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Video marketing on social media is a must. People love engaging with videos more than anything else on social media, including text updates and images. For example, 100 million videos on Facebook are watched every single day! That's a lot of videos being viewed on this popular social network.
So, as you can see from these numbers, as well as the fact that 96% of people prefer watching a video over reading text, it only makes sense to implement video marketing on your business's social media strategy.
In order to make better use of video marketing on social media for your brand or business, here are some best practices you need to know about.
1. Use relevant hashtags
Hashtags play an important role in how your audience will find your tweets and posts. Think of hashtags as keywords that help your content discover by others searching for a certain topic. For instance, if you're a food blogger, then the hashtag #foodbloggers is a pretty popular one to use.
But how do you formulate hashtags? It would be best to include relevant hashtags with your brand name or business name, as well as those related to the topic of your video's message and those from competitor sites. If you want some ideas on what kind of hashtags to use, check out the Millionaire Mentors list. In addition, make sure they are not more than three words long as it can make it difficult for people to remember them.2. Add clear CTA (Call to Action)
You need to let your audience know what you want them to do after watching your videos on social media. This is where clear Call-to-Action buttons come in. To use this feature, just go to the video manager, click "actions" under the video's title, and then select what you want people to do. You can add a link to another page on your website, subscribe to your channel's updates, download an app or even play games!
3. Tag relevant influencers/brands
Tagging is an excellent way for your brand or business name and content to discover other users on Twitter or Facebook. When tagging someone on Twitter, it's best not to be too promotional but rather focus on building relationships. For example, you can tag an influencer in your industry with a message like "love the blog post you just wrote" or "thanks for following us." Make sure it's appropriate and isn't too salesy.
When tagging brands on Facebook, it should be more business-like as well as promotional. You should mention another brand that fits into what your video content is about using @their company name. This serves as a way to let people know about what kind of products or services they offer that are related to yours by mentioning them directly in your post or tweet.
4. Use short videos (the 30s – 1 min)
As already mentioned above, the majority of social media users prefer watching videos over reading text. So if you want people to watch your videos, then 30 seconds or less is a good length. Remember that your main goal should be capturing the audience's attention and then taking them on a video journey that leads to a Call-to-Action, rather than focusing a lot of time on selling one product or service.
5. Use eye-catching thumbnails
When it comes to video marketing, your thumbnail image can make or break how many views you'll get from social media. Just imagine scrolling through Facebook or Twitter and seeing several posts with interesting-looking thumbnails – which ones would you be more likely to click?
Of course, the attractive ones!
That being said, don't go overboard with the effects by adding too many texts and flashy graphics. The key here is to keep it simple and eye-catching so people can get a quick glimpse of what your video content is about.
6. Make the most out of Facebook Live
Facebook Live gives you another way to engage with your audience on social media, which is pretty remarkable considering that they don't have an official app for that just yet (but I'm sure they will be releasing one soon).
So, go ahead and start streaming live broadcasts with interesting topics. Post the link to your Facebook page where everyone can tune in and see what's going on! And if you're broadcasting from somewhere far away, why not do it via Skype? That way, you can still interact with viewers as well as answer any questions they might have.
7. Promote your video with paid ads
If you want to reach a wider audience, it might be worthwhile to spend some money promoting your videos on social media. There are lots of great platforms, such as Facebook and Youtube, where you can choose to enable your content - just remember to do the research and only go for those that work best for your business or brand!
Takeaway
Social media users are constantly flocking around these channels to check out new content, so you might as well use that to your advantage when it comes to promoting video marketing.
For example, why not share a teaser of what's in store for the rest of the video at the end of your post? Or run unique contests where people have to watch your videos in their entirety before being able to enter?
By following all or some of these tips, you'll be able to reach more potential customers on social media and even expand their knowledge about topics related to yours!
Author
Andre Oentoro is the founder of Breadnbeyond, an award-winning explainer video company. He helps businesses increase conversion rates, close more sales, and get positive ROI from explainer videos (in that order).
Twitter: @breadnbeyond
Email: [email protected]
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