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Here's where and how you can pull off a dynamic social video marketing strategy.
Video is everywhere on social media - the time that smartphone users spend watching videos continues to skyrocket.A study from Hubspot shows that internet users want to see more video content from their favourite brands and companies. They also have shorter attention spans, which means your videos need to be engaging and grab their attention right upfront.What’s more, it seems like every week, a popular platform is coming out with a new video feature that you need to learn. For example, last week Instagram announced that it would be testing new options that would merge IGTV into its broader Instagram Video offering. They’re also testing new, longer video uploads in Stories with videos up to a minute in length.So how do you navigate the ever-changing social media video landscape? Like anything, we recommend creating a social media video marketing strategy before whipping out your phone and starting to film videos. Here’s a quick look at what we’ll cover: Keep reading to learn more!
Setting goals for your video marketing strategy
Our best advice is to begin with the end in mind. What do you want to accomplish with your video content? How does it support your overall marketing funnel and content marketing plan?It can be tempting to do everything. Our advice is to create a few specific goals you want to achieve and create content based on that. If your aim is to build brand awareness, you might want to create content for platforms like Reels and TikTok that get a high amount of organic reach. If you're focused on selling a limited-edition product, you might want to use video ads to drive customers to a landing page. The list goes on.Here are some other examples of common goals you might be trying to achieve with your social media video marketing strategy:
- Build brand visibility among your target audience
- Re-engage existing customers
- Tap into a new customer audience
- Promote a seasonal campaign
Choosing the right social media video platform(s)
Once you’ve set your goals, it’s time for the fun part - choosing a platform for your content.Nowadays, every major social media platform has some form of video feature. While some like Facebook and Instagram offer various types of video posts, platforms like TikTok and Snapchat are much more dialled into one format.Here are some considerations when choosing where your video content will live:
Where is your target audience?
As with all things in digital marketing, your customer should be top of mind. There’s no point in creating video content for a platform if your audience isn’t there to see it.Take a look at the demographics of each social media platform. For instance, TikTok is used primarily by people between the ages of 16 and 24. If your target audience falls in this age range, you’ll want to be there so you can connect with them in a creative way. However, if you sell a service or play in the B2B space, LinkedIn or Twitter might be a better fit.
What are the formatting requirements and features of each platform?
Social media channels differ in terms of video formats and video length. If you want to repurpose your content, it’s best to choose platforms that are complementary.Here’s a quick overview of the formatting and features of popular social media platforms:
Formatting: Landscape, square, portraitFeatures: Facebook Live, Facebook In-Feed posts and ads, Facebook StoriesMax video length: 240 minutesOptimal video length, 15 seconds to 3 minutes
Formatting: Landscape, square, and portrait postsFeatures: Instagram Video (coming soon), Reels, Stories, Instagram LiveMax video lengths: IG Story, 15 seconds - Feed, 60 secondsOptimal video lengths: Feed, 60 seconds or less
Formatting: Landscape (square also accepted)Features: Feed video, livestreamMax video lengths: 140 secondsOptimal video lengths: 43-45 seconds
Formatting: Landscape (square also accepted)Features: LinkedIn live, feed videosVideo ad length: 30 minutesMax video lengths: Feed: 10 minutesOptimal video lengths: 30 seconds or less
YouTube
Formatting: Landscape, portraitFeatures: In feed video, livestream, YouTube ShortsMax video lengths: 15 minutes (non-verified accounts) or up to 12 hours if verifiedOptimal video lengths: 7 to 15 minutes
Formatting: PortraitFeatures: Feed videosMax video lengths: 15 secondsOptimal video lengths: 6 to 15 seconds
TikTok
Formatting: PortraitFeatures: Feed videos, livestreamMax video lengths: 3 minutesOptimal video lengths: 9 to 15 seconds
Snapchat
Formatting: PortraitFeatures: Snaps and Snapchat StoriesMax video lengths: 60 secondsOptimal video lengths: 3 to 10 secondsAbove all, make sure that you're only sharing high-quality video content. Social media algorithms can detect videos that are low quality, which can prevent you from ranking high on your potential customers' feeds.
What is your team's expertise?
When it comes to content creation, your team is your best resource. Even if you’re a team of one, you can lean into your experience and where you’ve had success with creating video content in the past. Used to run your own YouTube channel? Why not apply those skills to your business? It always helps to lean into where you naturally thrive.
What kind of content do you enjoy making?
No matter how great your video content is, you’re not going to be consistent with it if you’re not enjoying yourself. Have fun with it. Love interacting directly with your audience in real-time? Try a platform that has a live video feature. If you’re a natural comedian and love creating funny content or memes, you’ll probably find it easier to create content for platforms like Reels or TikTok.
Decide what types of videos you’re going to make
When it comes to video types, there is something out there for everyone. There are plenty of opportunities to try out different styles that work for you. Keep in mind the style of video you choose should fit your brand personality and support your overall marketing goals.Here are a few ideas of different social media video ideas you can try out:
Explainer videos and tutorials
If your brand is product-based, tutorials are a great way to capture your audience’s attention and teach them more about your products. It’s also a great way to add value to your followers by teaching them a new trick or skill they might not have known.Hair product company Bumble and Bumble does a great job of this:Check out how graphic design tool Canva or Renderforest use video content to create engaging design tutorials that are easy for users to follow along with.
Behind-the-scenes videos
This is a great way to show people what you’re all about. Whether your video content is showcasing your team or your operations, it’s a great opportunity to present a less polished, more authentic side of your brand. It shows potential customers your “why,” which also helps to build trust.See below how J Skis gives viewers a look behind the scenes with a Facebook video tour of their factory to show how their skis are produced:
Interviews or Ask Me Anything style videos
Popularized by Reddit’s “Ask Me Anything” community, more and more brands are jumping on this style of video to share important information with their audience and position your brand as a thought leader in the online community.Check out how data-management platform Tasktop utilized their CEO for a YouTube Ask Me Anything video:
Entertaining/funny videos
According to Version Weekly, funny story videos, dance videos and memes perform incredibly well on platforms like TikTok. If you can play to the trends and put your own original spin on them, you will be more likely to capture your audience’s attention and keep it.The NBA, who was one of TikTok’s early adopters, always keeps their content funny and fresh. And it works! They’ve amassed a following of 13.6 million on the platform.
Product reviews and testimonials
When it comes to building credibility for your products or services, social proof like testimonials and reviews go a long way. There’s a reason that marketers have used this trick for so long. It gives buyers an honest look at what they can expect when they purchase from you - 97% of shoppers look up online reviews before making a purchase.Ask your most loyal customers to post a short video review on their Instagram Story or create a Reel about why they love your products. Even better - work with an influencer or well-known content creator and send them free product in exchange for a video review. Make sure you get them to send the raw video file before uploading so you can use it for your own content planning.Fashion brand Miss Lola does a great job of this in this styling video with Instagram style influencer Delaney Childs:Mix it upWhen it comes to your video content, keep it fresh. Get creative and try out different styles of videos from the list above so that you’re always keeping your audience on the edge of their seats.Once you see what’s performing well, pivot and make more of that type of content. But make sure to still spice it up from time to time to keep things interesting.
Planning your content production
A sign of a strong content production plan is that it a) saves you money and b) saves you time. Creating video content can be time-consuming and costs can quickly rack up when you’re not doing it efficiently.There are a few different options when it comes to capturing video content. You can invest in equipment like a nice camera and microphone for your business, hire an external production company to create videos for you, or just get creative with your smartphone.If you want to do your video content creation in-house, here are some planning tips:
- Batch your video filming by setting a video production day each week or month
- Plan to start with a longer-form video that can be cut down into content for each platform
- Create native content for each platform (if you have the resources)
- Storyboard your videos and prepare a script
- Pick your location, who will be featured, and the time of day you want to shoot (lighting can play a big factor in this)
Once you’ve captured your content, it’s time to move into what is arguably the most important part: editing and preparing your content for social media.As a rule of thumb, content performs best when it’s produced with an app in mind. For example, Instagram will rank Reels higher that are shot and edited within the Reels platform. To save time and get as much use out of your videos as possible, there are also some great tools out there for editing your videos and formatting them for different platforms. Here are a few suggestions:
- Adobe Premiere Pro (more advanced editing features)
- InShot (shoot, edit and upload videos directly from your smartphone)
- Splice (iPhone only)
- PowerDirector (Android and Windows only)
Add finishing touches to your videos
Before you’re ready to upload your video to the social network of your choice, here are a few things to help optimize your video's performance:
Include a powerful Call-to-Action
Your CTA is the action you want the viewer to take after watching your video. The goal might be to click your link in bio and drive traffic to your website or online store, sign up for an email list, or just watch more of your content.To figure out what type of CTA you should use, ask yourself where the customer is in your buyer’s journey. What action do you want them to take next? Then, create a short, engaging CTA that drives that behavior such as “Shop now” or “Click for Part 2.”
Create an engaging caption
Like your feed posts, your video content also needs a caption. Your captions should be engaging or entertaining, free from spelling or grammar mistakes, and avoid using too many emojis or looking spammy.
Use hashtags to increase your reach
Hashtags are the not-so-secret ingredient for success on Instagram. They can help you boost your content’s reach and engagement, grow your followers, and generate more leads and conversions.Your hashtag strategy for all of your social media content should be consistent - your videos are no exception. Check out your competitors’ video content to see which hashtags they’re using or check out this handy guide we created to find the best hashtag research tools.
Check your accessibility
Nowadays, most social media channels have features that allow you to add closed captions or subtitles to your videos. You can also add alt-text descriptions to your posts. Bonus: adding alt-text can also help to improve your video's SEO. You can add alt-text on Instagram by going to advanced settings on the posting screen.
Add music or sounds
Before adding music or sounds, make sure your music is licensed or use a royalty-free site like Artist.io or Epidemic Sound. Otherwise, you run the risk of having your content removed or limited due to copyright issues.Luckily, platforms like Instagram and TikTok have sounds built right into the app. Spend some time scrolling through the apps to see which audio is trending. You can add those to your saved audio and use them in your videos later.The music should fit the video style. For example, if it’s an interview, you probably want to avoid music with too many words. If it’s meant to inspire feelings of excitement or adventure, you’ll probably want to use a fast-paced, more intense track.
Schedule and promote your videos with Sked Social
Congratulations! You’ve produced your first video content. Now that you have your videos in hand, it’s time to plug them into your social media scheduling tool and figure out how you’re going to promote them.Using a social media calendar is the easiest way to publish your content across multiple platforms. Sked Social’s got you sorted to the social media calendar like a pro. You can easily drag and drop your videos into the planner and preview your posts beforehand to avoid any mistakes. The best part is Sked enables you to auto-publish your videos- no more push notifications or alarms! Try a free 7-day trial today.Once your video is posted, you want to create as many touchpoints as possible to increase the odds of your audience seeing it. If you’re posting a video to your Instagram Feed, try sharing it on your Story for extra exposure. If you have a new YouTube video on your channel, create posts on Instagram and Twitter letting your followers know that you just shared a new video.
Review your analytics and make adjustments
As with all social media strategies, the final and most important step in your social media video marketing strategy is to analyze your metrics and make adjustments. You won’t know how your video content is performing unless you take a good hard look at the data.If a piece of video content isn’t performing as well as you hoped, don’t panic. First, check to make sure it’s properly formatted for the platform. Remember: social media networks like Instagram and TikTok will rank your content lower on their algorithms if the content is low quality or incorrectly sized for the platform.If all else fails, take a look at your platforms again to see if it’s the right fit. Maybe your video didn’t do so well on Reels. No worries - try uploading it to TikTok and see if it performs better.
Summary
Video marketing is one of the best things you can have in your marketing toolbox. Our advice? Have fun with it. Video is a highly dynamic form of content and when used the right way, it can drive incredible results for your business.As more and more social media channels continue to evolve towards video, don’t be afraid of change. Keep looking for new features and tools to add to your content strategy so you can stay on top of it and deliver high-quality, valuable content to your audience every time.
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