A recent study by Buzzsumo found that social media posts using video generated at least 59% more engagement than static posts. In fact, videos are so engaging that people spend a reported 1 billion hours a day watching YouTube alone. And it’s no wonder — videos can turn a complicated subject into an easy animation, get people excited with a new product reveal, and touch the hearts of millions during a global crisis. But if you haven’t already started using video as part of your company’s social media strategy, it can be a bit daunting. Don’t get overwhelmed! Here are three best practices for using videos on your social media channels.
Mix up your content
When it comes to video content, diversity is key. You want to appeal to all of your buyer personas and provide content that is relevant to every stage of the customer journey. Videos can be broken down into three main groups: awareness, engagement, and education.
Awareness videos attract attention and as the name suggests, make people aware of your brand — often through entertaining videos that have broad appeal. Videos that fall into this category include:
- Interviews
- Behind-the-scenes
- Meet the team
- Virtual tours
Engagement videos are meant to elicit a reaction from customers. Getting them to like, comment, share, and subscribe, for example. Videos that fall into this category include:
- Humorous skits
- Vlogs (video blogs)
- Live video streams
- User-generated videos
- Unboxing videos
Educational videos are meant to (you guessed it) educate your viewers on your products and services, or on a topic relevant to your business or industry. Videos that fall into this category include:
- Short webinars
- How-to/explainer
- New product launches
- Q&A sessions
- Live talks and presentations
Still not sure what types of videos will be most effective for your audience? Start by looking at your top-performing blog posts, social media posts, email campaigns, and other marketing content to see what most engages your customers. Use that data to inform your video social media strategy.
Promote, distribute, and share
Now that you have killer video content, you need to use it wisely. That means promoting it in your marketing content, distributing it incrementally for maximum impact, and sharing it (and encouraging others to share) across social platforms.
Promote your videos by linking or embedding the full video or a snippet on your pillar pages, blog posts, emails, and other marketing content. Tease the intro or most compelling parts of your video in social media ads to reach a larger audience.
Distribute videos by releasing teasers and snippets over a period of time to build interest and provide more opportunities for engagement and shares. When sharing snippets, a six-second clip is all you need to get them wanting more.
Share your videos across your social media platforms, being mindful of the best days and times to post. Create a regular posting schedule for your video content (e.g., every day/week/month) and stick to it. And remember to include hashtags in your post to make it visible to a wider audience.
Consider video length
Your video’s length will be a deciding factor for whether people stop to watch or keep scrolling. The latest research indicates that videos that are two minutes or less in length get the most engagement. However, the optimal video length changes based on the platform and the content you’re providing. For example, Facebook videos generally hold viewers’ attention for about one minute. Twitter is slightly shorter, with 45-second videos as the sweet spot. Instagram videos should be even shorter — averaging around 26-30 seconds — and LinkedIn videos the same. It’s important to keep in mind that these video lengths are averages and should not be considered strict rules of engagement. If you have quality content that lasts 5 minutes instead of two, go for it. It’s quality over brevity. But whatever the length, what makes a video engaging is that it has a compelling introduction, uses powerful storytelling, and provides value to the viewer.
