5 Ways to Use Video to Better Your Social Media Marketing
According to Social Media Today, video posts on Facebook have 135% greater organic reach than photo posts. Videos yield crazy engagement on social platforms...and there’s no slowing down. More people are consuming videos from their mobile devices at alarming rates, so it’s critical you position your brand to capitalize on this movement.
Adding video to your social media marketing offers huge benefits such as increased brand exposure, better follower engagement, and more opportunities to drive traffic to your web pages. Your audience will appreciate the variety you bring to their newsfeeds while giving an alternate approach to engaging in your content.
So, give the people what they want more—video!
Five different ways to incorporate video into your social media marketing
#1 Your Story is Important. Share it!
Storytelling is a time-tested tactic that works great at pulling your audience into your brand message. People connect with you through your story. It helps you establish common ground with your followers, making you relatable and real. Stories also separate you from other brands which give you that competitive edge in the industry.
Humanize your brand by communicating its story on video. Delve into the “why.” Who do you desire to inspire and what problems are you solving through your products? What charitable contributions do you make to your community? Share what motivates your team to get up and go every morning. Sharing your story will add greater meaning and purpose when people do business with you.
#2 Offer Short Instructional Videos for Your Followers
An excellent move to promote your brand with social video is to create short, instructional videos demonstrating how your products can be used to solve a problem for the viewer. How-to videos are beneficial because you’re showing people how to achieve a specific result. As a result, you’ll keep viewers engaged while strategically placing your brand in front of your social following.
Reduce your video to the most basic steps of the process then speed up your video in production (editing), so it only lasts for about 30 seconds. These social video snippet can be product-related or simply something relevant to your niche. The beauty is they quickly solve a pain point for users.
#3 Answer Questions
Consider the FAQs that often hit your inboxes or are typically prompted by your prospects. These are excellent content pieces for your blog, email campaign, social media posts, and of course, videos. You see, you’re giving the people exactly what they want because these inquiries derived from your audience. By addressing their questions, you’ll boost thought-leadership and be viewed as an expert in the industry. Plus, it gives you endless content to share across your marketing platforms.
Enhance your credibility by posting videos that highlight one question then offers an in-depth response. Since many social users are leveraging search as a way to connect and discover new brands, be sure to include keywords or hashtags that your audience is actively searching for. Whereas hashtags reign on networks like Instagram and Twitter, keywords perform better on Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest.
#4 Go Live!
Live-streaming platforms such as Facebook Live, Periscope, and Instagram Stories are driving tons of engagement on social media. There’s something special about connecting with someone in real-time. People get to see and experience the real you! Live videos quickly build trust and can accelerate your brand’s presence fast on social media.
Use these tools to your full advantage. Invite followers into your world by taking them behind-the-scenes at the office, in the field, or company event to share a taste of your brand’s culture. Host live Q&A sessions where you give your audience a chance to ask you anything industry or product related to getting on-the-spot responses. Report breaking news and share your insight and opinion of the matter...give your followers a chance to do the same to foster conversations.
Commit to making live-streaming a regular content strategy in your social media marketing. With consistency, you’ll experience a significant boost in engagement and followership.
#5 Highlight Fan Content
Did you know that 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation? Positive testimonials and reviews are killer ways to foster trust with your audience especially those who haven’t heard of you before. Prospects want to see if your products or services genuinely bring results. Sharing others experiences with your brand is a great way to show it!
With that said, use your fan’s content as a form of an online review. User-generated content can be creatively compiled into one video as a promotional tool or multiple videos to build up your content vault. Give users credit by mentioning them in the post. Growing this strategy can prove to be a valuable tactic in your inbound marketing as you highlight your customers and give social proof that you’re making a difference.
Don’t Get Left Behind
The numbers and stats prove that people enjoy videos on social media. Its popularity has caused brands to tailor their social strategy accordingly to meet the demands of today’s consumer. Use these tips to better your social media marketing and give the people what they want!
Ready to amplify your social media marketing with video? We know how to create compelling video marketing campaigns that humanize your brand and gives you the slight edge. Reach out to us today and let’s chat!
4 Tips for Creating a Strong Video Marketing Series
Many people think of marketing videos as one-off commercials or testimonials. They will hire a video marketing agency to shoot a few specific pieces and then move on. However, this is overlooking a massive potential to build on the success of their video content.
More and more companies are discovering the value of an informative half-promotional video series that shares exciting information on a regular basis with their customers and website visitors. A video series has the potential to become a popular monthly or weekly event for people who are involved in or curious about your industry or the content you've chosen to provide, creating a compelling video marketing strategy.
Here are a few tips to building your series:
1. Choose An Engaging Topic
Pick something, anything, in your industry that your customers are interested in. While you may be tempted toward product highlights or service descriptions, go for something that more directly connects to your target audience. How-to's, day-in-the-life, and customers stories are more likely to be the kind of content you're looking for.
When choosing your topic, also consider how long each video will be and what kind of attention span you're preparing for. We can use two parallel examples to give you a good idea of the concept:
2. Be Casual and Genuine
Connect with your future viewers through the camera as if you were speaking to them in your living room or personal workshop. Being casual and friendly with your customers allows you to invite them to your video content.
Most modern consumers have been tuning out television and radio commercials for their entire lives and have become resistant to the 'radio announcer voice.' Instead, stay as genuine as possible, up to the point of keeping a few 'bloopers' in to show that you're a real person. This will make you inherently more relatable to them, and they will want to learn from you because you're not an actor hired to speak empty lines.
3. Innovate with Every Video
Don't let your content go stale, make sure you are covering the new and interesting ground with every new video. This is what keeps viewers coming back and sharing with their friends. You want your viewers to be excited wondering what you will show next, then fulfill that anticipation with another installment of high-quality content. Strong content themes are great, but you want to avoid posting similar topics that share content too close together.
4. Keep the Formula Consistent
Once you've got a hooked viewership, they are coming back to see you almost as much as the content you create. This means staying yourself and maintaining the video layout and style is essential.
Feel free to improve, of course, but don't stray too far. The formula is, in fact, the glue of your video series. It gives you a way to hold on to viewers even if you run out of good variations for a single topic. This means that if you started as, say, a camping survival guide, you could transfer into segments on wilderness sports like rock climbing by merely introducing your viewers to it from one video to another.
The Right Formula
Strong video marketing skills rely on a combination of content, charisma, and responsiveness to your audience. Make sure to read the comments on your videos and invite viewers to leave feedback. Anytime you have anew idea for your series, just run it by your videographers and let the cameras roll.
For more information about video marketing or to schedule a consultation, contact us today!
13 Facts About Video Marketing You May Not Know
There’s an old but true axiom in the marketing world: consumers justify their purchases based on logic, but they buy based on emotion. Your neighbor will tell you he bought that shiny, new convertible in his driveway because it gets great gas mileage, or performed well in crash tests, or its great resale value. The truth is he probably bought it because it’s sexy and tells you he’s climbing up the social ladder.
Creating that emotional connection with customers sells your products and services. And the best medium to sell with emotion is video. Video brings your company to life and shows rather than tells customers who you are, what you value, and why you’re better than your competitors. Study after study shows that consumers prefer a compelling video about a product or service to a comparable print description.
How Do You Sell Wearable Cameras? Rescue a Kitten
GoPro sells wearable action cameras, high-definition gadgets for outdoor sports enthusiasts who want to capture their thrill of victory moments skiing, surfing, and skateboarding. In 2013, firefighter Cory Kalanick got the call to rescue an unconscious kitten in Fresno, California. He was wearing a GoPro camera. That video, heart-breaking and hopeful, made its way to YouTube where it caught the attention of 1.5 million viewers in its first few weeks. GoPro saw an opportunity, edited the raw footage, added its logo, and re-released the result (“Fireman Saves Kitten”) on its own YouTube channel. The video went viral, capturing 5 million views in its first week.
Founded in 2004, GoPro racked up $150,000 in sales in its first year. By 2013, annual sales had shot up to more than $985,000. In 2014, that number jumped to almost $1.4 million, taking the company to an IPO valuation just shy of $3 billion. It would be hard to argue that a kitten put GoPro on the map, but it sure didn’t hurt.
Video Sparks Emotion and Emotion Boosts Sales
GoPro isn’t alone in boosting sales and company image by tugging at the heartstrings. For example, Chipotle’s video (and mobile game), “The Scarecrow,” brought awareness to its sustainable farming campaign with images of animal confinement and toxic pesticides. More than 17 million consumers have viewed the video on YouTube.
And then there’s HelloFlo, which sells feminine hygiene products. The company scored big with a video using humor and heart, “The Camp Gyno,” featuring a young girl who gets her first “red badge of courage,” then helps other girls at summer camp. The video cost about $6,000 to shoot, got 6 million views in its first week and was named ad of the week by Adweek.
By the Numbers
The numbers tell the story: video marketing works because it’s what consumers want. Here are 13 facts about video marketing you may not have known:
- Four times as many consumers want to view a product video instead of reading about it
- Half of internet surfers want to see a product video before entering a store
- Consumers who see a video are about twice as likely to buy a product or use a service
- More than half of internet users watch videos all the way through
- Half of consumers say they want to see more company videos
- Companies which use video grow revenues twice as fast
- 52% of marketers say video content has the best return on investment
- Two of three consumers want videos of 60 seconds or less
- More than 100 billion people are active users of YouTube
- Half of all marketers plan to add YouTube to their marketing strategy in the next year
- Two of five marketers plan to add Facebook video in the next year
- Almost half of consumers watch an hour or more of Facebook and YouTube videos each week
- 80% of consumers say video demos help them make purchases
What now?
Video is an essential component of an integrated, inbound marketing strategy. To learn more about the ways you can generate leads and drive sales by engaging marketing content, contact us today.
What Should You Look For in a Digital Marketing Agency
You've tried juggling your marketing. Either you're doing what you do best—focusing on your core business needs—or you're losing hours on social media and trying to figure out why your website won't work right on mobile. Let's face it. You need a digital marketing agency.
A quick web search gives you plenty of company names. But how do you pick one? How do you differentiate between sizzle and substance? High bills and high conversion?
Here are a few things to look for when selecting the digital marketing agency that's right for you.
Social Media Experts
Content is king. You want a digital marketing agency that has tapped into where your audience gets their media. They should be able to formulate a strategy to put your company on the lips of your target audience. Engagement is key to social media. Will the agency craft a plan that tells your brand story in a way that relates to the audience? Look at how they handle their presence? Has their blog been updated recently? Marketing is ever-evolving. If there hasn't been a blog update in months or if their Twitter feed is empty, it's not the marketing company you should hire.
Adaptable and Innovative
You can't afford to be a step behind. You need to keep up with the competition, or better yet, stay a step ahead. Marketing is always changing. Radio was big. Television was huge. Now, social media is the current forefront of marketing, and the most consumed content is video. Social media platforms are adapting to the content their users want, and that means video. It will be the next cornerstone of inbound marketing.
Strong Inbound Marketing
Inbound marketing means motivated customers come to you and want you to market to them. Rather than inundating people with expensive hit-or-miss ads, you generate content and capture an audience. They follow you because you talk to them, you interest them, you engage them. This is less intrusive, often less expensive, and establishes more than leads; it creates repeat conversions.
Flexible and Scalable
Would you wear a one-size-fits-all suit to a meeting with your biggest client? What would you think if a vendor came to meet with you? When choosing a digital marketing agency, why would you choose one that wants to sell your company cookie-cutter solutions? Look for a digital marketing agency that will tailor their services to your business needs. They should respect your firm as the unique entity you've worked so hard to create.
Real Data Analytics
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Data tells you about your buyers and how they are interacting with your company. They can tell you how you're perceived, what campaigns are generating leads, and, more importantly, what strategies are converting leads. Without sufficient data, an agency is fumbling in the dark. Sure, they might have an occasional hit, but they won't know why or how to duplicate their former.
Take your time and evaluate your options. At HARNESS, we tailor our services towards your company's needs to give you the best results. Whether you need us to complement your existing traditional marketing efforts or we're your first foray into working with an agency, our focus is you.
Contact us to harness the power of inbound digital marketing.
5-Step Guide to Video Content Marketing
Video marketing is the newer, shinier version of content marketing. By developing a solid message with quality video to portray your message and share it with others, you're creating the most powerful marketing strategy. Follow this 5-step guide to video marketing to create a strategic inbound marketing methodology.
1. Know Yourself and Your Customers
What is it about your brand that sets you apart? Why is your brand valuable? Think about your ideal customer and then study that population. People are like schools of fish; similar ones swim together.
Seek out this information by conducting surveys, gathering data and organizing that data to make it applicable to your strategy. If you find out what makes the customers tick, you can use that information to draw more people in. A strong message backed by attention to customer service is what improves your brand image and increases leads/sales.
2. Care About It
Why did women in the 1950s need to have those Tupperware containers? It was because Tupperware knew how to create messaging that appealed to women at that time—freedom and family. Owning a set of Tupperware showed women how they can have financial freedom while still espousing the happy American family way of life.
If you don't care about your message, nobody else will. What is it about your story that would make others care about it? How can you make your customers valued?
3. Know your Competition
It is most likely you're not the only one in your specific market. That is why it is essential to know your competition. If you have already video marketing content, review the material and identify if it addresses trends. Sift through your content and highlight areas that need to be changed or cut. Try finding weak parts could be improved.
Compare your history with the history of others within the same market. What are their gaps? Look at what all the other people are doing, brainstorm how it could be better and go for it.
4. Position Yourself Accordingly
Be reasonable with where you are in the market. Have you been in the industry for one year or fifty years? How long has your competition been providing the same products/services?
After doing all the research, plot out your growth. Where have were you years ago? Where are you now? Where do you desire to go?
Those three questions stated above, along with the information you gathered in steps 1-3 will lay the blueprint for your successful outcome.
5. Create
After you've done all the steps, you can now create a video marketing strategy that will take people's unfamiliarity of your brand to interest to emotional investment.
You lead people through this journey in one short film. Make sure your material addresses everything you learned in your research.
Set the goal to create video content that will stick. Think about the videos that have stuck with you, what was it about those videos that attracted you? There is a lot of factors involved but knowing your audience will make these easy to identify.
If implementing a video marketing strategy seems like a daunting task, contact us for help. All of your research is only worth it if you're able to produce a robust piece and execute your marketing strategy.
Top 6 Reasons Why Video Marketing is Highly Effective
It’s projected that global internet traffic from videos will make up a whopping 80% of all Internet traffic by 2019. Additionally, 78% of people watch videos online every week while 55% do daily (Source: Hubspot). These numbers illustrate the growing trend of video and the importance of leveraging video marketing in your business strategy.
You see, if you don't currently have a video marketing strategy in motion for your website and social media, you're missing a grand opportunity to reach and engage with your audience. Videos are incredibly effective in capturing attention, maintaining engagement, building relationships and getting viewers to take action. These are key metrics to any working digital marketing plan.
In fact, here are the top six reasons why video marketing is so effective and the significance of honing this strategy in your inbound marketing.
#1 Consumers Vote Video over Text
Did you know that four times as many consumers actually prefer to watch a video about a product versus reading about it? Videos allow prospects to see your product in action, getting a full grasp on how it works, the features and its benefits. They’re able to digest the information easier and faster when it’s demonstrated through video.
Your customers are better positioned to make an informed decision quickly by watching your video than reading a blog article or social media post. Therefore, give the people what they want by implementing more product how-to and demonstration videos in your content marketing strategy.
#2 Moves Viewers to Action
After watching a video, 64% of users are more likely to buy a product online. When optimized for conversions, videos are extremely compelling in moving viewers to follow directions and take action quickly. You can bolster your lead generation and sales tremendously by giving a clear call-to-action in your videos that direct your audience to the proper link.
#3 Increases Brand Awareness
Video marketing is also effective in creating more awareness about your brand. From telling your story, sharing customer testimonials, to answering common questions relevant to your industry, your video strategy is the ideal tactic to increasing exposure and expanding your reach online.
With YouTube being the second largest search engine, building your channel with valuable video content is huge towards growing your presence, boosting visibility and getting in front of your target audience.
#4 Live-Streaming Videos Generate Tons of Engagement
People are spending three times longer watching live video on social media versus those that have been prerecorded. Live-streaming apps like Facebook Live, Instagram Stories and Periscope are generating crazy engagement on social media…and brands and are taking full advantage.
The beauty of live streaming is that it allows your followers to join you in real time. You’ll quickly build the know, like and trust factor with your audience with these “in the moment” experiences. Whether you’re hosting a live Q&A session, taking your followers behind-the-scenes to an event, or reporting breaking news, live streaming is an excellent way to keep your social audience in the know and connected to your brand.
#5 Highlights Your Brand’s Personality and Culture
Videos have an amazing way of drawing your audience into your brand’s culture, giving them a taste of your personality and passion for what you do. It further humanizes your brand, making you relatable and reachable. People are craving authenticity and transparency…your video strategy allows you to do both which significantly builds trust with your viewers.
#6 Positions You as an Expert
At the heart of inbound marketing likes sharing valuable content that solves problems, educates and inspires your intended audience. As a result, you will bolster your thought-leadership and position your brand as an authority in your industry. Your video marketing strategy serves as the perfect platform for showcasing your expertise, giving solid advice and tips, and addressing common issues that concern your audience. It’s the best way to building credibility fast in your niche.
Conclusion
Video marketing is highly effective in boosting brand awareness, generating leads, increasing sales, and connecting with your audience. With more consumers leveraging video, it’s crucial to begin implementing a video marketing strategy to get in front of your audience. Doing so will yield positive returns for your business.
Much success.
Ready to use video to drive sales? Reach out to us here and discover how we can help you create a solid plan that gets your videos in front of your audience.
13 Facts About Video Marketing You May Not Have Known
There’s an old but true axiom in the marketing world: consumers justify their purchases based on logic, but they buy based on emotion. Your neighbor will tell you he bought that shiny, new convertible in his driveway because it gets great gas mileage, or performed well in crash tests, or its great resale value. The truth is he probably bought it because it’s sexy and tells you he’s climbing up the social ladder.
Creating that emotional connection with customers sells your products and services. And the best medium to sell with emotion is video. Video brings your company to life and shows rather than tells customers who you are, what you value, and why you’re better than your competitors. Study after study shows that consumers prefer a compelling video about a product or service to a comparable print description.
Question: How Do You Sell Wearable Cameras?
Answer: Rescue a Kitten
GoPro sells wearable action cameras, high-definition gadgets for outdoor sports enthusiasts who want to capture their personal thrill of victory moments skiing, surfing, and skateboarding. In 2013, firefighter Cory Kalanick got the call to rescue an unconscious kitten in Fresno, California. He was wearing a GoPro camera. That video, heart-breaking and hopeful, made its way to YouTube where it caught the attention of 1.5 million viewers in its first few weeks. GoPro saw an opportunity, edited the raw footage, added its logo, and re-released the result (“Fireman Saves Kitten”) on its own YouTube channel. The video went viral, capturing 5 million views in its first week.
Founded in 2004, GoPro racked up $150,000 in sales in its first year. By 2013, annual sales had shot up to more than $985,000. In 2014, that number jumped to almost $1.4 million, taking the company to an IPO valuation just shy of $3 billion. It would be hard to argue that a kitten put GoPro on the map, but it sure didn’t hurt.
Video Sparks Emotion and Emotion Boosts Sales
GoPro isn’t alone in boosting sales and company image by tugging at the heartstrings. For example, Chipotle’s video (and mobile game), “The Scarecrow,” brought awareness to its sustainable farming campaign with images of animal confinement and toxic pesticides. More than 17 million consumers have viewed the video on YouTube.
And then there’s HelloFlo, which sells feminine hygiene products. The company scored big with a video using humor and heart, “The Camp Gyno,” featuring a young girl who gets her first “red badge of courage,” then helps other girls at summer camp. The video cost about $6,000 to shoot, got 6 million views in its first week and was named ad of the week by Adweek.
By the Numbers
The numbers tell the story: video marketing works because it’s what consumers want. Here are 13 facts about video marketing you may not have known:
- Four times as many consumers want to view a product video instead of reading about it
- Half of internet surfers want to see a product video before entering a store
- Consumers who see a video are about twice as likely to buy a product or use a service
- More than half of internet users watch videos all the way through
- Half of the consumers say they want to see more company videos
- Companies which use video grow revenues twice as fast
- 52% of marketers say video content has the best return on investment
- Two of three consumers want videos of 60 seconds or less
- More than 100 billion people are active users of YouTube
- Half of all marketers plan to add YouTube to their marketing strategy in the next year
- Two of five marketers plan to add Facebook video in the next year
- Almost half of consumers watch an hour or more of Facebook and YouTube videos each week
- 80% of consumers say video demos help them make purchases
Conclusion
The video is an essential component of an integrated, inbound marketing strategy. To learn more about the ways you can generate leads and drive sales with engaging marketing content, contact us today.
References:
GoPro
YouTube: Fireman Saves Kitten
Statistics Brain: GoPro Camera Company Statistics
YouTube: The Scarecrow
YouTube: The Camp Gyno
Hubspot: The Ultimate List of Marketing Statistics
How to Use Video to Better Your Social Media Marketing
Engaging videos are highly sought after on social media. Viewers share, engage, and discuss videos that speak to them. So, give the people what they want - more video! Here are five different ways to incorporate video into your social media marketing and create better experiences for your followers.
According to Social Media Today, video posts on Facebook have 135% greater organic reach than photo posts. Videos yield crazy engagement on social platforms… and there’s no slowing down. People are consuming videos from their mobile devices at rapidly increasing rates. It is key you position your brand to capitalize on this movement.
Adding video to your social media marketing offers huge benefits such as increased brand exposure, better follower engagement, and more opportunities to drive traffic to your webpages.
Your audience will appreciate the variety you bring to their newsfeeds while giving an alternate approach to engaging in your content.
Five Ways to Create Video That Engages Consumers on Social Media
1. Your Story is Important…Share it!
Storytelling is a time-tested tactic that works great at pulling your audience into your brand message. People connect with you through your story. It helps you establish common ground with your followers, making you relatable and real. Stories also separate you from other brands which give you that competitive edge in the industry.
Humanize your brand by communicating its story on video. Delve into the “why.” Who do you desire to inspire and what problems are you solving through your products? What charitable contributions do you make to your community? Share what motivates your team to get up and go every morning. Sharing your story will add greater meaning and purpose when people do business with you.
2. Offer Short Instructional Videos for Your Followers
An excellent move to promote your brand with social video is to create short, instructional videos demonstrating how your products can be used to solve a problem for the viewer. How-to videos are extremely effective because you’re showing people how to achieve a specific result. As a result, you’ll keep viewers engaged while strategically placing your brand in front of your social following.
Reduce your video to the most basic steps of the process then speed up your video in production (editing), so it only lasts for about 30 seconds. These social video snippet can be product-related or simply something relevant to your niche. The beauty is they quickly solve a pain point for users.
3. Answer Your Viewers' Questions
Consider the FAQs that often hit your inboxes or are typically prompted by your prospects. These are excellent content pieces for your blog, email campaign, social media posts, and of course, videos. You see, you’re giving the people exactly what they want because these inquiries derived from your audience. By addressing their questions, you’ll boost thought-leadership and be viewed as an expert in the industry. Plus, it gives you endless content to share across your marketing platforms.
Enhance your credibility by posting videos that highlight one question then offers an in-depth response.
Since many social users are leveraging search as a way to connect and discover new brands, be sure to include keywords or hashtags that your audience is actively searching for. Hashtags reign on networks like Instagram and Twitter, but keywords perform better on Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest.
4. Go Live!
Live-streaming platforms such as Facebook Live, Periscope, and Instagram Stories are driving tons of engagement on social media. There’s something special about connecting with someone in real-time. People get to see and experience the real you! Live videos quickly build trust and can accelerate your brand’s presence fast on social media.
Use these tools to your full advantage. Invite followers into your world by taking them behind-the-scenes at the office, in the field, or company event to share a taste of your brand’s culture. Host live Q&A sessions where you give your audience a chance to ask you anything industry or product related to getting on-the-spot responses. Report breaking news and share your insight and opinion. This gives your followers a chance to do the same to foster conversations.
Commit to making live-streaming a regular content strategy in your social media marketing. With consistency, you’ll experience a significant boost in engagement and followership.
5. Highlight Fan or Influencer Content
Did you know that 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation? Positive testimonials and reviews are killer ways to foster trust with your audience especially those who haven’t heard of you before. Prospects want to see if your products or services actually bring results. Sharing others' experiences with your brand is a great way to show it! Content featuring influencers and brand ambassadors has a similar effect.
With that said, use your fan’s content as a form of an online review. User-generated content can be creatively compiled into one video as a promotional tool or multiple videos to build up your content vault. Give influencers credit by mentioning them in the post. Growing this strategy can prove to be a valuable tactic in your inbound marketing as you highlight your customers and give social proof that you’re making a difference.
Ready to amplify your social media marketing with video? We know how to create compelling video marketing campaigns that humanize your brand and gives you the slight edge. Reach out to us today and let’s chat!
Why Social Video Is More Important Than TV To Generation Z?
Generation Z uses social video as not only a way to pass time but a way to stay connected to family and friends. By understanding this, you may better understand why social video is such a vital part of your video marketing campaign, and whether or not your audience will react well to social video.
Who’s watching social videos?
According to a study done by Defy, 13-24-year-olds were watching YouTube more than TV. These people were able to identify better with YouTube stars than celebrities on television. Video is now actually going beyond entertainment. Instead, it is educating today’s young adults, acting as a stress reliever, and keeps young people connected with their peers. Interestingly, 85% of young adults watch video via YouTube.
Young people and video consumption
Think of your video marketing campaign along with the videos you plan to produce and read these facts about how much video young people consume. Ask yourself if you’re putting out enough video and it you’re using the right platforms:
- The average young person consumes 12.1 hours of free digital video per week.
- Many young people consume an additional 8.8 hours of subscription digital video.
- Young people watch about 8.2 hours of television per week. However, there are fewer 13-24-year-olds watching TV compared to digital video.
Considering how young people are watching videos, this validates that a video marketing campaign is an excellent way to get your brand’s message out, especially to Generation Z.
The videos that Generation Z is watching excludes any video made by family or friends. This is because Generation Z is watching digital stars or people they don’t necessarily know personally.
Are you utilizing social video to the best of your ability?
Create social videos that become a reliable source for Generation Z. The philosophy behind this is that young people look up to digital celebrities and understand how advertising can help their content. If you can make your content appealing and trustworthy to youth, then you can get a loyal “fanbase” or audience.
About 62% of youth can’t live without YouTube, 52% can’t live without Netflix, and 48% can’t live without social media. Consider these platforms and how effective they can be in your video marketing campaign in reaching out to both Generation Z and other generations.
Read more about YouTube and how it will help you in your video marketing campaign in our book, “The Video Marketing Roadmap.”
Should You Post Video on Social Media?
As we have mentioned in the past, by 2020 around 80% of Internet traffic will consist of video views. So, when this question arises, it is a little surprising. Wistia broke this query down very nicely with a graphic:
WISTIA
Wistia, in their usual awesome way, goes on to explain that even small businesses with a single (or no) marketing team should be thinking about social video. They discuss which channels work best for a given situation. We usually recommend to our clients that they use an omnichannel approach to video marketing. Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, Linkedin, Snapchat (sometimes, depending on the brand), and Wistia for hosting videos on the client's site.
Why Wistia? The answer is relatively straightforward: Wistia is a subscription platform that doesn't rely on ad revenue as its business model. So what does that matter? Well consider that Youtube is interested in serving you ads and keeping you on Youtube. That is how they make money. That's why they continue to suggest additional videos to you, so you keep watching cat videos for as long as possible. The longer you stay, the more ads they can serve.
YOUTUBE
However, Youtube has its place in your video marketing mix. Consider Youtube as a top-of-the-funnel channel. You can utilize it for educating your market and reaching new viewers. By answering questions that your future customers are asking through educational and entertaining video, you are likely to gain trust while building authority in their perception of your brand. You then have an opportunity to drive that viewer to your site and continue the relationship through lead generation tools.
Facebook is similar in being ad supported. Facebook has become the ever-present social network in most of our lives. Video views make up more than half of Facebook use, so it is a no-brainer to publish your videos there. Similar to Youtube, you may consider Facebook a top-of-the-funnel channel. However, Facebook is unique in that once you gain a follower, you can continue to nurture that relationship through social interaction. So the social network can work throughout the sales funnel, but you should always focus on driving traffic to your site. Your goal is to own the interactions and move prospects through your funnel with videos that target viewers at each stage of their buyer's journey.
If you have questions about how to use video at each stage of your sales process, please drop us a line. We are happy to help!