December 10, 2018

Are you making the most of video on social?

December 10, 2018

Are you making the most of video on social?

Are you making the most of video on social?

Did you know that viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch a video, as opposed to only 10% when reading text? This just goes to show that video marketing should not be overlooked in your social media strategy.Video provides your business with an attractive, engaging and versatile medium through which to connect with your audience on social. On a platform where users are seeking easily digestible snippets of information, video is a convenient and efficient way for them to consume content.So no matter what your company sells or does, you need to implement a video marketing strategy for your business - it’s that simple. Video advertising can be promotional, instructional, conversational or aspirational. Read on to find out how you can make the most of video on social.Why video for social? Social media video generates 1200% more shares than text and image content combined. It comes as no surprise that companies who are incorporating video in their marketing are experiencing a 27% higher click through rate and a 34% higher conversion rates than those who aren’t. Social networks are all about shared experiences - video communicates more in sight, sound and feeling than words or images alone. We believe the most important reasons you should be using video marketing are:1. To boosts conversions and salesVideos can increase conversions and can lead directly to sales. Studies show that 74% of users who watched an explainer-video about a product subsequently bought it.2. To build trustTrust is the foundation of conversion and sales. If you provide your customers with useful information (as opposed to selling to them directly), you’ll effectively create long-term relationships with your customers. This approach is why 57% of consumers say that video gave them more confidence to purchase online.3. To appeal to mobile usersVideo is watched on mobile by 90% of consumers. The growth of mobile video means that brands must be sensitive to the personal experience that people have on their smartphones. Mobile allows video to be viewed wherever and whenever, opening the opportunity for businesses to engage at any time of the day.4. To create engagementVideo is extremely easy to consume - users want to see a product or service in action. Video marketing engages with broad audiences and works on targeting across many levels. 5. To encourage social sharingUsers share and remember emotions, not facts, when it comes to video marketing. 76% of users said they would share a branded video with their friends if it was entertaining. Emotions may not necessarily lead to return on investment, but they can absolutely increase traffic to your site.Video updates: What are they and how we can implement themYouTubeMore than 500 million hours of videos are watched on YouTube each day. YouTube allows businesses to access ‘YouTube analytics’, providing access to key user information. This provides a basis to improve on current content and assists in future content creation. FacebookAs of now, there are 150 million daily Facebook users. Users have recently been introduced to ‘Facebook Stories’, which has seen an increase in engagement - 68% of respondents have admitted to watching Facebook Stories some or all of the time. Facebook offers businesses the use of ‘custom audience retargeting’ in their video advertising. This feature allows you to target a custom audience, i.e. those who are watching and engaging with your content (as opposed to those scrolling past it). Businesses can utilise this feature to remarket their advertising to a smaller but more defined audience - these are the people who are most interested in your product or service.InstagramBeing the third largest social media channel, Instagram has been working hard to roll out new and exciting updates throughout the year. IGTV is Instagram’s answer to long-form video content.Users will no longer be limited to 15 second videos (like on Stories), now having the ability to share video content up to an hour long. IGTV enables companies and influencers to utilise a new and improved way to engage with their followers through the power of video.SnapchatFollowing the introduction of Snapchat Stories, their users doubled from 200 million monthly active users to 400 million in 2018. Snapchat has become a useful tool for businesses, with active users spending 30 minutes on the app and generating 3 billion Snaps per day. This allows for a great opportunity of encouraging users to interact with your company and help drive engagement.Snapchat’s ‘discover’ feature has allowed brands to deliver content to users, resulting in a complete change of the user interface of the app. This enables users to swipe up to watch a trailer, install an app or buy a product. The ‘discover’ feature allows businesses to connect with their audience and drive awareness for a new product or service.TwitterUsers are interested in quick bursts of information when visiting Twitter, so it’s imperative to ensure that your video content mirrors this (45 seconds or less is ideal). Video performs surprisingly well on Twitter, with 6 time more retweets than photos.Twitter’s newest video feature is encouraging user engagement in a big way. Users are now able to reply to a tweet via video. By selecting the camera option, users can create a video response (rather than a written one). Creating a video reply offers a more personalised approach to the interaction and highlights that more effort has been made in the process.How to apply these to your business strategyWith online users spending a third of their time devoted to watching videos, it’s clear that businesses should be investing in video content marketing as part of their overall strategy. When creating an video marketing strategy, remember to look at the data to optimise your investment by determining which audience you want to reach and why. It’s important to consider the following when deciding on an audience:

  • Age
  • Location
  • Life stages
  • Behaviours
  • Buying habits

If you’re new to video and can’t wait to include it in your digital strategy, chat to us today to see how we can transform your social media marketing and take it to the next level!