While video content is beneficial through various traditional and digital marketing channels, social media video is a unique tool. In order to successfully drive ROI from social media you need to target your video content to a specific audience, in that both the users and the platforms benefit from the campaign. If you want to remain competitive and relevant it is advisable to research the desires and needs of your audience and make use of these social media video best practices.
Paul J. Zak wrote a research article for the Harvard Business Review called Why Your Brain Loves Good Storytelling, which explained that great stories stimulate the release of oxytocin, the hormone responsible for social bonding. This is what you should be pursuing with your followers – when you are able to connect with your audience emotionally, they are more likely to respond to everything else.
Effective lighting is what differentiates the amateur video from the professional. This is the same for social media video production. It is recommended to use a camera light for filling in unwanted shadows, but a full 3-point lighting kit is preferable especially if you are filming indoors.
Video is a highly effective and sophisticated way of telling a business’ story. The video story can be an aesthetically pleasing as well as intelligent way of delivering a message. The aim is to evoke emotion in the viewer, and an effective and well thought out video makes the difference between a successful productive campaign and an ineffective one.
You can also read the article – 4 Easy Steps to Create a Killer Video
When it comes to camera equipment high quality gear is expensive. If you are unable to invest in a new camera, your smartphone is typically able to film high-definition video. In order to get the best quality, you can use a tripod stabilizer, and if you position the phone correctly you need not use the zoom feature which would compromise the image quality.
It is much easier to post an embedded video to a social media account, and these are the preferred format compared to native videos. They do come with limitations in that where native videos uploaded directly to the platform are able to ‘autoplay’, and embedded videos require the user to click ‘play’.
Native videos that ‘autoplay’ generally attract more viewers than embedded videos. If your business has the resources to create appealing, shareable video content, then native ads are a great method of attracting users that would otherwise not be interested. You can also create some killer corporate videos as well.
Due to the instant nature of social media our attention spans have been shortened, and we are therefore a moment away from having content catch a user’s eye. As a social media video maker you will be challenged to use those first few seconds wisely – this will make the difference between a user passing to the next item, and engaging them with that first introductory glance.
