The “New” Rules of Social Media Video

I will start off this article by exclaiming that I assume as a social media content producer/marketer, you know the following:

1 - Social media video builds trust
2 - Vertical video gets more engagement & reach than horizontal video on FB/TW&IG (if not here’s a refresher)
3 - Video length (and deliverable specs) is relative to the platform and your objectives (there are dozens of websites & books with different “metrics” for this, but here you go)
4 - There are several do’s and don’ts that even teens (tweens?) do on the daily that marketers always do wrong (for this — as well, here’s a quick hint hint oldie)
5 - Like everything in the internet, there are several sources that will always contradict anything and everything you say or do on social media (as an example, this article contradicts almost every single point I wrote above).

so… to then start rattling off a couple of things that most local Singaporean content producers are starting to notice and adapt in their content, here we go (these are day to day details & learnings, by platform, so if you’ve not faced them or seen them on your feeds, either we run in diff circles, or influencers haven’t yet taken over your curated social feed):

“1”- Everyone is now pushing IGTV. What started off as the platform convincing marketers to use it, now influencers have started posting (or reposting) the content that they were using for YouTube onto Instagram’s “new product”. Social video on IG jumped from 30sec clips, to carousel cuts of 2–3min videos repurposed into 5/6 smaller cuts… to now previews sending people to the IGTV button/app interface.
“2”- If you can tell your “video” in the length of a 2–3sec boomerang either through a post or through an IG story, most creators/influencers will do so (reducing tremendously the length of client endorsements/creativity on their walls).
“3”- CTA (calls to action) endorsing products are becoming more and more seamless in the videos that creators are producing, some brands even asking creators to “not mention” the brand sponsoring some of their videos (the idea of “no marketing + marketing” is alive and well) - the underlying concept being, you get the reach and the engagement of said sponsored video without the average drop-off that most sponsored videos suffer when creators blatantly show off their endorsements.
“4” - On the flip side and touching again on CTAs, a single video can have multiple client CTAs, the great content creators even having more than 4/5 brand mentions without ever alienating their audience over the content produced.
“5”- Video length has totally become a non-conversation… at Bloomr.SG we have creators that produce content that is 3mins long, 10mins long &/or 40–50mins long - any of these creators have endorsements or brand sponsorships in their content, clients worrying more that the content is watched (and has a decent audience retention, especially at the points that the brand is mentioned) rather than that it has more than 3mins, overflooding the 8sec attention span of most audiences (please…).
“6”- A single piece of video that does not have 1 or more times asking the audience to “like, comment & subscribe” is halfway to your content strategy not retaining recurring audiences. The idea that “asking the audience to subscribe to your content” is passé, was left as cringy a long time ago. If you don’t follow several different types of creators (backing channels for example) this might be counter-intuitive but trust me, if you can include it seamlessly into your content, ask your audience as many times as possible to like, comment & subscribe (if on YT/FB or even TW) or create engagement mechanics for everyone to comment their fave things about your video on the comments - commentary channels for ex ask now more and more open ended questions on controversial topics just so they drive their algo metrics up.
“7”- this one is a tough one… like and respond back to as many comments in your first hour of posting as possible (I know that in certain accounts it is impossible to do this, so concentrate on your super-fans or any extremely enjoyable comment on your videos). Use super-likes, give positive feedback, respond and do call-outs. Everyone is doing it. From small accounts to big accounts. If you’re not interacting with your audience, your content is as good as dead.
“8”- Negativity is on its way out. There are lines being drawn in the “floor of social media” and snark is becoming obsolete (unless called for). I’m not relaying the (most) social platform’s rules of being positive for the sake of better engagement but rather, justifying the idea that more and more creators, producers and influencers are comfortable with expressing themselves by how they are, whenever possible by having a positive spin even on dark/tough subjects.

and… last but not least

“9”- The focus/style/type of content that content creators & influencers concentrate on is ever changing. If at one point the audience starts to get smart to the creator’s beautiful posting style, they go grunge. If the audience doesn’t connect to short content, they go long and deep. Basically, it is not just adapt to survive anymore. It’s adapt to excel!

If you have any questions or advice that you’d like to give us at Bloomr.SG (the Mediacorp Creators Network) - do follow us on our socials and join the conversation.

Check out some of our previous Bloomr.SG articles on Social Media & Content Development below:

1 — Why Social Media Matters
2 — The Art of Social Listening For Personalization
3 — “Hello, I will be your personal server this morning!” — iPad in a café
4 — Understanding Community Management
5–5 Tips to growing your Instagram account
6 — New to Influencer Marketing? Read On
7 — “Less is More” — Social Media Strategy
8 — Digital Consumerism in the Fourth Industrial Revolution
9 — Top Content in February by Platforms
10–7 Rules for a Content Development Strategy — Will the Dark Side of Social Media’s “Attention Economy” eventually destroy Content?
11-How to make your content standout on Instagram
12-Whatever you Thought, Think again
13-Broadcast Media and the fear of Digital
14-Democratizing Markets with Platforms: A platform focused approach to the 4 P’s of Marketing
15-McDonaldization of Social Media Marketing