To have a successful video marketing strategy, you need to consider several factors. These include the video’s quality, the target audience, the story you want to convey, and your distribution strategy.
Video has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to generate substantial outcomes for online marketing campaigns, serving as a validated tactic to elevate your brand and establish a direct link with prospective clients. The following are a handful of unexpected statistics concerning video.
- Businesses that use video in their content strategy see 41% more organic traffic than those who don’t
- 90% of users say videos are helpful in the decision-making process
- Videos can boost landing page conversions by 80%
Many video marketers make the incorrect assumption that relying on a single video hosting platform, such as YouTube, is enough. However, if you adopt a “one or the other” strategy in video marketing, you run the risk of forfeiting potential engagement, which inevitably limits your ability to reach a larger number of clients via your video content.
Social Media Video Marketing Tips
In this article, we will provide you with useful advice and strategies to enhance your social media video marketing on seven prominent platforms. Additionally, we will explain how to align each platform with your overall marketing strategy, resulting in a favorable return on ad spend (ROAS).
YouTube
YouTube is the world’s second largest search engine, with over a billion active users. Despite its well-known popularity, some are not aware of the platform’s incredible power, as YouTube-hosted videos are now surpassing traditional website links to secure top-rated results on Google searches.
Google is adapting to the growing demand for video on the internet by broadening the range of search result categories in its index. Consequently, when you conduct a search, you are more likely to encounter a variety of videos displayed in the results, as opposed to solely website links. For instance, YouTube videos frequently appear among the top ten search listings on Google, regardless of whether they are the highest-rated videos on the video platform for the same search query.
Because of Google’s algorithm, YouTube content is given higher priority than self-hosted content, making it essential for a successful SEO strategy to include YouTube as a component.
Due to the ownership of YouTube by Google, some might argue that these preferential rankings are a result of nepotism. However, the main reason behind these rankings is the well-designed structure of YouTube’s website. The straightforward and comprehensible design of YouTube’s site contributes to an enhancement in search engine optimization (SEO), providing you with the chance to optimize your own videos and make the most of the site.
When uploading a video on YouTube, it is essential to always include tags, titles, and descriptions. By doing so, your video becomes searchable in results and attracts more traffic compared to a title lacking any supplementary information.
Facebook and Instagram video ads
Although YouTube is the most popular platform for Americans to watch video content, Facebook is the second most popular with 60% of people in the United States watching videos. Magot stated that using Facebook video ads is the most effective way to make people remember your brand and visit your website again. Facebook is still an affordable platform for advertising using videos and it effectively guides users into your sales process through prospecting campaigns and then brings them back through remarketing campaigns on their platform and others.
A useful strategy we have observed for our clients is to conduct a trial of a campaign objective focused on increasing video views among potential audiences. We employ videos as a means to promptly acquaint new users with the brand, convey a narrative, establish a connection with the specific audience, and encourage them to explore further information about the products or services we provide. Alongside these campaigns, we also create tailored audiences based on the percentage of the video that users watched.
When it comes to Instagram video ads, it’s important to remember that the specifications are different from Facebook’s ad placements. For Instagram Stories, the maximum duration is 15 seconds, unless you use carousels, which allow up to 120 seconds of split video time. The feed ad placement allows up to 60 seconds of video. If you don’t have many video creatives, you can use Facebook’s free Video Creation Kit tool. This tool allows you to create simple yet effective videos by animating your static images. You can add overlay text, special effects, and other edits to make the videos more engaging. If you don’t have enough static images, you can use royalty-free stock photo websites temporarily while you work on creating more on-brand and unique creatives.
Pinterest video ads
Although we concentrate mainly on Facebook and Instagram in terms of our efforts and budget, we often extend our reach to Pinterest for many of our clients. We have not yet witnessed Pinterest’s ability to generate direct conversions on its own, but employing promoted videos, especially for upper-funnel prospecting campaigns, has proven effective in boosting awareness and website traffic. Pinterest video ads are notably affordable compared to other social media platforms, making it worthwhile to attract more relevant users at a lower cost and subsequently retarget them on more conversion-oriented platforms that we have found to be more successful.
Pinterest offers the option to use videos in different types of campaigns, including awareness, video views, traffic, and conversion campaigns. These campaigns can focus on driving checkouts, signups, and lead generation. For those who are unfamiliar with Pinterest ads, there are two different video sizes available. One size is similar to a regular pin, while the other is considered max-width and stretches out to be double in size. The max-width videos can capture more of the screen, increasing user attention and engagement with the ad. However, opting for the max-width videos may result in slightly higher costs due to the additional ad space they occupy.
Pinterest video ads are different from other platforms as they allow and encourage the use of overlapping text. However, it is important to keep the text concise. If there is spoken word in your video, it is recommended to include captions to cater to users who may be viewing the ad without sound or those who are hearing impaired. To create effective video content on Pinterest, make your videos actionable and instructional. By demonstrating how to use your product or service, potential customers are more likely to take action and explore further.
LinkedIn video ads
If your target market consists of professionals, consider utilizing LinkedIn Ads to promote your video content. Currently, video ads can be used in brand awareness, website traffic, and conversion campaigns, which are designed to generate leads and encourage actions on your website.
LinkedIn suggests that when it comes to your brand awareness and website traffic, or consideration video content, you should aim to position yourself as a market expert or share your mission and brand story, or customer success stories through brief interviews or case studies. In your prospecting campaigns, focus on generating curiosity and providing value to your audiences. If you decide to try lower-funnel campaigns to drive conversions, this is a great opportunity to briefly demonstrate your product or service or give teasers of your webinar or upcoming event. As for prospecting campaigns, try using shorter videos to more effectively capture the attention of these users. As you move them further down the funnel, you can test longer and more comprehensive videos if necessary, along with a stronger call to action.
