If you want to shine on social media, then you must prioritize creating engaging videos for social media marketing.
And if you are not creating engaging social media videos then you’re leaving money on the table.
Here’s why.
A recent survey revealed that 89% of customers have purchased a product or service after watching a video featuring it.
Image via Wyzowl
You’re also giving your competition the edge over you if you aren’t leveraging social media video marketing.
Here’s the proof.
According to the survey mentioned above, 91% of businesses leverage video as a marketing tool for increasing user understanding of their product or service and building brand awareness.
Image via Wyzowl
So how do you create engaging social media videos? Try these strategies to get started.
The first step to creating engaging videos for social media is to plan your strategy with measurable goals in mind.
Whether you’re creating a video to explain how sales automation works or want to announce a new product you want to release, you must create a solid video strategy.
According to a Content Marketing Institute study, 59% of organizations agree that having a video marketing strategy helps to get better results with video:
Image via Content Marketing Institute
Having a clear plan is a crucial step in your video production process.
So before you start creating videos, answer the following questions:
This will help you chart out your strategy.
But at the heart of your strategy lay your goals. They will determine the path and platforms you will have to use to reach them.
Here are the primary goals for creating videos for different marketers according to Wistia:
Image via Wistia
When it comes to creating social media videos, you have to decide where to post them.
Why?
Because different social media platforms attract varied audiences.
Besides, different types of videos perform differently on each social platform.
For instance, note how the video-watching preferences of each age group vary with the platform.
Image via Insider Intelligence
Also, below are the top platforms customers and brands anticipate using in the next 12 months according to Sprout Social. So, you can start leveraging these platforms for your brand too.
Image via Sprout Social
While choosing any of the five platforms above is a good step for creating engaging videos for social media, you need to be guided by where your target audience is most active.
There are numerous types of social media videos you can create for your brand based on your goals and target audience. The key is to take them both into consideration while making your videos.
But what sort of videos have the best impact?
According to the Sprout Social, 66% of people say that short-form video is the most engaging type of social media content. This is where creativity meets technology, as employing the best AI photoshoot techniques can help produce visually stunning short-form videos that capture your audience's attention and elevate your brand's online presence.
Image via Sprout Social
To engage your social media audiences, you will never go wrong with the following types of videos:
Regardless of the type of video you decide to create, it’s important to understand that people’s attention spans have decreased drastically. A lot has to do with the information overload that the modern social media user is subjected to.
What’s more?
And that’s why it’s crucial to make the first few seconds of your videos count. If they aren’t catchy enough, people will likely switch to another video.
So, how do you grab your audience’s attention in the first few seconds of your videos?
Here are some ideas for an engaging hook:
Take a look at how Abbey Yung hooks viewers on Instagram with her opening statement:
Image via Instagram
It’s also a great idea to include your company logo and icons in your videos to create your brand identity. You should also include the product or service you want to highlight in the video to drive attention to it.
You can use HubSpot’s brand kit generator to create stunning custom logos, icons, and other branded elements for your videos.
The idea is to provide just enough information to your viewers to hold their attention and nudge them to watch your videos further.
What do Apple, Netflix, Starbucks, and other popular brands have in common that makes them unforgettable by people?
They know how to use storytelling in their adverts.
Let me let you in on a little secret. Your social media audience loves stories. By leveraging them well, you can create a connection with your audience.
Some of the benefits of incorporating storytelling in your videos are:
Semrush understands that data and analytics is a complex topic to understand. So they created a colorful animated video using LEGO bricks to explain how their Traffic Analytics API tool works:
Image via YouTube
Here’s how you can leverage storytelling to create engaging videos for social media:
When it comes to creating engaging videos for social media marketing, it’s easy to worry about hiring a professional editor or videographer.
This is understandable because your priority should be creating high-quality videos.
Video editing is a crucial stage that can make or break your video content. If you don’t get it right, your videos will not be catchy enough for your audience, leading to a failed campaign.
The idea behind making engaging videos for social media is to get people to take action.
If your videos aren’t encouraging viewers to act upon watching the video, then you’re wasting your time and resources.
This is why you need to add a strong and clear call to action to your videos.
This CTA should be informed by the goal you want to achieve through your video marketing campaigns on social media.
Here are some tips to help you create compelling video CTAs:
Here are some popular video CTA power words and phrases you can try:
Image via Wyzowl
This video by Felix Gray, a glasses brand, gives viewers all the information about buying the product. At the end, the CTA pops up asking the viewers to visit their website to shop for the glasses. This can nudge interested viewers to head to the website and make the purchase.
Image via YouTube
Most social media users use their phones to watch videos and browse through the platforms. In fact, YouTube statistics show that in the second quarter of 2021, 63% of watch time came from mobile devices.
What does this mean?
If you’re not optimizing videos for mobile, you’re denying a huge percentage of your viewers the opportunity to watch your videos. And even if they watch them, they might not get the best experience possible. So, make sure you’re using the right dimensions for your videos based on the platforms you target.
A great way of ensuring you’ve got things right is to use social media tools to publish content. Some of these tools will show you a preview of what your videos might look like on social platforms. Here’s a list of the best social media platforms by Attrock to help you make the right choice.
Creating engaging videos for social media can help you take your digital marketing game to the next level. However, it’s not an easy task for beginners.
By leveraging the strategies I’ve outlined in this post, you can create stunning social media videos that entertain, engage, and inform your viewers.
So, go ahead and start creating videos for your social campaigns.
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