Kylie Jane Wakefield
Video is a crucial part of any content and social media marketing campaign. If you utilize it, you can connect with customers on a more personal level, provide visual learners with content they will readily digest, and tap into audiences on various platforms.
Video usage is growing at a rapid pace, so now is the time to find your demographic and create content that they’ll enjoy. According to Cisco, video traffic will account for 79% of all consumer traffic on the web in 2018.
There are a number of video platforms to choose from, and all of them offer different benefits to your business. Some will increase your follower count and likes on social media, while others may bolster your relationships with your customers.
The following are four places that you can post your videos and market your business to potential and current customers.
Facebook has been on the up and up with its videos as of late. According to TechCrunch, the social media site now boasts more than three billion video views per day.
When people are on Facebook, they want to be entertained and distracted. Your videos should be fun and lighthearted, as well as humorous. They should also be short; users quickly scrolling through their timelines don’t want to spend more than a minute or two on a video. Since videos are on auto-play, the first few seconds of it must capture the users’ attention and make them want to keep watching.
Check out this video posted Coca-Cola posted on its Facebook page. From the start, it’s active, and zooms out to reveal acapella singers using their Coke bottles as instruments. It’s short, engaging, and ended up receiving more than 499,000 views and nearly 20,000 likes.
If you have a large Instagram following, or you want to build it up, try posting video on your account. People who use Instagram already like to consume visual content, so you’re already ahead of the game when you use it for marketing purposes.
Instagram videos can be fifteen seconds long at most, and they repeat. Your videos should be consistent with the photos on your feed and include a quick action. If your photos include a certain filter, film your videos with that same filter. Let’s say all of your photos are of customers at your store. In that case, you should shoot customer testimonial videos for your Instagram page.
A brand that’s doing great work on Instagram is Oreo. Every single one of their photos showcases the Oreo itself in a different way. While one photo is of an Oreo milkshake, another is just of the cookie itself. There are pies with Oreo crusts, and Oreo lattes. The Oreos are always against a bright, simple background in both the photos and videos.
Check out this video, which features the Oreo being dunked in a glass of milk.
Vine
As of last August, 100 million people were watching videos on Vine each month. They’re logging onto the site and viewing six-second loops produced by their peers, content creators, and brands.
In those six seconds, you have to show a creative, engaging message that will keep viewers hooked on your looping video and encourage them to follow you on the site.
According to Social Times, the most effective brands on Vine produce videos that capture their niche. For example, GE makes videos for science lovers, while French Connection shows videos that target fashion enthusiasts and travelers. Many successful brands are utilizing stop motion on the site, too.
Your Vine videos should educate and entertain, and not focus on selling products or achieving instant ROI. Take a look at this Vine video from Home Depot that shows viewers how lightbulbs can be used as cute Christmas tree ornaments.
Periscope
Spotify used Periscope to give fans an intimate performance by The Villagers
In the first 10 days of Periscope’s premiere online, one million users signed into the live streaming app, which is owned by Twitter. Think about fun events that your company is holding that you’d want to live stream or perhaps hold a hangout that discusses popular questions your customers have been asking you.
According to Social Media Week, you should see when your followers are most active on your Twitter page, and then consider live streaming during those times. You can also view how many likes and comments your video is receiving in real time. If users are asking you questions, and you feel it won’t interrupt your flow, you should respond right on video. It’ll make users feel appreciated and give them a chance for their voices to be heard. Afterwards, make sure you check out the key analytics provided by Periscope, such as how many views and likes your video got, as well as how many times it was replayed.
Some of the first brands to use Periscope used the platform to take their audience members behind the scenes of their companies. For example, Spotify livestreamed an intimate performance with a folk-rock band called The Villagers.
Have you had success with Facebook, Instagram, Periscope, or Vine? What marketing strategies worked for you? Let us know in the comments section below.
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