Does Using Video In Your Social Media Actually Work?
Does using video in your social media actually work?
I follow a lot of different podcasts and social media research firms. Therefore, I know that most (if not all) will tell you that you need video content in your social media marketing strategy. I want to be clear that I am also in that camp - but the problem with this advice is that it becomes incomplete. What does that mean?
There are three choices a person has to make after they realize video content is necessary in a successful social media strategy.
Choice #1 - Do I pay for someone to do my content or do it myself?
The short answer is: That depends.
If the video content is for an event page, website landing page, or part of a message to professionals, then you may need to find a professional videographer to help. However, if you are introducing video content for the first time, you should do it yourself, as long as you follow the steps below to make sure you have decent video content to share.
What engages people on social media is authentic content that truly speaks to your brand story and values, or that describes how you can solve a problem for someone. Content that looks too polished and like it is coming from a business, on the other hand, doesn't typically do well on social media.
You may have just asked yourself the question, "Did he say that my content shouldn't look like it comes from a business?" The answer is yes. If you look like a business with your content, people will scroll past it on social media; if you create content that looks like it fits in with a person's newsfeed well, people will pause to engage.
Choice #2 - What do I use to create video content?
There are many different apps out there that can help with creating video content, and we will share these at the end of this blog post. Our favorite, so far, is LumaTouch - but it can only be used for IOS (if you have an Android or desktop, visit the apps below).
What social media professionals don't tell you is that, if you do it yourself, it is going to take a lot of time to get good at it. That doesn't mean you can crash course yourself and get basic video content ready within the next two weeks. It just means that if you are looking to create professional looking content, it will take some time.
Honestly, though, you don't need to start with professionally edited content. Just grabbing your phone, finding a quiet room with a lot of light, and ensuring that you are not in front of a window works well when you are introducing content to your audience. Most phones will even allow you to cut out the beginning and ending of videos, in case you have to manually push the "start" and "end" button. The professional stuff can come later, when you have a firm grasp on how to create it well.
Choice #3 - Should I pre-record my content or should it be live?
Let's be honest: you probably will skip this question for the most part because going live on social media is scary. However, it is a solid question.
Going live on social media is going to get you and your business the most reach, because social media's algorithms prioritize live content. They do this because they view live content as more engaging and authentic.
You have probably seen a notification when someone is currently live. You don't see that notification when someone posts a pre-recorded video. Therefore, if you can get beyond the fact that going live is scary and makes people feel vulnerable, then this is the best way to go. You will be able to create real time engagement and conversation. It also lets you practice talking about your business, services, and add value through educational live videos.
Most people will start with pre-recording content. If you use a platform like Facebook - all video content, once published, has features such as subtitles, polls, and custom thumbnails giving you the opportunity to make your content more engaging. When you upload your video on Facebook desktop, an upload box with title, description, and extra features will automatically pop up. When you upload from mobile, this feature won't pop up, and you will have to access it through desktop.
Final Words
The biggest misses with publishing video content is that you have to: 1) pick and choose which platforms you feature your content on depending on the length of your video content, and 2) know that it takes time to build your video engagement.
Here is an outline based on our experience with social media:
Facebook - 15 seconds to 3 minutes
Facebook Live – 3 minutes to 8 hours (you need time for Facebook to help build your audience) ⦁ YouTube – Anything 1 minute to 18 minutes (but quality is better than quantity)
Instagram – Shorter is better and cannot be over 60 seconds
IGTV – 61 seconds and more, but not more than 10 minutes.
LinkedIn – Under 30 seconds
Lately, whenever you introduce video, it will take time for that type of content to resonate well with your audience. Up until the point of video content, your audience has been used to images. When you post a video for the first time, you may not see the same amount of likes and shares off your content.
Introducing video also requires you to pivot your thinking. You have to count how many views you get as engagement. Before videos, you may have had an average of 200 people reached, 8 likes, and 40 engagements. But after videos, you may have the same reach, less likes, and less or the same engagement. However, now you have video views, which is another form of engagement that is not directly counted in your engagement number.
I hope this has been helpful as you figure out how to incorporate video content into your social media strategy. Feel free to leave any comments you have!
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