social media platform

The Power of Video

The power of videos on social media for businesses is increasing exponentially. Over the years the number of users who watch videos on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube has skyrocketed. This type of content is a great opportunity for business owners to take advantage of and utilise for their own social media campaign strategy.

Users of social media watch videos for a variety of reasons such as for entertainment, educational purposes or when they are seeking further information on a product, service or brand. Today we will be discussing in further dept a variety of social media channels that facilitate the use of videos and the statistics surrounding the success of videos on each of these social media platforms.

FACEBOOK

There is no denying it that we all have a secret guilty pleasure of watching ridiculous videos of cats doing silly things, people scaring people and ASMR videos of dogs testing out various foods. We love to be entertained and humoured on our Facebook newsfeeds which explains how users are 135% more attracted to videos than photos on Facebook.

People prefer video content above any other type of content online. It is also quite important to note that 85% of videos are viewed by users with the volume off as they are either on the bus, train or in a public place where they can’t watch with volume. This means as a business it is important to have subtitles for all of the videos posted to convey the message across to all users including those who can’t watch with volume.

Facebook has th4 largest audience of any other social media platform with 2.07 billion active users on a monthly basis. Every day 100 million hours of video are watched on this social media giant which explores the success of video content. It is important for business owners to upload videos directly to Facebook as this gives you better analytics and increases the visibility to users in their feed. Another tip is giving users a call to action so that after they have watched the video, they have something to act on.

 

facebook video

YOUTUBE

This platform is consumed by video more than another other social media platform. On this platform, more than 1 billion hours of video are watched daily by active users. This platform is highly effective and successful for marketers and brands. The utilisation of social media influencers on this channel are vital to the success of brands who are seeking a successful social media campaign.

YouTube forms a very organic and trustworthy platform for consumers who are seeking information surrounding a product, service or brand. Marketers found that out of 87 percent who have posted video content on YouTube, 80 per cent found it to be an effective strategy. Videos on YouTube are watched in 88 countries in 76 languages which forms an ethnically diverse and large number of users that can be easily accessed through utilising this video-driven social media platform.

 

youtube video

INSTAGRAM

The rise of videos on Instagram stems from the success of Instagram stories, and lives. The utilisation of an Instagram story enables a quick post of a video or photo that only lasts 24 hours on a user’s profile page. The introduction of live stories on Instagram has boosted the video content on Instagram drastically as the length of live streams can be hours long.

The recent introduction of Instagram TV has been highly successful with users who are seeking more information and longer videos. Instagram is a great platform for video content to be posted as people use Instagram to seek out information through visually grazing over content without having to read anything. It is the top social media network for engagement regarding user participation and reach. This could be the result of its simplistic and visual nature which is visually appealing on mobile as well.

Instagram is home to 500 million daily users who post 250 million stories on the daily. In terms of business marketing, it is also highly successful with 88 percent of marketers finding video content posted to the platform it to be an effective strategy. A tip for utilising Instagram effectively is keeping it simple as over complicating it can lead to user confusion. Also, think about varying your theme as some businesses tend to find a theme and stay with it which becomes repetitive and boring.

Lastly, maintain focus and be single-minded when it comes to the idea surrounding your video.

 

instagram video

social media campaign

3 Top Tips for a Successful Social Media Campaign

  1. Consistency

consistency

Consistency is Key. Whether it be exercising, dieting, or posting on your business’ social media channels… consistency is the most important aspect for a successful social media campaign. What do I mean by consistency? One aspect is the amount of posts uploaded to each social media channel per week. Some social media channels that are highly successful regarding engagement levels and reach are Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn. SO MANY OPTIONS!

I know you are probably overwhelmed but it is important to master a couple of channels as opposed to half-heartedly utilising all channels. I know by now you are probably thinking… how many posts per week? I suggest starting with 3-5 posts a week on each channel to capture and engage your desired target audience. A problem that some businesses face when utilising their social media channels is OVERPOSTING… don’t be that page. Overposting can lead to frustration and anger from your followers which can drive them away by unfollowing the business’ page. I personally would classify over posting as 3-4 posts a day!

 

  1. Congruency

congruency

Congruency is King. Congruency is my second top tip for a successful social media campaign. Congruency is when all social media channels convey a similar key message or strategy to a desired target audience or following. Congruency is all about telling a similar story on all of your social media channels, from Facebook to Instagram, and all the others in between… you name it, all of them must be congruent!

The importance of having a sense of congruency amongst a social media campaign is to reduce confusion and misunderstanding from followers of your socials. Storytelling is the main purpose and aim of a social media campaign. Congruency involves presenting different parts of a story that complement each other to piece together a final key message. A variety of large organisations utilise storytelling in promotional materials such as television advertisements and social media to further engage target audiences. The target audiences like myself become heavily attached and interested in some stories told by organisations (*cough* Rhonda and Ketut from AMMI insurance *cough*).

No, but seriously… the Rhonda and Ketut campaign was highly successful in increases brand awareness due to viewers genuine interest and attachment to the love story being told about the two actors.

 

  1. Clarity

clarity

Kudos to Clarity. Clarity is the last top tip I have for businesses utilising social media channels to promote their products or services on offer. It is highly important to have a clear and concise social media strategy that is easy for consumers to understand. Complex and unclear social media campaigns can lead to confusion which ultimately leaves to a business’ failure.

If a customer cannot understand what is being presented to them, they are not going to purchase or enquire about your business. Clarity is all about being coherent and helping people understand a key message in a simplistic way. A clear social media campaign enables a successful outcome as target audiences have identified and understood the key messages being communicated.