In our connected age, social media has become one of the prime promotional vehicles for top companies around the world to market themselves and send a powerful, long-lasting branding message to potential and existing clients.
The power of having a strong social media presence cannot be over-estimated. For example, Facebook alone now has almost 2.8 billion subscribers globally, while its offshoot services WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger, each have over 1 billion active users.
However, while social media is an undoubted force in our modern lives, one particular form of content dominates within the channels – namely, video. Audiovisual content has the highest engagement rate of any media online – but just how do you create content that’s likely to strike a chord with users and encourage users to engage with your firm?
Rule 101: Quality content reigns supreme online
Good quality content is the reason most of us have preferred sites and services that we visit time and time again. If you produce engaging, informative, and entertaining content, you’ll end up going a large way towards winning the battle of attracting – and retaining – users.
Other tips to maximize the value of your social media video productions
While you should prioritize good content at the top of your social video production list, there are also numerous proven tricks and tactics you can employ:
Be aware of your target platform: With the exception of the major social platforms like Facebook and YouTube, each of the smaller social channels appeals to particular demographics, so you should bear this in mind when producing your content. For example, Pinterest has a primarily female following (77%) within the 25-44 age bracket, while teens and young adults almost exclusively use Snapchat. When posting content, you should always think about which channel is likely to give you the best Return on Investment (ROI) in terms of time and money.
Size is important: While Facebook supports five different common format dimensions, many other channels are considerably more specific (e.g., Instagram). When producing and editing your video, remember to use sizes that will work best on your intended delivery platform.
Use each platform’s native video support and upload directly: Have you ever noticed how video links to YouTube don’t stand out well on Facebook – or work particularly well for that matter? Zuckerberg is very keen to keep his users within Facebook’s walled garden environment, so you will find, without exception, which uploading directly to FB will get you more views and increased attention. This is another reason why video format size is so important in the production and editing stages.
Cater for all potential audiences: Around 15% of the global population has some form of disability, so you should produce your content to cater to all. Adding subtitles, captioning, or video with audio description will help those less able to use and digest your material.
Share to social – again and again: Many companies think that posting content once means their entire follower list will have seen it. Actually, the truth is very different and, with so much content being posted to social channels every day, there’s a strong likelihood many in your contact list might not even have seen your content. Don’t be afraid to share work you’re particularly proud of more than once.
