If you are not creating effective and engaging social media videos, then you will ultimately lose out to your competitors who are making their own great videos.
Videos for businesses used to be just another feature or post that was nice to have. However, because of the advancements when it comes to technology, the internet, and video creation, social media videos have become an essential part of marketing for businesses.
Nonetheless, you should still keep in mind that you should not just create social media videos for the sake of having them.
When you decide to create these social media videos for your business, you have to plan them out thoroughly so that you can get the best results possible. There are also a lot of different factors that you have to take into account when it comes to these videos.
This article will help supply you with all the information about all these different factors that you need for your social media videos and why you need them for your business.
Navigate to:
How to Come up With Ideas For Social Media Videos
Since creating these videos is important for your business, you have to carefully plan video ideas that can perform well on social media. Here are some ways you can come up with ideas for your social media videos:
1. Find a problem or opportunity and focus on that.
Firstly, you should figure out what problem or opportunity you can tackle effectively by creating a social media video. This may take a while as your team might come up with a lot of different options, but ultimately you want to stick with one problem or opportunity for a video concept.
Trying to take on multiple problems or opportunities at once may lead to a cluttered and unfocused video that will not have one clear message that will easily stand out to viewers.
This will be your guide that you can look back on during the whole process of creating your social media videos. Always make sure that whatever is included in your video will still be aligned with the chosen problem or opportunity that you wanted to focus on.
2. Study blog posts that are performing well.
A good way to help you with finding good creative ideas is to check out top-performing blog posts by your company and also others that are related to your industry as well. You can check out the analytics of these posts and see which posts and topics get the most clicks and shares.
You can easily find content research tools online like Social Animal or Buzzsumo to help you find the most popular content that is being shared in certain niches.
These can help inspire you with creating good social media video ideas either by making a video about the post or focusing on certain aspects of these posts that you can use for a video. Look for different types of content that are performing well as they are more likely to work well as video content too.
3. Take a look at the competition.
It can also be helpful to take a look at what type of videos your competitors are sharing on their social media, especially if you are just starting out with creating your own videos.
Of course, this should not be used to copy their social media videos, but to gather inspiration and see which topics that you want to tackle perform well on social media.
4. Interview your target audiences.
You can also ask different types of audiences that you want to target. You can even ask your own audience either through your website or on social media about what topics they would find interesting for videos.
Influencers from your niche can also be a good source of creative ideas for your videos because they may be more aware of certain popular trends that you can capitalize on.
5. Brainstorm and review your creative ideas.
At this point, you have probably had different inspirations or concepts of the video you would like to make. Now, you should brainstorm your ideas with your team to come up with a fleshed out idea. This creative idea may not need to be fully fleshed out, but it should cover important factors like your goals, target audience, and key message.
Once you have pooled in the ideas from all the members of your team, you should also discuss and review these. Always look back at what problem or opportunity you want to tackle as a basis for choosing the best ideas for your social media video.
6. Choose your final idea.
Once you have brainstormed and reviewed all the potential ideas, you now have to finalize by choosing only one. This may seem like the hardest step, but if you set clear opportunities, goals, and key messages, then your choice should be clear.
At this point, you are probably ending up choosing from a bunch of good ideas, but you have to decide on which would work best based on all the important factors you have set.
How to Create Social Media Videos
Since you have finalized an idea for your social media video, you will now need to create it. For the whole process of creating your social media videos, it would be more convenient for you to hire a video production agency to help you out. Burt if you want to create a video in-house, here are the steps you need to take to create your videos:
1. Plan out the video.
Planning out your video is such a crucial step because this is where you will flesh out the video idea that you landed on. There are two important steps you need to take during this planning stage to make your video shoot as organized and smooth as possible which is writing a script and crafting a storyboard. If you have troubles or concerns with this, a video production agency should be able to help you out.
Writing a script is important as it is where you focus on everything that will be said in your video. Make sure that the key message is not lost when creating the dialog for your video. Creating a storyboard is crucial as it will help you with all the visual elements of your video. The framing of shots during this stage is important as it will help you when you have to record your video.
We will share the best tips for writing a great video script specifically for social media below. Read on.
2. Record the video.
When you are done planning out what you need for your video, you can now shoot and record it. The level of production that you need may vary depending on the type of video you want to make but the process will generally be the same.
For high level productions with a video production agency, they will mostly be in charge of everything so you don’t have to worry much. They will sort out the cameras, framing, equipment, and audio that you need during the shoot.
Your video shoot will take a few days and even up to a few weeks, depending on how large your video production is. Directors will make sure that your video shoot will follow the script while photographers will keep track of the framing of your video shots so that they are aligned with what is in your storyboard.
If you are still testing the waters and don’t want to invest in a camera or hire an agency for your video, you can simply use your smartphone to shoot. Many smartphones nowadays can shoot proper videos, but also keep in mind to get good locations, lighting, and audio.
Still keep in mind having a director to help you with the video’s creative treatment and also an experienced photographer so that you can get the best shots with your smartphone.
3. Edit the video.
Once you have gathered all the footage that you need for your video, it can now be edited. Editing involves putting together all your footage into one coherent video and also includes adding certain graphics or effects that you would need for your social media video.
Editing can be a very tedious process if you have no experience but this shouldn’t be a problem if you are collaborating with a video production agency since they will normally have a video editor on the team.
There are a lot of different editing software that can be used even if you are a beginner so you can look out for those as well. There are options like iMovie and Final Cut Pro (for Apple users) and you can also check out Adobe Premiere Rush, Adobe Premiere Elements, or Adobe Premiere Pro depending on your experience and budget.
4. Distribute the video.
With everything for your video finalized, all that is left to do is to distribute it. The distribution should be organized for you at this point because this is something that should be included in your video planning.
You should optimize your social media videos to all the formats, lengths, and sizes that work best for the specific video platform. Also take into account the different audiences that comprise all these different video platforms.
Best Practices for Social Media Video Scripts
Here are some of the best practices that you should remember when it comes to creating social media videos for your company:
1. Grab the attention of your audience.
When it comes to planning out your social media videos, you should tailor your goals and key message to grab the attention of your audience. This can be a challenge because the attention span of people on social media only lasts for a few seconds.
Your video has to hook your audiences right from the first few seconds or they’ll be gone in an instant. Research done by Ad Age showed that 1/3 of viewers leave a video after just 30 seconds. By a minute into a video, 45% of viewers have already been lost and at two minutes you should expect two thirds of viewers to have left. Trying to hook your audience as quickly as possible is key to your video’s success.
2. Focus on your message.
Social media videos allow for so many possible ideas and concepts and sometimes we might get carried away coming up with too many ideas. While it is nice to be inspired creatively, this video idea should be attached to a key message you want to focus on.
It is important to focus on your key message first and let your video ideas align with that. You should make your message simple, clear, and easily conveyable through video. Make sure your social media video effectively communicates your key message in a story that is straightforward while also being entertaining.
3. Be updated with the video specs for each video platform.
When posting your social media video, it is best for you to upload it onto all the popular video streaming platforms that are available online. However, you should not just simply upload the same video with the same length or in the same aspect ratio as each video platform has different video guidelines and preferences.
Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and even LinkedIn have specific guidelines when it comes to their video length, video size, and video format that you have to optimize your video for. You may have to use a vertical or a square format for Facebook and Instagram while you can use a horizontal format for YouTube and LinkedIn.
4. Remember to include subtitles.
Not everyone has the ability to watch online videos at the luxury of their homes or offices. Most people like to scroll through their feed to watch videos while doing other activities like commuting or just being in public areas.
This means that a lot of your viewers are probably watching these videos without any audio. Since most people watch with sound off, you would need subtitles to keep your audience interested even without any audio playing. This also makes your social media videos more accessible to a wider audience.
Why You Need Social Media Videos For Your Business
Here are some important reasons why you need to create social media videos for your business:
1. Social media videos effectively grab people’s attention.
Social media videos are an effective way of hooking your audience’s attention. It is a lot easier to consume compared to text, photos, or infographics. They are more visually pleasing and are more dynamic so they are more likely to catch our eye.
Videos also allow you to provide information or entertainment in a shorter amount of time. This is crucial because of how short the attention span is when it comes to being on social media feeds. These can be long enough to maintain attention but short enough to make them want to watch more. Placing distinct indicators of your video’s intention at the beginning should help your users find out more about it and watch it.
2. They personify your company.
When it comes to showcasing your brand’s transparency and personality, the best way to do it is through videos. It may be difficult to accurately portray the human side of your company through texts and photos, but in videos, people can see it firsthand.
You can have behind the scenes videos where you showcase your office, its employees, and your work culture so that people can see the human side of your company. This is a great way to display to potential prospects about your company and can also build a deeper relationship with customers since they see all the people that are working hard to deliver the best product or service to them.
Here is an example of a behind the scenes video from Patagonia that showcases their company’s unique policy:
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdKmZXaFwEU
3. They allow you to craft a clear and unique message.
When you post a video on social media, it is similar to having a conversation with your audience. You can only communicate one thing at a time in a clear way. What you can do to cover different topics or conversations is to optimize your video to a certain call-to-action prompt.
Repurposing your major video assets is an efficient way of maximizing your video content. You can craft these different assets to suit certain call-to-action prompts that you want your users to make. When done right, this process can help your videos last for a longer amount of time while still being entertaining and engaging.
4. Engagement and statistics for videos are easily trackable.
When it comes to your advertising content, you would want to have as much statistics and results as possible to track how well everything is going. These may be a bit difficult for traditional advertisements.The great thing about videos is that you can immediately check how well they are doing, even in real time. You can always view how much engagement it has gathered from likes, comments, shares, and views.
Also, most video platforms also provide statistics and analytics regarding the performance of your videos. This can be especially important as you can use this information to know what you can do to improve your social media videos in the future and to keep doing the things that work.
5. They help drive conversions and sales.
Video is not just effective in terms of awareness and engagement, but it also is a critical factor in terms of driving conversions and sales to your business. Because your videos are done well and include a strong call-to-action, this makes the user more likely to take part in your business.
Ecommerce businesses that use videos get an average of 34% more conversions online compared to those that don’t use video. (Vidyard-Aberdeen)
Landing pages that include videos can deliver up to 80% more conversions more than landing pages that do not have videos. (EyeView)
Because they have watched your video and have seen your call-to-action prompt, all you need to do now is to direct them to take the desired action. This compelling and engaging content you get from social media videos are strong arguments that your viewers will listen to which can eventually lead to a conversion or sale.
Most Effective Types of Social Media Videos
When deciding to post your social media videos, you need to consider which types of videos perform well over others. Here are five of the most effective types of social media videos you can create:
1. Behind the scenes videos
Behind the scenes videos are a great way to give your viewers a look into how your employees are working hard to provide the best product or service for them. These videos can include a tour of the office, interviews with certain employees, and even footage of fun company activities that you want your viewers to see.
These videos can help showcase the culture of your company which can be relevant for potential prospects and even for your customers that would want to know more about how your company operates.
Here is an example from Google:
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9No-FiEInLA
2. Live videos
Live or live streaming videos are a great way to display authenticity while also creating stronger relationships with audiences that aren’t possible with normal recorded videos.
Because of the nature of these videos being live, there is a higher level of unpredictability that you have to navigate through even if you have planned out certain things. Live videos are also great for engagement because users can ask questions and the hosts or presenters can answer them in real time. This leads to a more personalized experience and a deeper relationship between the viewer and the brand.
Here is an example from Bon Appétit:
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbJ84xWs8aw
3. New Product Launch Videos
These videos accompany the launch of a new product and displays and exhibits it for the first time. These product launch videos should immediately show its unique selling proposition to quickly grab the attention of the audience.
These videos should not be too complex right off the bat because it may intimidate audiences. They can be simple and succinct while also being entertaining and informative in a short amount of time.
Here is an example from Nintendo:
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5uik5fgIaI
4. Event videos
Brands normally go all out when it comes to their events, conferences, or seminars. These are normally filled with well-known speakers, hundreds of attendees, and even parties right after. However, not a lot of people get to really experience these events personally even though they are huge fans of the brand.
This is why some of the prominent companies are now using different clips and footage from their events to show all the important events or announcements that people have missed. This can cover conferences, product launches, major announcements and reveals, and exclusive parties.
Here is an example from Apple:
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT643_i6xr8
5. Testimonial videos
Reviews and testimonials from customers or clients often have a critical role in a consumer’s potential purchase. To take advantage of this, you can create testimonial videos to highlight the positive experiences of your satisfied customers.
Companies can have a great increase in terms of conversions by creating genuine videos of positive reviews made by real-life customers. Consumers highly value the input of fellow consumers and displaying those reviews through these testimonial videos can help push others to a purchase.
Here is an example from Dropbox:
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHDUXbMIIRs
Social Media Video Statistics
Here are some important statistics that show the importance of creating social media videos:
- Almost 60% of executives say that they would rather watch a video than read a portion of text. (Wordstream)
- 72% of customers prefer learning about a product or service through watching videos. (HubSpot)
- Facebook’s video platform receives around 75 million visitors every day. (Adweek)
- You can gather 300% more traffic and nurture leads with videos. (MarketingSherpa)
- A website is 53 times more likely to make it to the front page of Google’s search results if it includes a video. (Insivia)
- 85% of videos on Facebook are watched with the sound off, while 60% of Instagram Stories are watched with sound. (Instagram)
- Social media posts that include videos have 48% more views. (The Marketing Helpline)
- Almost half of internet users look for videos related to a product or service before making a visit to an actual store. (Hubspot)
- 52% of marketers say video is the best content when it comes to its return on investment. (HubSpot)
- By the year 2022, online videos will comprise more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic which will be 15 times higher than it was in 2017. (Cisco)
Conclusion
To fully reap the benefits that come with creating social media videos, you have to make sure that they are prepared well and end up looking excellent. Collaborating with a video production agency is a way to assure yourself of a great video output for your business, especially if you don’t have much experience in creating videos.
Our team at fewStones can take care of all everything that is needed all throughout the process of creating your social media videos. Our experts can help you from the planning stage up until the editing and distribution stage of your social media videos.
With fewStones, you will be collaborating with a top video production agency and we will make sure to make the best video for your company based on your goals and budget. You can learn more about our videography services which include live action videos and animation videos and our photography services on our website. You can also get an instant quote for free from us.
Related articles:
