Video Marketing Best Practices in 2018: Get Your Cameras Ready

Prior to 2017, we advised that you add video to your overall digital marketing strategy. We hope you adopted video marketing to your strategy. If you haven’t started yet, now’s the time to get moving with it! Video is now widely regarded as the main driver of your marketing.

Why Video?

You may be asking yourself why video? In the past year, visuals have reshaped the buyer’s journey of consumers. Rather than reading and focusing on text and keyword searches, consumers have shifted toward visual searches; including images, video, and even voice control - when conducting product research.

In fact, 90% of users rely on product videos to help in the decision-making process.

Still not convinced about video in your marketing strategy? Check out these statistics from Hootsuite’s Data-Backed Predictions for Social Media in 2020:

• 56% of internet users watch videos on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Snapchat each month

• 81% of 55 to 64-year-olds are watching videos online each month

• 1 in 3 social video viewers watch videos made by brands each month

• 46% of respondents in survey are already implementing social videos for business

• 26% of respondents are planning to implement video in 2018

What Types of Video & Where?

As we know, there are many different types of video we can utilize, which can easily be recorded using your phone. These can include live video, interviews, meet the team, industry tips, client testimonials, product overviews, demos, webinars, office tours, Snapchat story updates, Instagram stories, Facebook Live, voice-over presentations and more.

You get the idea. There are a ton of ways to produce video, and a ton of topics to focus on. However, where should we distribute these videos to maximize exposure?

Video Across All Social Media Profiles

For our first best practice, it’s important to distribute your video across all social media platforms. However, make sure you embed each video by uploading the video file to each platform. For example, if you link away from Facebook or LinkedIn with a YouTube link, your post won’t be showed as much, because you’re linking away from that platform. Facebook wants you to stay on Facebook – not link away to YouTube. Therefore, if you produced the video yourself or have access to the file, upload it to each social media profile.

Consider video length, as well. While there’s a 4-hour time limit for Facebook Live, in most cases it’s best to keep it simple. If you’re doing a live demo, or Q&A, take the appropriate time to provide all of the information needed. With video uploads and Facebook video ads, we’ve found it’s best to keep it under three (3) minutes to maximize engagement. See video length limits below:

• Facebook Live – 4 hours

• Facebook – 45 minutes

• Instagram – 1 minute video posts & 15 second stories (stories viewable for 24 hours)

• Instagram Live – 1 hour (viewable for 24 hours)

• Snapchat – 10 seconds count as 1 snap but continuous (viewable for 24 hours)

• Twitter – 2 minutes & 20 seconds

• Twitter Live / Periscope – No limit

• LinkedIn – 10 minutes

• YouTube – 15 minutes (can request uploading longer video of up to 12 hours)

Facebook Live

Take advantage of Facebook Live. With recent changes in Facebook’s newsfeed algorithm for company pages, as well as recent privacy issues, Facebook Live is one of the only effective tools left for increasing unpaid, organic reach on Facebook. A majority of followers are notified when your live-stream is launched, and Facebook likes to showcase its live-streaming capabilities, so your video is shown far more widely than your organic (unpaid) social posts.

If you’re currently just posting updates on Facebook, take a look at your Facebook Insights and observe the reach of your posts. Chances are your unpaid reach is very low; however, create a Facebook Live video and your unpaid reach will likely double.

Video in Email

Remember, video marketing isn’t just for social media. Add video content to your email marketing – and website! Include video in your email newsletter and watch the click-through rates increase. The study by Insivia found that video in an email led to 200-300% higher click-through rates!

Another tip is if you have a new video that your company is very excited about, provide a link in your email signature. The more places your video is, the more exposure you will receive.

Video on Website

Make sure you’re adding video content to your website and landing pages, as well. Including video on a landing page can increase conversions by 80%. By adding video to your homepage and About Us page, you’ll drive more website traffic and increase the visitor session times.

The use of videos helps viewers quickly get familiar with your organization, who you are and what you can do. This is important because people are looking for a reason to buy from you (or your competitor). When you can show off your experience and passion for what you do, using short videos, this can be the difference between hiring your firm or calling a competitor.

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