It’s clear in the modern age that using social media platforms are now a part of the norm when it comes to gaining great business exposure. It has been estimated that by the end of 2019, the global revenue from social media platforms will be at $39 billion; so it would be absolutely pointless to ignore the impact of social media and video content leveraged by business.
In fact, here’s some statistics from RenderForest to detail how much of a conversion rate video has in terms of people clicking through to websites and potentially wanting to ‘further the experience’ with a brand, business or product:
– Video in email leads to 200-300% increase in click-through rates
– Including videos on a landing page can increase conversions by 80%
– Animated explainer videos increase conversion rates by 20%
Which social media platform is right for you?
The question is it’s a varied beast – the easy answer is ‘choose’ the right platform for your business. If Facebook and Twitter are working for you, then continue to leverage that platform. The way people have been reaching you previously is probably the best and least troublesome in terms of the ‘path of least resistance’ but make sure you know that platform inside and out.
Facebook does a similar thing to YouTube now where you can get members of your creative team certified in terms of knowing how to manage the content that you put out on Facebook
If you’re a professional in planning Facebook advertising campaigns, you should choose the Facebook Certified Planning Professional. To get certified, you must pass two exams: 310-101: Facebook Advertising Core Competencies. 322-101: Facebook Certified Planning Professional. You can also pay for it and it costs between £100 – £150 (approximately).
Getting YouTube and Facebook certified is an essential tool and would give you the cutting edge in terms of planning and prepping social video campaigns as you move forward with your strategy to ‘share’ and ‘generate’ new potential business leads.
Here are some extra tips that will also allow you to think about the STRATEGY that will be right for your social media campaign.
- Plan your video strategy
- Make sure you grab attention quickly
- Have a ‘Call to Action’
- Ensure ‘QUALITY’ within your content
- Share!
Plan your video strategy
Mainly for more effective results! If you don’t consider where your video is sitting on whichever platform you choose; you won’t be able to measure/ quantify and examine the analytic results that come from the performance of the video.
It’s good to consider the duration of your video, who your audience demographic is – essentially, who are you aiming to appeal to, to create a ‘moment’ for that audience and ensuring that they want to experience and come back again and again to your channel / platform.
YouTube always does a ‘Rewind’ video year on year to highlight the significance of the new creators that are making great strides on that platform and introducing those creators to future potential audiences. Take a look at an example here:
Embed video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbJOTdZBX1g
This is actually the 2018 Rewind video which had a bit of backlash from viewers but it’s still at 128 million views – so it’s certainly doing something right. The 2019 one by comparison is certainly paired down … I would Google it if I were you…
Comparatively, Google got in on the act, check out one of their promotional videos with a ‘meagre’ 152 million views and growing
Embed video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRCdORJiUgU
Make sure you grab attention quickly
Now this varies depending on the marketing strategist you’re talking to but I’ve always known that you have to grab the attention of a viewer within 3-5 seconds. Some articles say 8-9 seconds. What’s clear here is that the FIRST FEW SECONDS matter; otherwise you allow people to ‘click’ ‘somewhere else.
It’s so important to get straight to the point and not just ‘drive your point home’ about any content/ specific aspects you want the audience to experience but really it’s about taking the viewer on a journey within the timeframe you’ve made for yourself, and to ensure that they walk away having ‘experienced’ something
Check out this very simple short Film (I…You) by the filmmaker Matt Freeth (Robot Dinosaur) in how quickly you need to grab someone’s attention; but also the narrative construct illustrates effectively ‘how’ to be able to show what you can achieve, in less than 30 seconds.
Embed video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkmp3Z–GR4&feature=youtu.be
Have a ‘Call to Action’
One of the most important aspects to make social media work for you, is to have the user ‘experience’ continue after the video has come to an end. It’s super important to ‘put in those end cards’ / have a referential link so the viewer can find out more, and lead them to where you want them to go next. It’s really important just to ensure that the viewer / audience member has a ‘holistic’ experience but wants to maintain being a ‘part of the gang’ or looking further into your brand.
Every Youtuber knows to do an ‘end card’ these days at the end of their video to ensure that viewers will watch more content/videos but some social media platforms make it easier than others; so when planning your video strategy, just find the way… It’s REALLY important.
The purpose of end cards are to link through to MORE content from the creator’s uploads and there’s often third party links where you can buy ‘merch’ related most likely to get ‘kit’ that may have been used in the video you just watched. More passive revenue for the content creator as they receive affiliate percentages per sale made from the link
Ensure ‘QUALITY’ within your content
There is a LOT of content out there these days. How do you stand out in a crowded market?
The best thing to do is to make your videos as long as you think they ‘should’ be and if it’s a series, maybe potentially work at analysing the performance of that video and through a process of trial and error CONTINUE to find the sweet spot in terms of knowing what your content should be about, and figure out how long audiences are statistcally paying attention for. You can do this through YouTube Analytics, Facebook analytics or sites like Vid IQ or Tubebuddy.
Ideally, you should ALWAYS want to create quality content anyway, but it’s good to monitor to see how the audience responds and also KEEPING the audiences’ attention is absolutely vital for repeat viewing figures.
Storytelling and having a ‘purpose’ to the video is just as important as the actual video quality (4K, 1080p) and the audio quality of the video.
The quality of these instagram stories are just as good as the original videos – if not sometimes… better!
Embed video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2JaKqdlrBg&feature=youtu.be
Share!
So, you may be thinking, well, I AM going to share it – on the platform that I want it to do well on – which in this case is Facebook, for example.
The OTHER question you should be asking yourself at this point is do I have a version of this particular video for Twitter? Do I have a ‘square’ version for Instagram? Do I have a 9:16 version for Facebook and Instagram Stories?
If you’re not ‘cross promoting’ your content across your other channels; you’re actually not having an effective strategy for maximum exposure. Surely you want to get as many eyeballs on the content as possible, right?!… so DO that!
Let’s just hope you’re not spending too much more time and money on creating these ‘alternative’ assets… but it is a super important consideration.
Finally, there’s no ‘fixed’ way of making social media work for you but there are certain processes, and easy wins that can work for your strategy. So research your specified platform and make sure you give your video content the best chance it can. Hopefully, these tips might be of some use… and who knows, anyone who reads this, could be well on their way to be the next big YouTube Influencer with a million dollar branded content deal.
Good Luck!
Rob Holder is the Director of Fable Studios, a video production agency in Bristol, UK.