Video content on social media

Robin: Moving images allow for storytelling in a different way. As people say: A picture says more than a thousand words. But a video says more than a hundred images … 

Producing a video is also becoming more and more affordable. Compared to the early 2000s, you can achieve a significant impact even with a small budget. Apps by Google and Facebook make creating video even easier. 

Another aspect is that YouTube’s reach keeps growing. For 18-to-44-year-olds, this channel is the unchallenged number one! On Facebook, a similar trend can be observed: The reach of video content is higher than that of any other type of content. That’s mainly because video boosts interaction and Facebook supports this trend – with new tools and a revised algorithm. 

Robin: I presume that this trend will continue and probably increase even more. At least until the point is reached where social media platforms say something different … 

Facebook, for instance, has launched the Video Creation Kit not too long ago. A tool that works with a template. It lets you turn individual images into simple videos – quickly and easily.

Robin: You definitely have to keep in mind that the attention span for videos on social media works in a mirror-inverted way to other media. That’s why you should start with an attention grabber or element of surprise. Once you have the user’s full attention, you can start distributing information. The tension should be kept high throughout the whole video, though. 

1. Stand out from the crowd! 400 hours of moving image material that is uploaded to the web per minute – it’s quality that counts here! Produce high-quality videos, the kind that evoke emotion. That makes them stay in the user’s head for longer … 
2. Be relevant and not a poor imitation! Who are your users? What are their needs? What do they want to see? And does your content offer added value? You should ask yourself these questions beforehand. That’s the only way you can make sure that your video doesn’t vanish in the depths of meaninglessness. 
3. SEO-optimised! Google loves video content and ranks it accordingly. A good video description, a catchy title including keywords and, of course, meaningful content are all important ranking factors! 
4. Mobile first! More and more content is consumed on smartphones. That’s why it’s important to optimise your videos for mobile use. Make sure that your texts are easily readable and little details in videos are visible. 
5. Grab people’s attention! Send viewers to your website by providing a link below your video. That boosts the clicks on your website and you might gain new customers … 

Robin: The “call to action” (CTA) is important when it comes to video, but it’s more a matter of testing. There are different kinds of users. That’s why marketing platforms offer the possibility to create dynamic CTAs. 

Generally speaking, interactivity can only partially be achieved in videos. An example of that is the standard vlog that asks users for comments and testimonials. Technically speaking, there’s not much else you can do. Especially since not every video is suitable for eliciting interaction. 

Robin: The main difference is the format. On social media, that means 1:1 or, if possible, 9:16. On websites or on YouTube, the preferred format is still 16:9. 

Video length is an important factor as well. On Facebook, the optimum length of a video is 15 seconds. But the general trend shows that the attention span of users becomes shorter and shorter. It’s no surprise that YouTube’s Bumper Ads are an ad format that only allows for a 6-second clip. 

Let’s not forget about audio, either! On the Instagram newsfeed, more than 50 per cent of content is consumed with audio off. In contrast to that, 2/3 of all content in Instagram stories is played with the audio on. 

When structuring your video, keep in mind its context. A user that’s already on your website usually shows more interest in your services and can thus be introduced to different content. The likelihood that he will consume longer types of content is much higher for a website or organic search on YouTube than for standard ads on Facebook or YouTube. 

The most important thing is to always produce video content in the context of the entire company and social media marketing strategy. It’s just like with a lot of things: It’s better to think your efforts through beforehand – before your moving images are swallowed by the ocean of other videos …