According to Cisco, it is estimated that a whopping 80 percent of all internet will come from videos by 2021. Considering how avidly we consume online video content, this figure does not come as a complete surprise.

Businesses across industries are making sure that they make the most of this increasing demand for video content by supplying their customers with all kinds of engaging, informative, and fun videos on social media. If you have seen the Instagram profiles of huge brands like BuzzFeed and Ben & Jerry’s, you would know what we are talking about.

Indeed, video marketing on social media has become an integral element of every successful digital marketing campaign. If you are on the search for effective ways to improve your brand’s social media presence, here is what you should be implementing in your video marketing strategy.

Make sure you have tailor-made content for each platform

Some of the most widely-used social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have different video requirements and guidelines for video advertisements. Videos need to be customized depending on the platform you wish to focus on.

For example, video size must be customized as per your platform of choice. The best thing you can do here is to ensure that your video follows the 1:1 aspect ratio as this is supported by every platform and often provides the best results.

Moreover, your video caption, as well as the content itself, may need to be customized depending on your audience and current trends.

• Make the first few seconds count

Today, consumers scroll through social media faster than you can say “like, comment and share!” This means that the need for attention-grabbing content is higher than ever. Before scrolling away, social media users watch the first few seconds of your video to see what it is about, which is exactly why you need to make the first 10 seconds count.

If your first few seconds are boring and offer nothing unique or intriguing, they are likely to scroll away, and you lose leads just like that. So, make sure that you don’t simply store and hide away all the good parts for the end.

• Focus on creating quality, value-oriented video

If you simply share tons of video content every day without really focusing on the quality, you are doing it wrong. As with everything else, video advertising on social media also demands quality over quantity. You have to ensure that you produce high-quality videos that provide value to your audience.

While capturing your audience’s attention is important, keeping it for the entirety of the video is equally important, if not more. This doesn’t mean that you need to have expensive tools. Social media platforms, as well as editing tools today, make it easy to produce content that is simple, fun, and engaging.

• Let your video tell a story

One of the best ways to make sure that you have high-quality video content with value is by telling a story. Maybe it’s the story about how your brand came to be and the ideologies and principles you follow, or maybe you want to sell a certain product by crafting a story around it. Whatever your strategy is, the content itself – and not just the production – should be engaging and impactful.

The key is to stand out and leave an impression on your audience instead of resorting to hard selling. Consumers today are smart and don’t like being bombarded with direct ads. Instead, you should try to evoke an emotion with a story, thereby gently pushing them to buy your product.

• Use subtitles for your video

Did you know that many social media users, especially on Twitter and Instagram, often watch videos without the sound? While scrolling through their feed, these users first check out the video without sound, then proceed on to watch if it is something that interests them.

This is where subtitles come in. They make your video content so much easier to consume even when the sound is off. Moreover, non-native English speakers and hearing-impaired users can benefit greatly from subtitles too. 

• Keep it short and scroll-friendly

If you want a high-quality video that offers value, keeping it short is one of the first measures you can take. This removes all the excess parts and makes your video concise, thereby easier to consume on social media, where the attention span of the average user is lowering considerably.

While Twitter allows a maximum video length of 2 minutes and 20 seconds, Instagram allows 1 minute of video on Posts, and longer for IGTV. Meanwhile, Facebook allows a video length of 240 minutes. In social media video advertising, videos on the shorter side, such as 1 to 2 minutes, usually perform well.

• Don’t forget to add a CTA

Lastly, at the end of the video, your viewers are directed to take action. This means that you should use effective call-to-actions (CTAs) depending on your goal. Maybe you want them to go to your website, or you want them to follow your social media profile. Maybe you want them to buy a product. Whatever it is, make sure that you put a CTA that asks them to do so.

If you are interested in video marketing, video production, and having video content made for you, then check out Melty Cone - a video production marketing company in NYC. They would be happy to discuss your unique video needs!