Social media and video content may be a match made in heaven, but that’s not to say creating the sort of epic content that resonates with an audience is an easy ride. Nor that the video you’ve poured blood, sweat and tears into will work effectively across all channels.
Buffer Social’s article on video marketing inspired us to put together our own short guide to video aimed at social media’s Big Five: Facebook, Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter. Here are the top things to be aware of when creating and tailoring epic video content for your social channels…
Facebook – F is for Fun
Facebook has been winning with video. CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced early last year that the social media site had hit 100 million hours of video watched daily, and I imagine the number has continued to climb since then.
The key when creating video content for Facebook is to think in terms of sharing. Consider the overall feel of your video – does it elicit an emotional reaction? Does it make you chuckle? Or make you well up? If so, it’s highly likely that it’s got the share factor.
Bear in mind that Facebook’s autoplay feature means that the first thee seconds are crucial in gaining a ‘view’, while you might want to add in some captions as, according to a Digiday article, 85% of Facebook video is watched without sound.
YouTube – the big daddy
YouTube retains its crown as the world’s largest video search engine and the rise of the influencer has demonstrated just what sort of power those with a dedicated following can wield on the platform. When it comes to YouTube, your top priority needs to be making your video discoverable.
Focus on the value you’re bringing to your target audience and be sure to add captions, video descriptions, tagging and meta data to highlight this and give those SEO rankings a boost.
Snapchat – think raw, not polished
Snapchat was the underdog social site that struck when the iron was hot – or should I say, when video was hot. Business Insider reported earlier this year that 158 million people are using Snapchat every day with users spending an average of 25-30 minutes in the app daily. This platform is especially popular amongst the younger generation who are attracted to the platform’s raw, behind-the-scenes feel and engaging nature.
When posting content to Snapchat, don’t forget to add to that real-time, candid vibe by adding text and drawings to your video – AdWeek reported that 33% of Snapchat videos are viewed without sound. If sound is essential, try adding the ‘sound on’ icon so your audience knows they are missing out.
In another nod to human’s now goldfish-length attention span, make sure the first Snap in your story counts – Buffer Social found that 22% of viewers drop off after viewing the first.
Instagram – I is for Inspiration
Instagram Stories certainly jumped on Snapchat’s bandwagon, didn’t they? But it was the most logical move for the mostly mobile platform that, according to Statista, reached 700 million monthly active users this year. The fact that Instagram have now rolled out view counts for videos posted in a user’s regular feed has also presented greater opportunities for marketers to judge how their content is faring amongst users.
Instagram feeds are all about quality; users like to feel inspired by the feeds they follow – after all, a picture tells more than a thousand words. Ensure you reflect this sentiment with your videos and take pains not to deviate from the overall theme of your feed. You can show a little behind-the-scenes of your video footage with Instagram Stories if you have content that’s too good to waste but wouldn’t quite mesh with your permanent images.
Don’t forget your hashtags either – Neil Patel posted an infographic that revealed using 11 hashtags garnered 79.5% interaction per 1000 followers, compared with just 18% interaction if just one was used.
Twitter – fast entertainment
When you think of Twitter, you might be more likely to think of pithy one-liners rather than video. However, a report by Social Media Today found that 82% of Twitter users watch video content on the platform and nearly half (41%) believe it’s a great place to discover video.
Yet, there is no doubt that Twitter attracts users with its ability to keep their minds entertained in a highly personal and lightning-fast way. So, make sure you deliver with your video content. An infographic published by Twitter itself suggests humanising your videos as videos featuring people in the first few seconds are up to 2x more likely to drive consumers to view. It also reveals that videos aiming to entertain were more likely to drive views and shares – although that sounds a lot like common sense to me…
The bottom line is, video content can do wonders for your brand but sprinkling the same video in the same way across your social channels like Salt Bae isn’t the way to maximise its potential. Give us a call to find out more about how it’s done.