Creating videos for social media isn’t as easy you may think. After all, you have to think about your audience, the length, and style of your videos and even whether or not they actually reflect your brand. You also have to think about how long people will really watch and it whether or not people will want to share it. If you’re not careful all of this can quickly become overwhelming. However, incorporating videos into your marketing strategy can expand your reach and gain you many more clients. You want to avoid the frustration that can come with making videos and at the same time stand out and get noticed. Here are few tips to get you headed in the right direction.
Focus on Stories
If you want people to watch your videos you need to create value. If your video is all about focusing on sales your content will most likely be ignored. The best videos tell stories that connect with the audience. The better you are at telling stories, the more your viewers are going to connect with your brand. If you aren’t quite sure which stories you should be telling, consider looking into the themes of history, nostalgia, and humor. Your stores should also appeal to the emotions of your viewers.
Don’t talk longer then you need to. You don’t want to drag things out or add fillers to make the video longer. Sometimes short videos are better for those who are watching on social media. It’s better to have 10 people watch your video all the way through than to have 100 who are only watching the first minute.
It’s All About the First Few Seconds
Attention spans in this day and age are short, to say the least. The average human attention span is only around 9 seconds. That’s it, 9 seconds. You want to capture the attention of your audience in the first few seconds so they will continue watching. You should tell your viewers what your video is about early-on so they can feel confident knowing what they are about to watch is worth their time. One of the best ways for you to do this would be for you to start out with a hook. This is the best way for you to give your audience a quick preview of what is to come. A great example is how video at Digital Dealer is used by SnapCell in the automotive industry.
Interesting Thumbnail
If you look on Facebook or even YouTube you’ll see they both give you the chance to choose a thumbnail to go along with your video. This will help you to get your audience excited about what you have to show them before they even click play. It’s a fantastic way for you to make a good first impression. When choosing your thumbnail, make sure to avoid using ones that are blurry or hard for viewers to understand what’s in the picture. Your thumbnail should automatically suggest your video is high quality, so choosing the right frame is very important.
Target the Right Audience
Facebook is great when it comes to content distribution. One of the main features that help Facebook to stand out when compared to everything else is the fact that you can take advantage of in-depth targeting. You can select the audiences you want to see your content and you can also pay to get additional reach.
When you look into the people who you want to target, it’s important to think about their age, gender, language, location and profession. Remember when you set these categories, you will only be appealing to these specific people. In other words, if you set your post to target 18-year-olds, you won’t be targeting a single person over this age, even if it’s only by a day. When sharing your video content, try your best to narrow down your audience to reach the clients you are looking for.
Target by Interest
If you don’t want to target a specific age-range or if your video is geared to a huge range of people across the world you can easily target by interest. You can choose up to 16 interests per post and this is a great way for you to broaden your reach. Don’t be discouraged if you’re not sure how to target using Facebook or if you just find the whole thing far too confusing. There are so many helpful posts out there designed to help you to understand the whole process. Do a quick search on the internet and you’ll be able to find instruction and strategies to take advantage of this resource.
Use Color
The more boring your thumbnail looks, the fewer people will click it. You could have a great action shot as your thumbnail, but if it doesn’t jump out of the page there’s a high chance that people won’t even notice it. If you want to get around this consider starting with your thumbnail, and then edit it. You could add some brightly colored text, some emojis or even emphasize certain features of it. When you do this, you make it look fun and exciting without compromising the message you are trying to send.
Tell Me More…
Usually, you can include a paragraph or two that describes your video. This is really your chance to explain what your video is all about. You want to provide just enough information so they will watch the video to learn more. When writing your message, don’t write unnecessary comments. Make sure every word relates to your video.
Don’t go off on a tangent or use this opportunity to market yourself. Keep it centered on your content and use a remember to use a hook to encourage people to click. If you’re stuck as to what to write, just think about your message in the video. For example, if your video is about navy seal survival tips and how they relate to business ownership, you can write something along the lines of: “How many of these survival tips have you heard of in business before? Navy Seals have used them to survive and so can you!” This will not only encourage people to click, but it also encourages conversation through comments as well.
Video is a great way to share information with your existing and potential customers. It definitely can help you can stand out above the crowd. Think about what you want to say, grab your cell phone to record it and capture them with your hook in the first few seconds. When you are done, use these tips for posting the videos and people will be paying attention in no time! Here’s to YOUR success…
Carolyn R. Owens has over 25 years of proven experience and serves as a Career Strategist, Executive and Leadership Coach. She is the President of Infinity Coaching, Inc. where she can help you up-level your skills, so you can up-level your income, career, business or life. Infinity Coaching, Inc. provides coaching, organizational training, personality assessments, and a signature program, the Infinity Coaching Inner Circle. Carolyn is certified to give both The Energy Leadership Index Assessment and Myers Briggs Type Indicator Assessment. You can find out more about both assessments and other products and services at https://infinitycoaching.net.
