Social media is continually changing the way that we communicate and consume information. The most successful content marketers are delivering content consistently through multiple social media channels. It comes as no surprise that with all the content posted across these channels, video generates 1,200% more shares than text and image content combined. Are you making the most of your video assets across social media?
Why is social media video so powerful?
Roughly 45% of users watch at least an hour or more of Facebook or YouTube videos in a week. 96% of people have watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service with 86% of them wanting to see more video content from brands. These numbers are staggering, but how do you translate this into your social media video strategy to make the most of it? Here’s our guide to social media video production to help you maximise the ROI you get from your strategy.
Video has a strong hold on social media. While each social platform understands that video is now a core content medium and they're encouraging users to use video substantially through their respective platforms, they’re not all one and the same. Every social media platform caters to a different audience and fulfils a different marketing goal.
Are you talking to the right demographic on the right platform?
Research shows that smartphones are the device people most often watch video content on, but laptop viewing is on the rise, if we look a bit deeper into this we find that women are significantly more likely to view video on their phone, with men favouring laptops a little more.
Not surprisingly, YouTube is where most video content is watched, with Facebook close behind. YouTube is the second largest search engine behind Google these days. Tik Tok is very much on the rise for younger demographics with it being only 6% behind Google in the 18-24 age group when it comes to starting a search for a product or service. Platform of choice varies across age demographics and even gender with men more likely to watch video on YouTube with women relying on Facebook and Instagram.
How do you get the most out of your social media video production?
Scale your content. Build a library of footage and video content to re-purpose & optimise across your chosen social media channels. It’s important to optimise for each channel as they are not one size fits all, adjust ratios (vertical, horizontal, square) and durations to fit the platform. Utilise the same video with different call to actions or key messaging depending on the audience you are targeting on each platform. Analyse and adjust based on what’s getting traction.
Focus on Quality. Viral corporate video content is typically reasonably high quality. Whilst social media video allows you to be more authentic and there is scope for more personality to come through, for corporate businesses, your video still needs to represent your brand so always keep quality and brand consistency in mind.
Hook your audience early. No matter which social media platform you choose, competition will be stiff, so you want to catch and keep your audience. Capture their attention in the first 5-10 seconds.
Include a CTA. Add a clear call to action at the end of every video. What do you want your audience to do next? Tell them and make it easy for them to take that action.
Plan your ratio variations & formats for each channel early in your video production process
As well as having variations in audiences, each social media platform has variations in video format and specifications. To get the most out of each platform, optimise your video based on their guidelines. The top 3 things to factor into your video plan are:
File sizes (minimum and maximum)
Video length
Social media platforms are constantly evolving as their audience demands an increase in video content and features, YouTube reels, Facebook stories and TikTok are great examples of this. Keep an eye on trends and evolve your strategy to include ones relevant to your goals.
What are the trends for 2023?
Whilst there are a variety of emerging trends in 2023, a few key ones to incorporate into your strategy are:
Reels & stories with increasingly more features (YouTube, Facebook & Instagram)
Interactive video, new technology is making it easier for audiences to interact directly with your video, from ‘chose your own adventure’ style menus to buttons and buy now links overlaid on the video. These exciting new trends offer richer viewer experiences along with increased engagement and conversion opportunities for brands.
The silent video. A whopping 85% of videos on Facebook are watched without sound. If you want people to stick around and watch your content, you need to optimise it for silent viewing. The good news is that most of the time, all it takes is the addition of closed captions to keep people engaged.
Educational & Informative Videos. Think with Google shared that “how to” is one of the most popular categories on YouTube, which gives your business a significant opportunity to share educational video content with people who want to learn more.
To sum up, if there’s one thing to take away from this article, social media video is a powerful tool that can drive real ROI on your video production investment. The basics of corporate video production still apply, but doing them well can easily set you apart.
YourFilm have video production packages to suit your requirements, volume pricing options for social media video and an experienced team with a wide network of over 1,000 crew across Australia & NZ.
If you would like to find out more about an affordable, scalable, professional video production solution to fit your social media strategy contact the team at YourFilm.