At the end of last year I asked 12 marketing experts for their thoughts on video, and everyone agreed – it’s now an essential part of any robust marketing strategy.
Hubspot have found that 54% of consumers want brands to produce videos. That’s THREE TIMES more than the number who still want to read your blog.
Now, I’m not saying you should stop blogging – especially as I sit here, blogging. Today I want to tell you why adding video will boost your engagement rates, on any social channel.
Show don’t tell with product videos
There’s nothing quite like video for helping you picture something you can’t see in real life. With a description, and even with pictures, most of the detail is left to your imagination. Product videos perform better than pictures because customers get more information. They can see the drape and movement of that skirt. They can see how easy that digital fridge is to set up. They can even hear how quiet a new hoover would be before buying it. As people do more of their shopping online, video helps to bridge the gap between the in-store and digital shopping experience. In person, they can pick up the product, turn it over in their hands, press the buttons, try it on. On your website, you can use video to do all those things for them.
© ASOS.com
Share your expertise with explainer videos
Video is a fantastic tool to complement your blogging strategy, or even replace it. If you write an article, and share it on your social channels, users have to click through to engage with your content. But the team at Facebook don’t want you to click away from Facebook, because you might not come back. Users often prefer scrolling to tapping, meaning they’ll also be less likely to click through to your article than continue on down their feed.
Videos have the highest reach on Facebook, going to 11% of your Page followers on average. They also get the best engagement, with 6% of everyone who sees a video engaging with it. For every 1000 likes, that means you can expect about 110 3-second video views, and 6 or 7 engagements. If you’d posted an article link instead, you could expect to reach about 90 people, and see 3 or 4 engagements.
On all channels, not just Facebook, video plays directly in the feed. People can engage with your content without going anywhere – they just stop scrolling and watch. Users are happy, because the content is easy to access, and the algorithm is happy because people are staying on the app. While they’re watching, people can comment and like the post – they don’t have to switch between your website and their feed. So if you’re going to put time and effort into creating really informative content, video seems to be the obvious choice.
Connect with your audience with Live video
If your goal is to form real, genuine connections with your audience, look no further than live video. Most people find it terrifying to start with, because they can’t edit and control every frame that goes public. But that’s exactly why 82% of people love live video more than any other kind of content. They get to see the person who’s behind the brand. They can put a face to the name. They can even ask questions and see you answer them in real time.
If genuine connection is your goal, but you’re still a bit to wary of ‘going live’, Instagram Stories are THE place to try your hand and get used to talking to camera. You can record and post videos in almost-real-time, and they are only visible for 24 hours. You can experiment to your heart’s content without cringing about it 6 months later.
How to create great videos for social media
Fortunately, you don’t need to order a whole range of expensive equipment and software to create video content. I’ve been using three tools for social video recently – my phone, a mini tripod with a phone holder (affiliate link)
, and a free app called FilmoraGo.
Stay tuned for a more detailed guide on creating high quality video for social media, without spending all your time and money.
