Upon its inception, social media was a place to connect with friends, family and colleagues. However, as brands are tapping into its true potential, it’s fast becoming the place most consumers get their information.
So, it’s hardly surprising that social media video content is absolutely booming. From the entertaining to the informative, users are watching millions of videos each day. After all, with literally billions of consumers gathered in one place, social media is the ideal platform for brands to spread their message.
So, how can your brand benefit from this lucrative advertising space? It’s much simpler than you think. Promote your brand by creating engaging, informative video content for your followers. These short, sharp messages are known as Social Bites. This article explains exactly what Social Bites are, along with:
- The benefits for your business
- Their ideal length
- Video style and strategy for each platform
- Tips to create content and the benefits your company will experience
More screen time is shortening attention spans
No one disputes the fact that video content is a favourite among social media users. This flood of clips has created a new problem, however. Watching so many videos (whether informative or not), has dramatically shortened our attention spans. In fact, recent research has shown that in some users, it is shorter than that of a goldfish. This can make it very difficult for brands to get their message across.
Is there a way to combat this problem?
Yes, there is. The key to capturing the hearts and minds of your customers lies in creating video content specifically tailored to their wants and needs. And, often, this requires marketers to produce brief, exciting messages which only cover a few key points. This ensures your audience remains engaged, receives the messages you are trying to convey and is eager to learn more.
How can my company benefit from explainer videos?
With the proliferation of social media channels, online content is becoming a vital part of any small or large business’ advertising strategy. In fact, 63% of SME business owners consider social media videos the most effective way to engage current and prospective customers. With this in mind, to increase your online traffic, we strongly recommend creating explainer videos. Put simply, these are brief animated films designed to tell your company’s story.
How can my company benefit from Picstory Social Bites?
As mentioned previously, video-driven content is fast becoming the most important component of many businesses’ advertising strategies. And for good reason. They are ideal for companies to detail their products/services and benefits to the customer in a simple, direct way.
With these informative, two-minute videos, you will:
- Generate great exposure
- Create new leads
- Engage current and prospective customers
- Obtain tangible results
- Have your content shared across the Internet
- Dramatically increase sales and customer conversions, and so much more.
Here are some more benefits your company will experience using explainer videos.
#1 Grab the audience’s attention
Video is one of the most popular forms of content among social media users. The reason being that it is very easy to consume. Unlike copy, social media videos require little effort to understand, absorb and retain the message. This is especially true for those who scroll through their social media feeds. Video grabs and captures attention, and is easily shared to other users.
And that’s not all. Explainer videos enable you to deliver a concise message which captures the user’s attention in a matter of seconds. The success of your social media strategy depends on your ability to compress content into short, catchy messages. These should be long enough to invoke a viewer’s curiosity, yet short enough to leave them wanting more from you. You can achieve this fine balance with our explainer videos.
#2 Increase conversion rates and sales
On social media, video is fast overtaking all other forms of content, including text, images, audio and more. Therefore, producing quality video content on your social media channels can translate into serious earnings. By simply adding a product video on your homepage, you can increase conversions by 80%.
The best videos also contribute directly to sales. Uploading explainer videos to your site when a new product or service is launched, for instance, will lead to a 74% purchase rate.
#3 Improve SEO
The majority of consumers find companies through a search engine. To ensure your name tops the list, SEO should be your top priority. This is especially important with video content. And, since social media sites are becoming “the new search engines”, your videos must be engaging and relevant for your audience.
So, how do you ensure your business name tops the “trending” list? The secret is creating interesting headlines and descriptions and using relevant hashtags for each video. Ensure you do so for Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and YouTube. This way, it will appear high up on the search list.
The good news is, you don’t have to figure this out alone. Twitter is very helpful, as it offers detailed analytics for each hashtag. These identify major demographics, assisting you in targeting your ideal customers.
#4 Start trending
The key to staying relevant on social media is discussing “trending” topics. This way, your audience will stay interested, anxiously awaiting your next update. The best videos capitalise on this by incorporating news stories, consumer trends and viral content.
Start exploring and you’ll notice that smart brands incorporate trending issues and hashtags into their video content. By doing so, you’re almost guaranteed to be the brand on followers and prospective customers’ lips. The reason being, trending topics are prioritised by most social media platforms.
#5 Explain everything in one medium
Are you launching a new product or service? An explainer video is an ideal way to introduce and explain how it works. Placing explainer videos on your homepage leads to increased viewership and greater purchasing rates. And, the beauty of animation is it can break down a concept far more effectively than text or pictures. The ideal blend of entertainment and simplicity, animated Social Bites also invoke feelings of nostalgia in your audience.
#6 Build trust
Trust is the foundation of longstanding relationships with your customers. Social Bites are a very effective way to do this. Explainer videos offer useful information while engaging and exciting your audience. In addition, videos are similar to a conversation. As consumers feel you are communicating one-on-one with them, they are more likely to buy from you and recommend you to friends.
Ideal video length
So, how long should your videos be? It’s not enough to merely have video content on your social media pages. These need to be customised to the users you want to reach. A key part of this is ensuring they are the right length for each social media site.
To optimise your videos for each platform, here are some site-specific guidelines:
Facebook – All videos should be two minutes or less (engagement drops sharply after this point)
- Short, interesting or informative videos are easily absorbed and remembered
- Ensure visuals are understood even if the sound is muted
- Upload the video straight to Facebook (native content is prioritised)
Twitter – Make videos 30 seconds or less
- Create “teaser” content to drive users to your website
- Post comments or questions from followers beneath the content as a testimonial
Instagram – Ensure your videos are 60 seconds or less
- Instagram is the most visual of the social media channels. Therefore, create visually-impressive videos which will grab attention and can be easily shared around.
- Back-and-forth looping and time-lapse videos are the most popular types on Instagram. Create these effects easily using the Boomerang and Hyperlapse apps.
YouTube – To secure maximum engagement, create informative videos of two minutes or less
- As a leading video provider, YouTube prefers explainer videos, product demos, Q&As and “how-to” videos.
- YouTube allows you to create playlists to categorise your content. As you add more videos to your library, this will help customers easily find the content they need.
Social media tips & strategies
As social media is a visual medium, simply creating video content isn’t enough. To effectively reach your audience, you have to consider many factors, including length, sound and information covered. An effective video should explain a detailed concept (i.e. a new product, service, etc.) within mere seconds. When this is done well, you’ll see a higher viewership and develop a greater rapport with customers.
Here are some useful hints to produce customised video content for each social media platform.
Videos created for Facebook are a spectacular way to spread awareness around your business’ organic and paid content. Whether you’re posting exclusive content or general information, explainer videos help to provide context.
Here are four simple ways to get the most out of your Facebook Social Bites:
#1 Establish your brand’s value
By demonstrating exactly what your product or service can do and offer customers, you’ll establish its value in their minds. A quality video will be the difference between a high- and low-value product. To ensure people take prompt action, make your Social Bites the perfect blend of informative and entertaining.
#2 Insert a summary
When choosing which videos to watch, compelling headlines and subheadings aren’t enough. Excite your audience by including a teaser phrase, prompting them to watch. This summary can provide context, or further explanation not featured in the video.
#3 Ensure videos are understood when muted
On Facebook, visuals count more than audio. And, as videos don’t have sound when scrolled past, your message should be clear without words.
#4 Grab attention in three seconds
To secure Facebook users, instant engagement is vital. If you can’t hold their attention in the first three seconds, they’ll likely scroll right past. Recent Facebook research shows 45% of people will continue watching for at least 30 seconds.
And, viewer retention is even higher for animation. American company Test Kitchen found that transitioning from images to animation increased their leads by 45%. Not only that, but their per-lead cost fell by 31%. With enticing visuals, your company could experience the same gains.
YouTube
After Google, YouTube is the Internet’s second-largest search engine. This makes it a key player in social media explainer videos. However, getting the attention you need requires much more than simply starting a channel and uploading a couple of videos. These are some simple ways to ensure you’ll see results.
#1 Write engaging headlines
A clever title can mean the difference between successful and unsuccessful videos. The secret to the perfect headline is piquing your followers’ interest, without resorting to clickbait. Craft headlines which hint at interesting content, and also explain the subject matter.
#2 Incorporate SEO<
Simply type “how-to” into Google, and the majority of the content you’ll see comes from YouTube. This is hardly surprising as YouTube is the world’s second-largest search engine. For customers to instantly find your explainer videos, follow these simple rules:
- Place keywords in the title and description
- Mention keywords during the video
- Engage with users – the more comments, likes and views you get, the higher your search ranking.
#3 Find out what your audience likes
Before creating your Social Bites, learn about your audience and their interests. Often, a helpful place to start is watching competitors’ content. Discover which videos have the highest engagement. This can help you decide which topics to cover and the style of video your audience responds to.
Offering 60-second videos, Instagram Live and Stories, Instagram is heavily reliant on video content. Although, many brands haven’t yet realised the full benefits, as the popularity of Instagram videos is relatively new. Here are some helpful tips to create eye-catching video content.
#1 Blend your videos into user feeds
There are literally millions of companies pushing for attention on Instagram. To cut through the noise, ensure your content fits seamlessly into your customers’ feeds. Doing so will trigger brand association, and spark users’ interest. This makes it more likely they’ll visit your website and recommend you to friends.
#2 Have a central theme/topic
Nothing turns a potential customer off faster than “salesy” videos, filled with everything from brand awareness, to product information, to buying options in a single clip. To increase the likelihood of people watching, concentrate on a singular theme in each Social Bite. This can include a “how to” product demonstration, product launch, Q&A and more.
#3 Keep your followers engaged
Publishing entertaining and informative social media videos is only the first step. Monitor your content by reading and responding to comments, tracking brand engagement and answer users’ questions in real-time. Engaging with your customers is vital. The more involved you are with the conversation, the better their experience and (potentially), the higher your sales.
Snapchat
Snapchat is the newest social platform to enter the video-driven content market. Despite this, it has become renowned as the promotional medium of choice for many businesses. It is particularly popular among younger demographics, thanks to its highly trending and viral content. Here are some simple ways to establish a strong business presence on Snapchat.
#1 Snapchat ads
These are 10-second ads, designed to encourage users to act immediately. For convenience, they simply click through to your website via the link embedded in the video.
Once you’ve created the video, finding your target market is easy. Snapchat gives you access to literally thousands of audience types, such as vegans, young professionals, artists, lawyers and more.
#2 Geofilters
This is a great way for brick and mortar businesses to advertise to users in specific locations. Using Geo-positioning technology, Snapchat broadcasts your Social Bites to users in your desired area. Utilising this feature is a fantastic way to ensure local customers visit your store.
#3 Lenses
These are the most popular ads on Snapchat, as they include an Augmented Reality feature. Using facial recognition, users can place their faces directly into your video. Not only is this entertaining, but it is also highly sharable. As a result, you’ll be exposed to far more people, translating into more enquiries and purchases.
How exactly can Picstory help my business?
Our talented team is committed to telling your brand’s story in an entertaining, concise way. To distinguish you from the competition, we produce brief and entertaining animated explainer videos. These 60-second animated spots are designed to:
- Build and/or increase awareness of your brand
- Show customers what you can do for them
- Explain why consumers should choose you
- Introduce new products or services
- Explain how to use your products/services
- Give company updates (i.e. product launches, events and more).
Why should I choose Picstory?
When you choose Picstory, rest assured you are in the hands of expert storytellers. Our team of video production pros can create stunning explainer videos to ensure you reach your marketing goals. We specialise in developing visually arresting video content for any industry. Work with us, and your business will be exposed to more consumers than you dreamed possible.
And, don’t worry, you don’t have to be a video production expert. The Picstory team will take care of absolutely everything. We handle it all, from writing the script, doing voiceover work, to developing and producing professional Social Bites.
Unlike our competitors, we take time to get to know you. So, we’ll sit down to learn about your business, what you do and what you can offer your customers. This allows us to create bespoke 60-second videos – totally unique to your brand.
Are you ready to launch a new product or service? Or do you want to introduce your brand to a new audience? If so, call or email the Picstory experts today for customised social media videos.