Make the most of your social media strategy with the help of video

Social media is a frontier that every small business should explore. Most marketing channels are about making your brand visible online and getting your name out there.

Social media marketing is not only great for building visibility; it’s great for building deeper connections with customers and getting to know your target audience on a deeper level. That makes it unique in the world of digital marketing, and it also makes it a must for every business.

Marketing your business and managing your presence on social media are essential pieces of success these days, and that’s especially true now, when so many people are turning to social media to stay connected. However, if you want to make the most of your social media efforts, you need to include video.

3 reasons to start using video on social

#1. Video posts are more engaging

The number one driver of social media marketing success isn’t the number of followers you have. Believe it or not, it’s actually engagement, and when it comes to engagement, nothing beats video.

Did you know?

• Video posts are shared more often than text and image posts combined.
• On average, Tweets that contain video receive 10 times the engagement of posts without.
• Users on LinkedIn are 20 times more likely to share a post with video than without.
• On Instagram and Facebook, video generates more engagement than any other type of content.

When people engage with your content by liking it, sharing it, commenting on it and reposting it, it makes your content go that much further and makes your brand that much more visible on social. Engagement can make such a big difference that it can even help you save money on boosting posts and other forms of paid social media advertising.

Check out my previous post to learn more about the importance of engagement on social media.

#2. Video posts help you make a deeper connection

One of the main benefits of social media management in the first place is to build stronger relationships with your customers and your audience. There are many ways to do this, but one of the most effective ways is to create the kind of content that your audience will connect with and remember. And, video just so happens to be the best form of content to make that kind of connection.

The simple fact of that matter is that, even if people read text posts and look at image posts, they are only retaining about 10% of the message. On the other hand, when someone views a video, they’ll retain an average of 95% of the message.

Not only is video more memorable than other types of posts, but your audience wants to see it! If text and video covering the same topic are both available, the vast majority of people say that they would rather watch a video. In fact, video is, by and large, the favorite type of content for the vast majority of consumers.

#3. Video can help you make the sale

Like all other forms of marketing, the whole point of doing social media marketing is to eventually make a sale. That doesn’t always mean making the sale today. But, everything you do on social media, from building brand recognition to boosting visibility, is all about turning viewers and followers into eventual customers. Video marketing is the best way to do that.

Marketers have their own ways of doing things and often disagree about which methods are most effective. However, ninety-three percent of marketers say that social video has helped them gain new customers. Digital marketers almost unanimously agree that video is an important aspect of a business’s social media marketing strategy, and that doesn’t happen often.

Not only can video help to generate more engagement and, therefore, more visibility for your organic posts on social media, but it’s also an effective tool in social media advertising. When you add videos to ads, they have a higher chance of converting, which means that you have a higher chance of making the sale. In fact, 64% of consumers say that they’ve been influenced to make a purchase because of the influence of a marketing video.

A few social video tips to help you get it right

#1. Invest in a phone tripod

The good news is that most people already have a smartphone with a high-powered camera in their pocket, so creating quality video without the help of a professional team is totally possible. However, that doesn’t mean that every video you take on your phone will be gold or that you won’t need any other tools to get it right.

One of the most helpful accessories you can purchase for your social video efforts is a phone tripod. No one wants to watch a shaky video, and with a phone tripod, you’ll have more freedom when it comes to positioning your phone for the right angle.

#2. Always caption your videos

Did you know that 85% of Facebook videos are viewed without the sound on? When you’re creating video, it’s important to keep in mind that most people will watch it on their mobile device, which means that they aren’t necessarily watching it somewhere appropriate to have the sound on. And, even if viewers are somewhere it’s acceptable to watch with the sound on, they won’t necessarily will.

There’s nothing wrong with ensuring that the audio of your videos sounds great, but even still, you should always ensure that you use captioning. This way, your viewers can enjoy the full experience of your video with or without the sound on.

#3. Grab attention quickly

Whatever you do, don’t wait until the end of the video to make an impression on your viewers. If you can’t grab their attention quickly enough, chances are, they won’t make it to the end of your video anyway. That’s why you need to make it a point to grab the attention of your viewers within the first few seconds. You need to entice them to keep watching.

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Start boosting your social media strategy with video!

There are so many reasons to start creating more video for your social media strategy, and you don’t need a professional production team behind you in order to do so. However, if you’d like to work with a team that can help you get it right, learn about how the Marketing 360® creative team can help.

Originally published on 4/21/20