How can social media videos help your business?

    On social media, one way to stop the scroll is to create videos.

    Video content is consumed at an enormous and ever-increasing rate on social media. More than twice as many young people watch videos every day compared to four years ago, with the average viewing time per day 45.2 minutes.

    For businesses, this means an opportunity to grow brand awareness by connecting with new audiences, engaging and educating stakeholders, building brand loyalty and authority, and showcasing business news and operations.

    So, how do you create videos for social media to benefit from this rich PR opportunity?

    how-can-social-media-videos-help-your-business

    Why make social media videos?

    There are three main reasons why you want to make social media videos.

    • Videos build your brand

    Videos provide an opportunity to grow your brand identity in front of a large audience as people engage better with visual images. You can get your message out there and develop trust, loyalty, esteem, and public image with relative ease. Videos also give you control over branding.

    • Videos drive traffic

    Traffic is key to successful digital marketing and videos are a catalyst for clicks. Videos are attention-grabbing when done right and can make viewers feel compelled to explore you, your business, and/or your offer, in more detail. Clicks can generate revenue and therefore business growth.

    • Videos increase engagement

    Videos encourage engagement like no other form of content. You see a funny, intriguing, or thought-provoking video and you are more likely to share it with friends and family. The natural outcome is comments, likes, retweets, shares, and tags and through this engagement your business is connected to a new audience and grows.

    Types of social media videos

    There are three types of social media videos. However, be mindful of how long your videos run for. Studies show viewer engagement drops sharply after the 2-minute mark. So, unless you are creating long-form video content, try to keep your video length under 2 minutes.

    • Short-form

    Short-form videos can be anywhere from 5 seconds to 3 minutes long and are popular across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Content that is short, attention-grabbing, and easy to understand is perfect for short-form videos. Some platforms set limits on how long your videos can be. Therefore, it is important to consider where your video will end up before you start creating.

    The value of a 1-minute video is worth 1.8 million words.

    • Long-form

    Long-form videos are over 3 minutes long and you will typically find these on a business’ website or YouTube. From a production standpoint, they take more time, effort, and cost. Long-form videos have more substance and there is more time to explain and educate the audience. The longer the content, the more time there is to be educated and engaged.

    YouTube is the second most popular search site behind Google.

    • Live streams

    Live streams are unedited videos streamed on the spot. Versions can be found on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Live streams require a high level of care as nothing can be edited out. Before going live, it is important to know your key messages and how to use bridging techniques to respond to tricky questions while staying on message.

    Connecting with your audience

    Your audience must be at the forefront of your content-creation process. Check your previous top-performing posts to determine what type of content your audience likes and research your competition. See which of their videos has performed well and consider how you can do your own version.

    Videos provide you with an opportunity to strengthen relationships with your stakeholders. Unlike some traditional forms of communication, social media videos allow you to incorporate personality. It is your chance to show who your business is and what you represent. Audiences who watch your video will understand what you are about and feel like they “know you” which helps to build deeper connections.

    Storytelling

    It is important to focus on storytelling as this is key to making your social media videos memorable. Take the time to flesh out a compelling storyboard with people or scenarios that your target audience can connect with and care about. You don’t want viewers to just hear your message, you also want them to listen and remember it.

    Aim to invoke a strong emotion in viewers as it will help to create a sense of connection between them, your video, and ultimately, your brand.

     

    The team at Adoni Media has been telling stories as journalists for decades. With a strong background in television news, we also know and understand why pictures are important and how to write a script to match your images. You can learn more through our social media training sessions, run by our Founder and Managing Director, Leisa Goddard.