Video on Social Media- What Works Where?
So, you made your video and it looks great. But will it work as well on Instagram as it will on Facebook?
The social media platform- and device- that your audience will view it on should be a key consideration before you produce the video.
Here’s a brief list of simple tips for creating videos on the most common social media platforms for business.
Best for- Short, informative or fun videos that work without sound.
Optimal Length- No limit, but 30 to 60 seconds is the best length.
Expert Tip- Upload natively-directly to Facebook- don’t link from YouTube, to get the best reach.
Facebook is becoming a video first platform. It gives priority to video content over photos etc, and even more so to native videos.
Facebook videos are generally watched without sound, so make sure the video is visually strong from the start and can be understood without audio or use text graphics/ captions.
Keep it short and sweet. Facebook users flicking through their feed are mostly looking for ‘snackable content’ rather than longer, in-depth content. After a minute your chances of keeping the viewer engaged are small. In general, 30 to 45 seconds is where you should be. Avoid ‘Like and Share’ competition videos and instead produce content that your audience will want to like and share.
Finally, you can now broadcast live on Facebook. Use this format for conferences, events, sales presentations, employee training or behind the scenes moments. Live video works well as a way to connect in an authentic and engaging manner without the need for a professional video production.
Best for- Visually strong short videos.
Optimal Length- 1 minute is the maximum length, 30 seconds is a good target.
Expert tip- Do some research and use the right hashtags to get instant exposure. Film vertically with your phone as this is how your audience will be viewing it. There are lots of good tutorial videos online showing you how to edit on your smartphone.
More than 300 million people are now using Instagram Stories on a daily basis. As almost 70% of video on Instagram is watched with the sound on — unlike Facebook- utilize music/ audio in your video. Check out what these major brands are doing with Instagram videos for some inspiration.
Best for- Informative and educational content, professional opinion, testimonials, case studies.
Optimal Length- N/A
Expert tip- Embed Youtube/ Vimeo videos in your articles or load directly from a mobile app.
In July 2017, Linkedin finally joined the video revolution. It will undoubtedly become a major video platform for businesses during 2018. Remember, your audience is in work/ business mode don’t annoy or interrupt, inform and invite.
Best for- Short ‘teaser’ videos linking to full-length content or to website
Optimal Length- 30 seconds
Expert tip- Use Tweetdeck and hashtags
Though the maximum video length on Twitter is 2 minutes and 20 seconds, it is stronger as a short burst medium. So, keep videos under a minute in general. Twitter works really well with ‘teaser’ content to entice followers to click on a link to a full-length version of the video or as a call to action, book here, find out more etc. As with all video platforms, it’s important to choose a thumbnail image that will make viewers want to watch the video.
YouTube
Best for- Longer channel content, how to tutorials, product demos/reviews travel vlogs, entertainment.
Optimal Length- None but try and break up content into episodes.
Expert tip- Use a free editing tool like Canva to create video thumbnails that will catch the eye.
YouTube is a great place to create more in-depth content. Unlike Facebook, visitors are only coming to YouTube to watch videos. YouTube videos get higher engagement the longer they are up until about the 3-minute mark, after which rates drop. In fact, the videos on YouTube with the highest levels of engagement are almost 10x longer than the equivalent videos on Facebook.
Your strategy should be to create a collection of videos on a theme and then break them down into specific subject playlists within your channel.
Your YouTube channel should be a slow and steady accumulation of video content that is helpful/ entertaining to your target audience.
Summary
Your friends, family, colleagues, customers are not spending most of their time online watching high-quality produced videos. They’re watching skateboarding dogs. Don’t be afraid of being ‘authentic’. Some of my most popular videos have camera shake, wind blast, and other filming no-nos. But the content is good and people see it is real, not ‘produced’. They trust it! It’s not about winning awards it’s about winning viewers.
Use your data. Facebook Insights, Google Analytics, etc. If the majority of your website visitors are on mobile, you need to make a square video. What time of day/ night are your visitors online? During the week late afternoon/ early evening is when most mobile purchases/ bookings/ happen. People are commuting or at home waiting for the dinner to cook. Even if they are watching TV, over half of them are using a mobile device simultaneously.
By being aware of the right kind of video content to post on each social media channel you can improve your engagement levels significantly.
About: Paul Henderson is a content strategist and social video marketer with over 2 million engagements on social media in 2017.
You can view more articles about video marketing on [his blog….]
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