Here’s a fun fact: according to data analyzed by Cisco, 82% of all internet traffic in 2022 was used to download and stream videos. It’s safe to say that people really like to watch videos, which means that there are ample opportunities to get some marketing done through this media format.
Video marketing is not as simple as creating a video and posting it on your social media. There are a lot of details to take into account when starting a video marketing campaign on social media. To take the edge off this complex task, we created a list of helpful tips for those just starting out in video marketing.
1. Start with short videos
Unless you’ve done video editing before, you’ll be surprised to learn that even a simple 5-minute video can take anywhere from half an hour to half a day to edit. Shooting videos also requires a lot of storage, especially if you want your videos to be in high resolution. Unless you have a video asset management system, that’s going to make things even more difficult. Consider these obstacles when planning to make a long video. It’s better to start with shorter videos, as they are easier to record, edit, store, and manage.
Technical challenges aside, social media videos are generally short. Nowadays, the shorter video formats of TikTok, Instagram reels, and Youtube shorts are quite popular. By keeping your videos short, you expand the reach of your content, since you’ll be able to post them on several social media platforms since you can’t post hour-long videos on Instagram or TikTok. These great video editing apps can make the work faster.
2. Write a good hook
If you’re insistent on making long videos, then prioritize your hooks. A hook is a section in the introduction that restates the title of the video and elaborates on what the video is about. It helps the viewer decide whether they wish to continue watching the video or not.
This decision is why it’s so important to write a captivating hook, to ensure that it grabs a hold of the viewers and doesn’t let go. You’d need to read an entire guide on how to write a good hook, but here are some key tips:
- Match the hook to the thumbnail and title of the video to prevent the audience from thinking the video is clickbait;
- For a video that’s 5 minutes or longer, write a hook that’s around 40 seconds;
- Summarize what the video will be about without spoiling the best bits.
Long videos are still very relevant and effective business ideas for marketing. Just make sure to nail those hooks and you can be sure that your viewers will stick around.
3. Interact with your audience
Interaction is a great way to boost audience engagement. There are many great techniques for interacting with your audience via videos. You can make interactive posts for Facebook by letting your audience vote on what they wish to see in future videos. Your viewers can also inform you of a new social media trend that you can use in your content, which will in turn increase viewership.
If you make cooking videos, ask your audience what recipes they want you to cook. If you make reels where you review films, create a poll on what you should review next. Interactions are a great way to increase viewer engagement and retention, as viewers will tune in to see if their suggestion made it into your new video.
4. Shoot in daylight
One of the best tips for up-and-coming video content creators is to shoot during the day to make use of the plentiful natural light. Shooting videos with artificial light is very difficult, as there’s less visibility. Setting up and adjusting lighting equipment takes a lot of practice and tons of trial and error to get right.
To avoid all that unnecessary hassle, start by making videos during the day, but keep practicing lighting techniques as you do. Once you’ve had time to fiddle around with artificial light and know how to use it, then you can make videos in darker settings.
5. Pay attention to audio
Nothing makes audiences angry like bad audio, especially when the video contains a lot of talking. Much like lighting, audio is a very delicate craft and takes a lot of practice to get right. However, even if you don’t have studio-quality audio equipment, there are some general practices to improve the quality of sound in your videos.
One very important tip is to avoid recording audio outside. Recording audio outside means recording the sound of cars, wind, animals, and all the other noise around you. Even with modern noise-canceling software, this problem may still persist. Record your audio indoors, ideally in rooms with the least amount of echo.
Additionally, when recording voices, don’t worry about having professional voice-over artists. Many companies post video testimonials from happy customers, many of whom have never used a microphone before. As long as the audio is crisp and clean, the viewers won’t notice.
6. Use music with caution
You can circumvent the entire challenge of recording audio by using music throughout your entire video. Music is a very nice way to make the video more pleasant, add emotion to your content, and mask imperfections in the recorded audio. But one thing you have to be very careful with when inserting music into your video is copyright laws.
Uploading videos with licensed or copyright-protected music will result in the video being flagged by the moderators who will ask you to remove it or, in rare cases, suspend your account. Therefore, you must be careful when picking music and find tracks that are royalty free or uncopyrighted. There are many platforms such as Free Music Archive, Mixkit, and Facebook Sound Collection where you can download royalty-free music to use in your videos.
7. Include subtitles
While we’re on the topic of sound, a small, but highly appreciated addition to your video content is the inclusion of subtitles. Subtitles allow your content to be more inclusive, as individuals with hearing impairments can enjoy your videos as well. This in and of itself is a great social media video marketing step, as it tells your viewers that you consider their needs.
Subtitles are also very useful for individuals who don’t have hearing impairments. Many people watch videos in places where they can’t listen using the phone’s speaker and may not have access to headphones. By including subtitles you allow them to watch the video, even if the audio is muted. No matter the reason, including subtitles is always a big plus for your video marketing.
8. Promote across different platforms
The best part about content marketing is that you can use video content from one social media platform to promote your other pages. This is a very effective way to increase the online presence of your brand or company. For example, some creators will upload a shortened version of their video onto their Youtube channels, then tell the viewers to visit their website to watch the full version.
By uploading your video content onto one platform and not linking it to other social media pages, you lose out on a lot of potential viewers. Linking several social media pages drives viewership from one platform to the other. This approach allows you to spread out videos on several social media platforms to increase the reach of your content and expand the audience. You can use a social media aggregator to add the videos from your social feeds to your website.
9. Understand your audience’s expectations
There are metric tons of videos out there, so unless you’re covering a very niche topic, chances are, a similar video has been made. Don’t let this discourage you from making something of your own, because as long as you know what your audience expects from you, you will have viewers.
For example, there are many cooking video creators out there. Watch their videos and listen to their language, the music they use (if they use it at all), and the camera and lighting setup. This will help you understand what the audience will expect to see in your cooking videos and how to put your own creative spin on them to pleasantly surprise your viewers with something fresh.
10. Pay attention to the metrics
Regardless of what your video marketing goals are, make sure that they are measurable. The biggest social media platforms come with their own social media marketing tool that allows you to keep track of your page’s performance. Check the metrics to see which videos were the most successful and plan your content marketing strategy based on these observations.
It’s important to note that while metrics are important, they should not be your top priority. Videos are great visual content for marketing, but they are also used to inform and entertain. Find a balance between creating video content that performs well, but also entertains your viewers; don’t lean fully into the metrics, but don’t ignore them either.
11. Spacing out your call to action
Using a call to action such as “Follow our page,” “Subscribe to this channel,” or “Like and favorite this video” is a great way to increase your audience retention and engagement. However, many creators make the mistake of having far too many of these messages throughout their videos, which can seem too pushy.
A good technique for calls to action is to put a short one at the beginning of the video right after the hook and another at the very end (in the case of short videos, keep them at the end). This way, your call to action does not interrupt the content of your video, while also reminding the viewers to engage with your other content. Spacing out your call to action prevents your content from coming across as too pushy to your viewers.
12. Define your goals
Any marketing plan, video or not, needs to have goals that can be defined and measured. The weakest link of any social media marketing campaign is a vague goal. After all, if you don’t know what it is you’re aiming at, how are you going to take the necessary steps to achieve it?
Think about the goal of your video marketing campaign on social media and what kind of effect it should have on your company or brand. Are you running a small business and need to raise brand awareness? Or maybe you want your target audience to take a particular action, such as sharing your video or registering on your website. Ask and answer these questions to understand what it is you’re looking to achieve.
You might also want to use YouTube automation to profitably outsource much of your video marketing.
Keep Practicing and Keep Improving
At the end of the day, no amount of tips can replace experience. The best way to make better video content marketing is by making videos. Some will get great views and feedback, while others might not.
As long as you continue creating videos and use what you’ve learned along the way to improve their quality, you can expect to have a very successful social media marketing plan. And if you keep these tips in mind as you do so, you could significantly accelerate the growth of your social media presence and find success much sooner.