Why you need to give video a starring role on your social media channels
We all know how important social media is today to the success of your brand. It is an essential and powerful component of customer engagement for just about any business. And yet many businesses take a damaging shortcut that undermines their presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram -- they skip creating, curating and posting videos.
Videos represent the most appealing and advanced medium available for you to show off your business on social media. So why not use it? You wouldn’t air a TV commercial that is just made up of audio and photos. According to a Social Media Week survey, 55% of respondents reported watching online videos every day, while Limelight reports that online video consumption is increasing across all age groups, with the largest increases seen in people over 46 years old.
That’s a massive opportunity that you don’t want to waste. Here’s why making videos a key part of a complete multimedia social media package can prove so valuable.
Engagement
Video is naturally more engaging than a photo -- and especially more than posts that are solely text. Native videos posted to almost all social channels begin to play automatically. This gives your brand the ability to capture eyeballs with dynamic creative that hooks viewers immediately. Customers keep their eyes on videos longer than photos and text and therefore retain more information about your brand. Unsurprisingly, customers are more likely to subsequently engage with the post and your brand.
The numbers say…
Tweets with video attract ten times more engagements than Tweets without video, according to Twitter, and Facebook video posts attract 44% higher engagement on average than standard posts on the site, according to HootSuite.
Demonstrating your products and services
Video can offer the most effective and compelling format for showing your services and products to online audiences. Savvy businesses use social media videos to demonstrate their core competencies and capabilities, giving concrete proof of their value to customers. You can explain with text how your product or service will benefit consumers -- or you can show them with a video that will make your offerings come alive to them.
The numbers say...
According to Wyzowl, 84% of people say that they’ve been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video, and 69% say they most prefer to learn about a new product or service by watching a short video.
Telling your story and selling your expertise
There is no better way to convey your unique culture than through video. Videos are the ultimate visual proof of who you are as a business and provide you the opportunity to show yourself off with video and audio elements that literally will speak to your audience. Creating videos that showcase your people discussing topics tied to your business and industry helps confirm them as subject matter experts in your field in the eyes of customers. It also puts a welcoming face and voice on your business, encouraging consumers that your business is one they can trust.
The numbers say...
Viewers claim they retain 95% of a message when they experience it via video, according to Social Media Week. Meanwhile, 74% of marketers say video has a better return on investment than photos, according to Financial News Media.
Quality counts
Of course, bolstering your social media presence with video is not as simple as shooting some footage on your phone and uploading it to Facebook. The creative approach to your videos need a strategic foundation, and videos need to reflect your brand in the best light possible. That means paying attention to audio, video, lighting, editing and presentation quality. A poor quality video with a shaky performance from one of your experts on camera can do more harm than good to your brand.
Watch your back…end
In addition, posting a video is not like flipping a light switch. Several back-end levers need to be pulled behind the scenes that are unique to each social media channel to ensure the best video and audio quality and to help get your post to the audience you hope to reach. Failing to focus on the details can make the entire process a waste of time.
Fortunately, Fryed Egg is here to help.
Fryed Egg can work with your business on a comprehensive social media strategy that incorporates a range of elements and captures your prospective customers’ attention. In addition, we work closely with clients on video production to generate the kind of polished, compelling content that will highlight your brand and keep social media users from scrolling past you. If you want to learn more about how Fryed Egg can help make your business a star on social media, contact us at (813) 478-0494 or [email protected] or visit www.fryedegg.com.