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Getting Started with Video Content


According to HubSpot, social media posts with video content have 48% more views. Clearly, video is the way to go when it comes to quickly engaging your followers in new content. 




Many marketers say that they struggle with “what” to create videos about. Just like we recommended for other content, if you don’t know where to begin - start with what has worked for you so far, and then look to your competitors. Sort your blog content in order of most traffic and create videos around those topics. Use Facebook “Pages to Watch” to figure out what kind of videos your competitors are making and generate topic ideas based off of that. Also, think about using your customers as resources. Look outside of your specific industry to your favorite brands.

In terms of video best-practices, there are some simple factors that people are more likely to interact with. 

The first factor is video length. On Facebook, for example, the highest engaging videos are between 60-90 seconds. The second highest are between 30-60 seconds. Same holds true for Twitter. So, the point is to keep your videos short and to the point. Save the best for first, if you will. If you’re going to feature a person (or group of people) in your video, you’ll need a good microphone, natural light from a window, and a tripod. Sound, lighting, and camera stability are key in creating a quality video.

If animated or text-only video are more your style, then you’ll need is great resource for stock video, quality background music, and a video editor. The must-have sites for stock video are Pexels, Headliner, Videvo and Animoto. 

Here's what you need to know about the specifics of video marketing on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter:

YouTube: Is the best video marketing platform to engage audience through DIY videos, explainer videos, video tutorials, testimonials, and behind the scene videos. It is important to note that 60% of videos on YouTube are watched on mobile devices and the sharing rate is also higher on mobile devices. If you have been ignoring the tools and techniques that create better engagement for mobile viewers, you're limiting both your reach and sharing opportunities.




Facebook: Has been putting a lot of emphasis on video content in their news feed lately, which is why the frequency of video content in your news feed has increased too. This action has motivated marketers to produce more videos that appear in these feeds (either organically or paid). Much like Instagram, Facebook has a "Story" feature; use this to engage your customers in short, real-time content (think staff party or new product release). Also, use the Facebook platform to create video natively - don't share from YouTube. Videos created on the Facebook platform have 2 times as many views and 3 times as many shares. The main things to keep in mind are keeping it brief, shooting it on a vertical landscape, and adding a call to action at the end.

Instagram: This platform boasts around 800 million monthly and 500 daily active users. Marketers have recognized the power and potential of the platform, which is why many brands are already actively and regularly posting on Instagram. The best way to understand marketing on Instagram is by posting the right type of video at the right time. If you get this part right, consumers will usually engage without so long as you're not regularly delivering a hard pitch.

Using Instagram stories, you can create a temporary 10-second picture/video clips placed at the top of Instagram feed. A proven marketing tool for brands, this clip can drive huge engagement if handled strategically. There are various things you can do with Instagram stories, like offer exclusive content, show behind the scenes, showcase the product in action, show a countdown to launch event or ask influencers to contribute.

Snapchat: Has brought many innovative features, which gave rise to social media trends that are changing the digital marketing dynamics. Snapchat provides its user's direct access to live event as it is a real-time social media marketing platform. There are a lot of ways to use Snapchat for marketing. Its inventive features such as filters, text, bit emojis, and geofilters, tend to create huge engagement.

Brands can use Snapchat to record videos of launch events, trade shows, musical events, social event, etc. You can also showcase some private or behind the scenes content to provide something unique to Snapchat followers.





Twitter is a news-based social media network platform and it is naturally a great platform to share video content. Native videos on Twitter drive more engagement than third-party videos shared on Twitter; allegorically, 2.5X replies, 2.8X retweets, and 1.9X favorite. Given the extent of Twitter being used for sharing news related videos, the Twitter mobile app includes an in-app access to your mobile phone's camera to increase user experience and engage more of your followers through video content. Twitter feeds also have the fastest scroll, which is why brands should focus on creating eye-catching content. Brands can use Twitter to upload teaser, announcement, advertisement, promotional, education, and user-based content.

All in all, video marketing is the best way to create engagement on social media platforms. As a key component of many small businesses’ content marketing, understand that social video will continue evolving and marketers will play a critical role in shaping the future of video marketing. 

Whenever creating video content for your small business, the main thing is to do it in a way that is authentic to your brand and to have fun!

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