Social Videos: Everyone else is doing it

It’s 2017 and technology rules our lives, especially through social media. The channels originally created to keep up with friends and family are now of the greatest online tools a marketer can use. But now that everyone is doing it, you need to be creative to to get your message across clearly. You know what’s great for creative marketing? Videos. In particular, social videos that leads to interaction and engagement.

What are social videos?

Social video is exactly what it sounds like—video created specifically for social media purposes. It’s not that simple though, as each social outlet requires certain formatting and targeting based off of the audience and viewing method. For example, a video for Facebook is probably far too long to be posted on Instagram, and a video shot on Snapchat isn’t appropriate for LinkedIn. A LinkedIn or Instagram video is more likely to be shot professionally with a thought-out storyboard while, Snapchat is more spontaneous.

Millennials: If they’re your desired consumer, get recording

Social videos capture the ever-important “Millennial eye.” According to Infusionsoft, 90% of people aged 18 to 29 use social media. Furthermore, 1/3 of all millennials say social is of their preferred channels for communicating with businesses. This means that if you want to attract millennials to what you’re selling, you have the best chance of reaching them through social media. On top of that, we already know the incredible statistics of success with video marketing— if you put the two together: boom, you have a marketing method with an extremely high chance of success.

Campaigns: Where shortcuts benefit you

Of course, social video shouldn’t be the only kind of video you use to market your business. Most social video is condensed, and it’s important to continue producing well-rounded, full-length videos (one to two minutes) that give more depth and information into your company.

It’s easy to do both— especially with an explainer video. A typical explainer contains a brief overview of the company by the founder, and some cool animation of the product. More importantly, you can cut each piece to stand on its own. There’s your social campaign! You create an explainer video with the purpose of cutting it into social media-sized bites. Then, you roll out a short campaign of these to keep people interested.  

Content creation: the more platforms you exist on, the better your reach

What else would you put in social videos, you ask? Well besides the basic parts of an explainer video, there are plenty of options. Snapchat is perfect for showing a behind-the-scenes look at your team and company culture. Facebook is big on the live video broadcasting, which is a great opportunity for product demos or “ask me anything” sessions with a brand ambassador. Instagram is great for a fun commercial, or a  short teaser video leading up to a big launch. The options are endless! Social media provides a vast, blank canvas to be creative and push the envelope.