Tips to Building an Effective Social Media Video Strategy

Videos have been taking social media by storm for years and their popularity continues to grow rapidly.

The number of daily videos produced on Instagram has quadrupled in the last five years and YouTube users watch more than one billion hours of content every day. The stats do speak for themselves, so it’s no wonder that 87% of online marketers are investing in video content – but is it right for your business?

The truth is – video can work for everyone; you just need to use the right Social Media Video Strategy on the right platform. 

Which social media platform should I be using?

From Facebook to Instagram, or YouTube to TikTok – it's all about choosing the platform that is right for your demographic, somewhere they will want to engage with it. Facebook has a wider user base with different genders, ages and income, as opposed to TikTok where the demographic is much younger. 

So, before you even pick up your video camera, you need to ask yourself these two questions: 

Who am I trying to reach, and why am I trying to reach them? 

Once you’ve answered these, you can choose which social media platform will work best for you and the audience you want to target.  

Size does matter when it comes to social media video strategy  

Dimensions are everything when it comes to video because the ratio can vary from platform to platform. Facebook alone supports more than five formats.  

Make sure your video follows the recommended specs for your chosen platform - you wouldn’t want to use a landscape video for an Instagram story that is shown on a phone in portrait. You want the video to be optimised and shown in the right dimensions.  

How long is too long?  

You’ll want to keep your video as short and sweet as possible.  

Try and keep them at 60 seconds or less. Data collected from HubSpot suggests that 30 seconds is the ideal time frame, but specifically, 26-second-long videos had the highest engagement rates.  

So, the shorter the video the higher the engagement.  

Should the sound be on by default?  

Most viewers will watch a video with the sound off, so before you publish a video watch it on mute and see if it is still engaging without audio? 

Even if it is, you’ll want to add captions or a description to fill in any gaps. You’ll also want to add subtitles where you can – these will make the viewers engaged for longer and can make it easier for hearing-impaired viewers.  

Use video on social media to play on emotions. 

Connect with your audience using emotion. Positive messages are more shareable than negative ones, especially those that use surprise, joy and are inspiring. The more a video plays on emotion, the more likely a viewer is to share it with their friends.   

Start strong and end with a call to action. 

The first 3 seconds of your video are the most important. You’ll want something engaging to ‘hook’ the viewer in from the very beginning. 45% of people who watch the first 3 seconds of a video will continue for at least 30 more. Whether the video sparks their interests or curiosity or even catches them off guard, make sure they’ll want to stick around to find out more.  

As the video comes to an end, you’ll want to seal the deal with a call to action. Videos have one of the highest conversion rates so they can be a great asset. Do you want to get viewers to purchase a product, to follow your brand or just engage with the video – make sure it wins over your audience and makes them want more.

Videos will continue to thrive on social media, and they can be right for your business – you’ve just got to take the right steps to make them work for you.