Social App Videos

Digital Marketing - Study Notes:

Benefits

As a marketer, you need to have a good appreciation of the importance of video in your social media content. Improved phone functionality and greater broadband availability have removed many of the obstacles to including video in your online content.

What are some of the key benefits that videos can bring to your social media strategy?

First, videos help you to build trust with your audience. You can tell a compelling story in a short space of time with a video. In addition, behind-the-scenes videos can be used to add a further element of authenticity to your social media feed.

Second, videos enable you to bring your brand story to life. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video can be worth a thousand photos.

Another benefit is that you can use live video to create impactful content by capturing new and unfolding events. This allows your followers to engage with your brand story in real-time.

Finally, you can use videos to promote and demonstrate products. Your audience can then see how they might benefit from using them.

Cross-promotion

When people think of online videos, they usually immediately think of YouTube. However, it’s important to cross-promote content from various other video channels, including Twitch, Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok.

This helps you to reach different audiences and avail of platform-specific functionality to create videos. For example, you could create a video using TikTok enhancements and then share this on YouTube, which doesn’t have these features. Another way to cross-promote your videos is to embed them in websites and blogs, and share via email and other social networks.

Best practices

By following some simple best practices, you can create an impactful, fully optimized video:

First, use the video to share your experiences. Relate the video story to your audience’s own experiences. Tell a human narrative that people can relate to. For example, you could have video where someone talks about a concern or problem they had and how your product or service helped them to deal with it.

Second, use your voice to engage your audience. All your social media content should have a consistent voice, in keeping with your brand guidelines. However, this doesn’t mean that you have to be an automaton in your videos. Inject personality in your videos and give your audience something to relate to.

Another best practice is to demonstrate why you are unique. You can convey this uniqueness through your visual style, vocal delivery, or opinions. Again, make sure your video personality aligns with your brand personality.

A fourth best practice is to show behind-the-scenes aspects for events. This helps your audience to feel privileged because they are being given a glimpse behind the curtain. By sharing anecdotes and everyday happenings about your brand, you can make your brand seem more authentic while also building loyalty among your followers.

A fifth best practice is to use high-impact mobile video that shares a strong point-of-view. This can add a gritty realism to your video or make your content more authentic.

You could also highlight your brand with your story. Videos are a great way to brand your brand to life.

A seventh best practice is to add hashtags to your video captions or descriptions. This improves your SEO strategy and increases the chances of your content being discovered on social media.

Another best practice is to make a compelling cover shot. This is what people see before they watch the video, so make sure is has an impact. Choose a shot that best captures the feel of the video.

Finally, integrate text if you have talking points. Although video is primarily an audiovisual medium, you can use captions and text to highlight the key points that you want people to remember. Make sure your text is short and to the point. Most importantly, it needs to complement the video, and not distract from it.