Video content is on the rise! In fact, research shows that social media users spend an average of 84 minutes watching social media videos every single day.
As video campaigns continue to take the social media world by storm, there’s never been a better time to get started with clever, strategic video content. If you play your cards right, you could soon be on your way to smashing video marketing goals!
So how should you approach video on socials for the best results? Here are our 10 top tips to help you use video with confidence.
1. Build a strategy
Successful marketing always begins with a clear strategy, and video marketing is no different.
Developing a social media marketing strategy can help you take control of your content and understand what you need to do in order to maximize video performance.
A strong social strategy doesn’t have to be complicated or overwhelming. Start with the basics of who you want to reach (your audience), what you want to communicate (your content) and where you want to show up (your platforms).
Then consider the best ways to get your message across online (your video formats) – are long-from YouTube videos or bite-sized Reels a better fit for your goals?
2. Keep it simple
Sometimes, short and sweet is the best approach! In a fast-paced social media landscape, this is especially true, as it allows you to communicate succinctly and effectively before you lose your viewers.
This is why short-form video formats, like Reels and TikTok, work so well: they’re punchy and bite-sized.
Many of the best video marketing strategies include simple, brief videos that introduce a product, service, or idea before making way for audience engagement and even future videos.
Remember, no social video has to stand alone. You can start small and test the waters before expanding your campaign and adding new video content to the midst.
3. Have a hook
Similarly, it’s important to remember that the best videos start with a strong hook. This is your chance to capture and viewer’s attention and keep it for the duration of your video.
Even a basic hook can create a valuable impact on your video strategy. Whether you’re using eye-catching transitions or powerful copywriting and text overlays, there are so many things you can do to pique an audience’s interest.
A video hook helps you get your foot in the door, but you still have to keep viewers on your side. If you come up with a clever initial hook, use the rest of your video (or videos) to deliver on its promise.
4. Know your purpose
In the world of marketing, purpose is everything! You need to know what you do and why you do it, and you have to understand the goals you’re striving to achieve.
Before you start introducing video marketing to your repertoire, consider what you want for your social media accounts, and think about how to pursue this vision across a variety of platforms.
Do you want to boost brand awareness and reach? Is driving conversions and sales a priority? Or maybe you want to increase engagement on new channels, like YouTube or TikTok?
When you produce a purpose-driven marketing campaign, you can recognize success as it occurs or make strategic adjustments that put your videos in front of more engaged users.
5. Improve content quality
Quality can make all the difference in taking your video marketing content to the next level. Fortunately, there are many simple tools and techniques you can use to enhance the quality of your videos.
Clear, crisp video footage with smooth transitions and effective audio is essential. Putting in the work to ensure optimal quality can drive greater professionalism and even boost your algorithm performance.
When viewers find high-quality videos, they’re more likely to stick around and watch your content. Great quality can even inspire users to like, comment, and share, offering you amazing engagement results.
6. Stay on brand
No matter what kind of content you’re working on, staying on brand can help you ensure that your videos support a broader marketing approach. Good branding can even help you grow your accounts!
Look for ways to create content that aligns with who you are and who your followers expect you to be. Across all social media platforms, find opportunities to incorporate a consistent style and color palette.
That means showcasing your logo, brand colors and brand fonts to give your video content an instantly recognizable look and feel.
The better your branding skills, the more easily recognizable your video content will become. Your audience will know what you offer and will begin to engage more consistently with the videos you share.
7. Consider SEO
SEO, or search engine optimization, isn’t just for Google anymore. It can also be used to improve searchability and reach within the confines of a social media platform.
With videos, you have plenty of opportunities to incorporate good SEO, from writing a caption and using hashtags to including subtitles on screen. The more effectively you use relevant keywords, the more people will be able find and enjoy your videos.
That’s not to mention the added benefit that video subtitles can improve accessibility. This helps you expand your audience reach and gain more video views ahead of an engagement surge.
8. Start the conversation
Stop waiting for people to come to you! The best way to boost engagement on socials is by taking charge and starting the conversation. Lead the way for your followers!
You can begin to drive better video engagement when you begin interacting with other users. This won’t just help you perform better in the algorithm. It will also help as part of an all-important community-building approach.
Use different platforms to reach a variety of social media users, and start asking questions. Talk to people. Engage with video content from other users. Give people a reason to interact with the videos you create.
9. Check your insights
Insights can be a great guiding influence, helping you track your reach and engagement. The more you know about your content performance, the more you can begin to improve.
You don’t need fancy tools if you want to stay up-to-date with your analytics. Rely on the video metrics data provided by your favorite platforms, and find out what sets your top-performing videos aside.
You can use what you learn from your video metrics to inspire new content. You’ll learn what works best for each platform and can begin to create video materials that respond directly to demand.
10. Plann your content
Last but not least, it’s always important to Plann ahead! Creating a clear plan before you post can have many benefits, helping you share video posts that users love.
Scheduling tools can be great assets for planning. You can even prepare to post video content ahead of time, ensuring that you never miss a strategic time slot.
Are you looking for an easy-to-use system that will help you get your video content off the ground? We can help! Sign up for a free 7-day trial of Plann, and get started now.
The best bit? You can schedule and auto-post your video content to Instagram Reels and TikTok videos to put your video marketing strategy on auto-pilot!
