Social media platforms have revolutionized the way we consume and interact with content. Specifically, social media videos have emerged as a dominant force in the digital landscape. Videos have proven to be more engaging, memorable, and effective in conveying messages than other content formats. With the rise of video marketing on social media platforms, businesses, and individuals are exploring innovative ways to create engaging video content.
The Rise of Social Media Video
Across all major social media platforms, videos have become the most popular content. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn are amongst the most popular social media platforms that have all incorporated video features into their apps. In total, 85% of internet users in the US watch online videos; over 500 million hours of videos are watched on YouTube every day.
In 2019, TikTok was the third-most downloaded app globally, and the platform’s success led to Instagram and Snapchat launching their own short-form video features. The platforms invested in hyper-focused content, with consumers reporting short-form as the most engaging type of content in 2022 — up 50% year-over-year since 2020.
The rise of social media videos can be attributed to several factors. Primarily, the increase in internet and smartphone usage has made it easier for people to consume and share videos across multi-platforms. As a result, sharing generates 1,200% more shares than text and image content combined. Additionally, the short attention span of social media users has made videos more appealing than other types of content — specifically, in the short form. Overall, videos are more engaging and shareable than text-based content, making them more likely to go viral.
Tips for Creating Engaging Social Media Videos
Creating engaging social media videos requires creativity, authenticity, and attention to detail. Here are some tips to help you create effective social media videos that resonate with your audience:
Define Your Goals and Target Audience
Before creating any video content, ask yourself the following questions: What do you want to achieve with your video? Who is your target audience? Defining these parameters will help you create content that is relevant, relatable, and engaging.
Keep it Short. Keep it Simple.
In total, marketers have eight seconds to capture their audience’s attention. This is the length of the average attention span. In other words, keep your videos short and sweet. This will ensure that your audience watches the entire video and doesn’t lose interest.
Share What You Want People To Know
There’s an array of different channels that require valuable, entertaining, and eye-popping content. Just remember: 94% share or reshare video on social media. So it’s filling a need.
Tell a Story
Ultimately, social media marketing is about storytelling. What story are you going to tell that resonates with your audience? Using storytelling techniques conveys your message in a way that is both memorable and authentic. Connecting with the audience assuages their need; establishing a beginning, middle, and end will create an emotional consumer with prospects.
Use High-Quality Visuals and Audio
Social media videos should be visually appealing and have high-quality audio. Use a good camera, lighting, and editing software to create videos that look professional and polished. Make sure the content is mobile-friendly; more than 90% of Facebook’s daily users access the platform via mobile devices.
Use Call-to-Actions (CTAs)
Every social media video should have a call-to-action (CTA) that encourages the audience to take make their way through the purchasing funnel. This could ask them to like, share, comment, or subscribe to your channel. CTAs help you build a relationship with your audience and increase engagement.
Use Closed Captions
Closed captions are essential for social media videos, especially for platforms like Facebook and Instagram, where videos play automatically without sound. Closed captions ensure that your videos are accessible to all audiences, including those who are hearing-impaired or watch videos muted. Captioned video ads also increase video view time by an average of 12%.
Experiment with Different Formats
Social media platforms offer a variety of video formats, including vertical, square, and horizontal videos. Experiment with different formats to see which one works best for your content and audience. Keep in mind optimization, but more on that in a second.
Post Consistently
In order to keep the audience’s short attention span engaged, you should post video content consistently. Content calendars are a convenient way to plan and schedule publications ahead of time, as are software companies that extract analytics from social media publishing.
Optimize Your Videos for Each Platform
Each social media platform has different video requirements, so it’s essential to optimize your videos appropriately. For example, Instagram requires vertical videos, while YouTube requires a horizontal format. Optimizing your video avoids images that are blurry, warped, or lag.
Differentiate Between Collaborators
User-made video content can be created in three separate ways. First, there are nearly two million professional content creators in our country. Most content creators collaborate with marketers ahead of time to plan their content creation strategy up to two months in advance.
Roughly half of the influencers are micro-influencers with up to 20,000 followers. In addition, influencers are big with Generation Z and Generation Alpha, with an estimated 70% trusting them. Finally, UGC is trusted 50% more than information from other media sources; 86% of businesses incorporate UGC in their marketing strategy.