Did you know that one-third of online activity is spent watching videos? Additionally, 51% of marketing professionals consider video as the type of content with the best ROI. So, how can your brand capitalize on the popularity of videos on social media? By incorporating high-quality, engaging videos into your digital strategy. In this guide, we’ll go over the different types of social media videos and how you can leverage video marketing to spread awareness about your specially-crafted beverages.
1. Types of Social Videos
Listed below are the different types of social media videos and the benefits of each.
Facebook and Instagram Videos
When it comes to social media, video generates 1200% more shares than text and images combined. That doesn’t mean you need to completely throw out all content that doesn’t have a video. It just means that to increase engagement, you may want to integrate more video usage into your social media strategy. Plus, with the large changes Facebook will be making to its algorithm, video offers a great solution to organically keeping engagement high and your audience aware.
Live Videos for Facebook and Instagram
One of the great things about the adult beverage industry is that there’s always something going on! Whether it’s a festival, holiday, behind-the-scenes or just a lively weekend, live videos are a great way to engage your audience. During a live video, viewers can ask questions and comment in real-time, building more awareness and understanding of your brand and products. Helpful hint: when planning your content strategy for Facebook or Instagram, consider the statistics that 80% would rather watch live video from a brand than read a blog and 82% prefer live video from a brand to social posts.
Facebook and Instagram Stories
Facebook and Instagram Stories are both new features that have taken off over the last few years. These temporary stories that work much like Snapchat are placed at the top of a user’s Instagram and Facebook feed. Stories are great for offering exclusive content, showing behind-the-scenes, showcasing your products, or creating overall brand awareness. Because Instagram doesn’t have a chronological feed anymore, many Instagram posts never get seen. However, with Instagram Stories, your brand has a better chance of getting its content out there and seen by your audience. Additionally, Instagram has introduced Instagram Story ads, that appear between user stories. They can be images or videos and can include a CTA to “swipe up,” taking the user to a landing page or a page on your website. Instagram Story ads can be created and launched through Facebook Ads Manager.
Snapchat Stories and Ads
Using Snapchat stories and ads is another tactic not often recommended for local brands because of the price of advertising. However, Facebook and Instagram were once the same way when they were new. It’s still important to know that the option to advertise on Snapchat is available, in case advertising prices drop in the future. Currently, Snapchat is used by large brands and popular publishers like BuzzFeed and People Magazine to publish videos or ads that are highly engaging and encourage click-through’s to a blog or website page. Snapchat ads are also used by large, national brands to generate awareness among a specific target audience, much like Facebook and Instagram.
2. Social Video Best Practices
Want to create engaging, effective social media videos for your brand? Keep these tips in mind.
Think “No Sound” First
So many people watch videos with no sound because they are in a public place or scrolling through social media while doing other things – like watching TV. Plus, Facebook and Instagram’s default settings have videos play with no sound automatically. Make sure your video message has subtitles or makes sense without sound.
If Using Instagram Stories
Add hashtags, tag accounts or use the “Swipe Up” feature to add links for more ROI. You can add a website link to your Instagram story to take interested viewers to a place to find more information. Not only do Instagram stories generate awareness, they can be another opportunity to gain website traffic or inspire conversions – AKA more foot traffic or purchases (or both).
Make Sure Your Video Is The Right Size
When creating your video for social media, size matters. An Instagram or Facebook story video will be vertical, like the shape of an iPhone. An in-feed Instagram video should be a square, while a Facebook video does best if it is horizontal. Each platform has a specific size that is optimal for success!
Be Aware Of The Time Limit
Just because it’s a video doesn’t mean it will perform well on social media. Time is a very important factor when it comes to video success. For example, Facebook videos should not run longer than two minutes. Engagement tends to fall off after the two-minute mark. For Instagram, the time limit is even shorter. Keep Instagram videos to under one minute at the most! Ideally, your video would be between 15 and 30 seconds for Instagram.
Make The First Three Seconds Count
Facebook’s Autoplay will count the first 3 seconds as a “view” in your metrics. So, how can you ensure that your audience is watching your video and actually understanding the message? By making the first three seconds of your video really grab their attention. You can do this through the imagery itself, or use words to draw them in.
3. The ROI Of Social Videos
To wrap up regarding the importance of social media videos, here are some ways that videos can benefit your brand:
• Spread awareness about your brand and products.
• Boost reach and engagement on Facebook or Instagram.
• Save money in your advertising budget with a lower cost-per-conversion than image ads.
Interested in adding compelling videos to your social media strategy? Wier & Bein can help you create visually-engaging video content that fits in seamlessly with your strategy. Let’s grab a drink.
