Due to the abundance of social media video marketing tools nowadays, it can be overwhelming to choose the most suitable ones that will effectively enhance your social media video marketing. If you are not currently utilizing video marketing, the confusion surrounding the tools might be a significant factor for missing out on the potential profits that can be gained from this influential marketing strategy.
If you do not use video or use it poorly, you will miss out on potential profits.
Research from Marketing Land reveals that a significant 62% of individuals claim to exhibit increased interest in a product upon viewing a video of it in a Facebook Story. The G2 Crowd further emphasizes that social media videos generate a staggering 1200% more shares compared to a combination of text and image content. The implications of these statistics for your business are worth considering.
Steps to a successful social media video marketing strategy
Set goals for video marketing
At the start of a new marketing strategy, it is necessary to establish objectives. What are the desired outcomes you wish to achieve through your videos?
If you are a beginner, we suggest setting a small number of goals to avoid feeling overburdened. For instance, one possible objective for video marketing could be to establish brand recognition.
By utilizing the correct script and displaying creativity, your video marketing strategy can go beyond merely increasing a prospect’s knowledge of your brand. It can also assist them in navigating the decision-making phase of their buyer’s journey, provide education regarding their recent purchase, and contribute to a brand’s advocacy initiatives.
Decide on your platforms
There are various types of video on every major social media platform, which allows ample opportunity to include it in your strategy.
Start by using video on platforms where you already have established audiences if you have never used it before. As per the Sprout Social Index™, Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok are the top platforms that consumers and brands expect to use the most in the coming year.
When to use TikTok for video marketing
There is no denying that TikTok played a major role in spreading the fondness for short-form videos, thus establishing itself as a beloved application on the internet.
Our data from the Sprout Social Index™ demonstrated that consumers perceive short-form videos to be 2.5 times more captivating than long-form videos. Furthermore, among in-feed content, short-form videos are considered the most engaging, followed by images and live videos.
When to use YouTube for video marketing
YouTube remains one of the most popular video platforms for consumers and marketers, with over 2.5 billion monthly active users.
Aside from having a large number of users, brands should also take into account other reasons why YouTube marketing is beneficial. YouTube not only serves as one of the most widely used search engines globally, but videos from this platform also appear on Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs). By creating content that focuses on frequently searched topics, marketers can utilize YouTube to enhance their brand’s visibility.
Select your video types
When developing your marketing strategy, it is crucial to identify the most effective type of video for your brand. It is acceptable that not all videos are identical as long as they align with your main objectives.
In our research for the Sprout Social Index™, it was discovered that consumers desire genuine content from brands on social media. Specifically, 51% of consumers prefer brands to emphasize their products or services. In addition, 39% want to see customer testimonials or demonstrations, while 34% express a desire for posts that display a brand’s personality and less-polished videos.
The main point to be understood is that consumers desire overall genuineness in your content.
To help you achieve the authenticity consumers desire, this guide presents various social media video ideas along with their corresponding benefits.
- Educational: These are informative and can create brand awareness for new customers. They often take a less casual, more polished tone to establish the brand as an expert. If created for current customers, then the videos could be focused on guides and tips for getting the most out of a product.
- Explainer: Similar to educational videos, explainer content focuses on teaching the audience more about your brand and the product or service you offer. Use these videos to quickly explain what your company does and how the brand can help solve a particular problem. End with a strong call to action to prompt viewers further along the marketing funnel.
- Behind-the-scenes: These give a look into company operations and employees. They sometimes serve to entertain the audience or give a virtual peek behind the curtain.
- Interviews: With guest speakers, interviews are a great way of introducing your audience to a new influencer and vice versa. Handing the virtual mic over to a guest can be fun and provide a little more authenticity to your brand.
- Entertaining: These include jokes, cute puppies and even pranks. They serve solely to entertain the audience but can be a great way of emphasizing your brand voice and building a sense of community among your audience.
- Testimonials: In marketing, these videos look like customer highlights and help to create social proof for your brand. Videos that showcase how a customer uses your product or service and their satisfaction with it operate on a connection level: ideally, a potential customer will see themselves in that video and be persuaded to purchase.
- Product: Highlight the top features of your brand’s most popular product or service by showing it in action. Showing off what makes your product or service unique can help customers envision themselves using your brand.
- Narrative: Put your author’s hat on and tell an engaging story to leave a lasting impression on viewers. Use animation or go documentary-style to explain how your brand was founded or a customer problem you resolved—anything that showcases a memorable story.
Plan the content production
To save time and money in the long run, it is important to have a well-thought-out content production plan. Whether your planning method involves using a spreadsheet or the traditional pen and paper, it is crucial to determine the approach for video creation and filming.
When considering your options for creating and editing content, it is advisable to assess them systematically. Engaging an agency or production company will help reduce a significant amount of stress, as they will take care of all the planning and approvals required. Meanwhile, your role will primarily involve providing guidance.
If you intend to handle everything internally, you must consider all the necessary stages to create a successful video. This encompasses various steps, but is not restricted to:
- Identifying needed equipment and props
- Writing a script
- Editing the script
- Storyboarding the video
- Planning the shoot for optimal filming. Filming won’t be linear for the most part.
- Gathering and nurturing talent (the people who are featured in the video)
- Identifying the place(s) you’ll film and taking natural daylight into consideration for timing
- Knowing where to send the footage to be edited
- Determining who will do the approval sign-offs for each step. For example, you want to make sure that the script sounds good and is in line with your voice. This might require two people to review it.
- Checking that the music you’re using is licensed for you
When going through the content plan, you may discover areas that require adjustment or aspects that were overlooked, particularly if this is your initial attempt at developing a thorough video content plan. Once a well-planned strategy is implemented, it is then appropriate to proceed to post-production.
Social Media Video Marketing Tools (Most Are Free!)
1. Promo.com
Promo.com is among our most cherished social media video marketing tools. They provide an online social media video creator equipped with editing effects, licensed clip art, stock images, and a music library. Additionally, Promo.com serves as a marketing partner for Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. Through these partnerships, Promo.com gains access to the latest features, which in turn allows you to benefit from them as well. Some notable features that we particularly appreciate include the ability to easily include embedded links or enable the “swipe up to shop” option.
Pricing: Promo.com provides a free plan that comprises a maximum of five projects and enables the sharing of links on social media. For those seeking additional features, paid plans begin at $39 per month.
2. Biteable
Biteable is designed as a social media video marketing platform that allows users to create videos in a fast and simple manner. It operates through a click-and-drag program and promises users the ability to produce an impressive video during their lunch break. Additionally, it asserts itself as the most straightforward video maker globally, which we acknowledge as true. However, do not mistake its simplicity for a lack of functionality. This tool enables users to generate videos incorporating animation, stock footage, images, and customize them to align with their brand identity while achieving professional-grade outcomes.
Biteable provides a free plan that allows unlimited exports of videos, but these videos will have the Biteable watermark. The free plan also includes access to Biteable’s library of 1.8+ million images, video clips, and animations. For those who want additional features, paid plans begin at $19 per month.
3. InVideo
InVideo is an ideal online video editor for beginners or marketers who wish to produce video content quickly. It is suitable for those who lack the expertise or funds for intricately edited, professionally-made videos. The editor is equipped with numerous features including over 1500 expertly-crafted templates, high-definition video exports, and a text-to-speech function (as well as a URL-to-video option) that simplifies the conversion of blog posts and other written content into captivating videos. Users have access to Pexels, Pixabay, and Unsplash to source royalty-free materials.
InVideo provides a free plan that does not include any watermarks. If users want to access more features, they can choose from various paid plans starting at $10 per month.
4. WeVideo
WeVideo is an excellent choice for individuals, education, and business customers. This social media video marketing tool provides various features such as a YouTube video editor, screen recording, HD video options, green screen, and many others. It offers multiple video formats to make your content more noticeable on social media, web, and mobile screens. Furthermore, WeVideo provides access to a vast library comprising over 1 million commercially-licensed and royalty-free stock videos, images, and music tracks.
When it comes to pricing, WeVideo has a complimentary plan available, while their paid plans commence at $4.99 per month.
5. Magisto
With its AI-based editing assistant, Magisto stands out as one of the top social media video marketing tools available. This assistant guides you through the entire video creation process, from uploading your footage to editing and distribution. You can specify the desired mood for your video, and the assistant will effortlessly assemble a customized video for you. Additionally, Magisto provides access to Getty stock images and licensed music. Furthermore, it includes built-in analytics tools for monitoring your video’s performance.
Pricing: Magisto provides a free trial option and for paid subscriptions, the plans begin at $4.99 per month.
