When it comes to talking social video, the buzzword on
most people’s lips is usually ‘viral.’ But viral and social video are
two different breeds and naturally, so are viral and social marketing.
While a viral approach is about making a quick hit with content
designed to become hugely popular over a short period, social video is
about building an audience and establishing trust with that audience via
word-of-mouth recommendations.
But whatever scale your video operates at, social video is ripe
with opportunities for a brand or publisher to deepen engagement, boost
loyalty and grow awareness.
Video, through
its capacity for storytelling and triggering an emotional response – is
inherently social, and so lends itself to online conversations.
With
13 minutes of every hour online spent on social networking, any brand or publisher looking to create maximum impact with their video must have a strategy for social.
What makes some videos more ‘shareable’ than others?
-
Keep it punchy: long-form content is not the stuff of social sharing; aim to keep your video to under three minutes.
-
Make it easy to share: Enabling social sharing buttons in the video player for viewers to start sharing your video.
-
Remind viewers to share: Promote sharing at video completion and embed clickable calls to action that draw engaged viewers back to your site.
-
Use the right technology. Don’t underestimate the importance of the technology powering your video in the background. Brands
should use an online video management solution that directly integrates
with social media platforms and provides analytics for reviewing the
performance of video, to see what works best for your brand and
audience; a strategy that works for one organization may not work for
another.
-
Use your metadata. Having complete titles, descriptions and tags will make it easier for your videos to be found in the first place.
Spotlight on Facebook
While a marketing approach focused on viral video can
create an instant internet hit (think ‘Old Spice’), a successful social
video strategy should use social media to extend, enhance and amplify a
brand’s online video content.
With advertising and marketing budgets shifting, brands are
increasingly dedicating resources to content production, becoming
publishers in their own right, so it only makes sense to
push those marketing messages to the places where consumers are spending the bulk of their time online (social).
What’s more, videos shared through social media outlets perform very
well compared to their static counterparts – particularly in terms of
engagement rates.
Users who stumble across videos in their Facebook feeds have a great
incentive to hit ‘play;’ a friend taking the time to share a video would
suggest that watching the clip is worth your time.
Coming from a friend, the recommendation adds gravitas to the content and the motivation to watch it.
For brands, in-stream playback is also very important. It allows
viewers to watch content without navigating away from their main
browsing activity, something which is also incredibly important for
media companies that monetise their online content with ads.
Some videos embedded in the Facebook feed have the functionality that
allows you to include whatever ads you have scheduled as they would
appear on your own site, so you can make every impression count.
Link, link, share, tweet
Video continues to be one of the most popular and fastest-growing
content types shared across the web today. With sites such as Facebook
now providing prime viewing environments, and representing a major
source of content discovery, social media and video make a powerful
combination.
Used effectively, video is the perfect vehicle
for raising awareness and engagement with audiences in the ever-maturing
realm of social networking.
-eConsultancy
Take your video marketing to the next level.
Call Jeff at 888-712-8211 today!
VMakers - Video made easy.
Trusted by Disney, Warner Bros, NBC, Paramount, CBS and ABC.info@VMakers.com
