling is the heart of any successful social video. You want to motivate, persuade, or be remembered through the video you create.
Your brand story is unique, it represents who you are and what you stand for. Videos will provide you a platform to tell your story beyond what’s written in the copy of your website. It allows you to humanize your brand and connect with your clients. Human-to-human connection will always make a bigger impact than text.
A WestJet Christmas Miracle
Each year, West Jet releases a 5 minute video during holiday season to share their Christmas Miracle campaign. The first video, released in 2013, has received over 48 million views and has received praise and feedback from consumers and marketers. It is a strong example of why emotional advertising on social media works. The video tells the story of a West Jet Christmas Miracle & is emotionally relatable and memorable.
WestJet reported considerable impact after their initial Christmas Miracle campaign.Based on the same two-week period from the previous year, WestJet reported a 100% increase in website traffic along with 86% growth in sales. They noticed that users were visiting their website considerably more, while investing into the product while they were there.
You’ve got 10 seconds to shine
Research shows that videos have an average of 10 seconds to capture viewer’s attention before they click or scroll away. Focus on the beginning of your video to make the biggest impact. With more distractions than ever, the key to engagement is to catch a viewer’s attention so they continue watching.
- Carefully pick the first image your user sees, the initial impression of your video should be attention-grabbing and engaging
- Get to the point – the faster you convey your message, the more users you will be able to engage
- Create suspense – your 10 seconds should make your viewer wanting more
What’s The Best Length?
Length of your video needs to be considered for each channel. Since users have different watch-time expectations for each social channel, optimizing your video length time will make it easier to retain viewer’s attention. For example, if you are optimizing your video to be shared via Facebook Ads, your first 10 seconds are most important.According to HubSpot Research the recommended time frames for social videos are the following:
- 26 Seconds for Instagram Video
- 45 Seconds for Twitter
- 1 minute for Facebook
- 2 minutes for YouTube
Amazon Alexa’s “Alexa Moments” was a brilliant campaign was designed to show off all the capabilities and skills through real users’ reviews on the product on Amazon. It showcased simple storytelling through over a number of 10-15 second ads. Not only are they highly relatable and entertaining, the campaign is the perfect example of short & effective video
Optimize Your Video
Your social video can be hosted on various platforms and social channels – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat, the list can go on. This means that there is a few working parts that need to be considered:
Convey Your Message – with and without sound
Your message should be optimized for each audience depending on social network. Consider creating different versions of your video for different networks. Your 5-minute video may do well on YouTube, but it may be too long for Instagram. You may need to compress your video to 30 seconds with a call to action for users to click to watch the full video.
You’ll also need to consider your target audience. Your consumer-focused video might do better on Instagram and Facebook while a more professional, B2B video may have more success on YouTube or LinkedIn. Getting the right message to the right audience is key to a successful video campaign.
Is it the right size?
You should also consider that your video needs to be optimized in size and shape so your user has an ideal viewing experience for each channel. You want your viewers to have the ideal viewing experience no matter what device or social media channel they’re watching on. By ensuring you have the optimal video size, you can prevent Instagram posts have a 1:1 aspect ratio and are square in shape, while Facebook videos have a different dimension requirement.
Convey Your Message – with and without sound
Audio is a powerful way to add context and emotion to a video, but you can’t assume viewers will be listening as more than 85% of video views on Facebook are without sound. With 62% of online video views through mobile devices, it’s likely your viewer could be watching from a crowded area, workplace, or a quiet atmosphere where they don’t want their phone to be heard. Communicate your message with strong videos and if required, add captions.
In 2017, Tourism Toronto published a “The Views Are Different Here” video campaign across social media that went viral. Although there are no speaking in the video, it captured the imagination of viewers, effectively generating interest and awareness for Toronto. The campaign received praise through social media channels, and was shared over 25,000 times on Facebook, resulting in 1.8 million views.
“Go ahead, let this city put its spell on you. From world-class dining and entertainment, to sports, culture, music and nightlife, come see what Canada’s Downtown has in store. You may be surprised at what you find.”
Include a call to action
Don’t assume your viewer will know what to do after watching your video. Show your viewers what you want them to do by including a call to action both verbally and visually. Your call to action can include asking them to watch the full length version, click to your website, or contacting your team to learn more.
Make Your Video Shareable
In a world of viral videos, how will your video compete? The backbone to any viral video is it’s sharability – sometimes all it takes is getting right message to the right people. Once you get a few right people to share the video, it can spread like wildfire. You may or may not want your video to go viral, but being sharable is a must. Think of it like word-of-mouth marketing, a shared video means the user approves of your content.
With proper planning, creating, and promoting your video, your video is more likely to go viral. You could even ask your viewer to share your video as your call to action, simply end it with “help spread the word” or “share if you agree”!
Let’s Chat!
Do you use video for business? Do you want to integrate video into your social strategy? Do you have questions about creating a social strategy? I’d love to chat with you! Contact me by email at hello@annietran.ca and I’d love to answer any questions or have a strategy session with you.