5 Ways to Refresh Your Social Media Video Strategy
By: Trevor Rappleye, CEO and founder of Corporate Filming
March 11, 2020
There’s no question that video ads are as relevant as ever for reaching audiences on social media. As Social Shake-Up 2020 host Brian Fanzo, CEO of iSocialFanz puts it, “2018 was the Year of Video. 2019 was the Year of Video. 2020 is the Year of Video, and 2021 will be the Year of Video too.”
Given the vast number of brands that have plugged social video into their marketing mix, marketers will need to keep stepping up their approach to video ads in order to stand out. Here are five tips for stronger video marketing in 2020 and beyond:
Give users their video fix. Given the continued fracturing of audience attention, it’s essential to capitalize on those brief moments when people look at their phones out of habit—elevator rides, television ad breaks or boredom during their workday. Thankfully, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook (and soon, Twitter) all have a Story-like feature for 15-second, bite-sized content. By posting on Snapchat, Instagram Stories, Facebook Moments or TikTok, you can advertise to your audience while they’re getting their social media quick-fix.
Be aware of individual platforms’ archiving features and video quality. While both Facebook and Twitter allow for easy video posting, it can be challenging to locate and reuse an older video with evergreen potential. Twitter often downscales the quality of your video, potentially presenting your HD masterpiece at a measly 480p. One workaround is cross-posting or embedding YouTube or Vimeo videos (even despite platforms’ de-prioritization of video from other social apps). This can help you avoid archiving issues as well as low-quality video. If you do want to take advantage of platforms’ native video features, create a unique hashtag to help make finding a specific ad or collection of ads easier down the line.
Cross-promote other channels at the end of your videos. If you’re looking to grow audiences across multiple platforms, be sure to share your account name/handle for each channel at the end of each video. While you might never be able to fully gauge the crossover between your YouTube audience and your Instagram audience, sharing profile tags and account names at the end of your video ads will make it easier for loyal followers to seek you out—especially as they transition to newer platforms (e.g., TikTok).
Remember you’re a storyteller, not a salesperson. Social media users will continue to experience ad fatigue in the 2020’s, swiping or scrolling through any video content that doesn’t immediately draw them in. The solution lies in that tried and true marketing method: the art of storytelling. Avoid sales pitches in advertisements. Telling a story with video grabs and keeps interest much longer, but the true craft is in drawing people into a story that doesn’t look like an ad at all. Establish the brand’s mission, perhaps showcasing the people that work hard to make your company a success; you’ll make your brand more approachable, increase awareness and (ultimately) drive sales.
Engage and respond. Comments and replies remain an important factor in generating discussion and virality for social marketing campaigns, so respond to your followers at every opportunity. When you get comments responding to your video, consider sharing a reaction GIF or a friendly compliment. Brand-to-audience interaction helps increase awareness and approachability.
Trevor Rappleye specializes in humanizing businesses with video marketing. It all started at age 13, when he picked up his dad’s VHS camcorder. Trevor launched his first business soon after, specializing in VHS-to-DVD conversion. He purchased the domain EventFilming.net for $8 at age 15, filming family weddings (with no overhead or advertising cost, of course). He was definitely on top of the world for a kid, and his passion for video storytelling has continued to this day.
