Why Social Video Matters – To Everyone 

ocial media is a space filled with competition. As marketers, we compete for user’s attention in any way possible, and video has become an easy way to stand out on every platform. Consumers that view social videos retain more information, are more likely to participate in a call to action and connect better with a brand message. If you aren’t integrating videos into your social strategy, then you’re missing out on a key opportunity to catch that valuable attention.  

The Statistics Matter 

Videos on social media work for a reason. Among images and text posts, videos stand out to audiences and generate up to 1200% more shares than other mediums. As marketers, this statistic is appealing because often, generating engagement and extending our audience reach are key indicators of success – if our target audience sees our content and deems it valuable enough to share, it’s obvious we are doing something right.  

Additionally, consumers retain 95% of a message when viewed in a video, compared to only 10% of that same message when read in a text. Message retention is hugely important, as it means new and repeat customers will be more likely to remember the products, services and attributes associated with your brand. While this can be difficult to measure, consumers are more likely to act after viewing a video, especially if a clear call-to-action is included. Capturing the audience’s attention is the key to a stellar ROI, and video can deliver measurable impact to your social strategy.  

• 6 out of 10 people would rather watch online videos than television. 
• By 2022, online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic — 15 times higher than it was in 2017. (Cisco) 
• 75% of all video plays are on mobile devices. (eMarketer) 
• Social media posts with video have 48% more views. (The Marketing Helpline) 
• Facebook has over 8 billion video views per day. (TechCrunch) 
• Nearly 50% of internet users look for videos related to a product or service before visiting a store. (Hubspot) 
• Adding video to your emails can increase click rates by 300%. (HubSpot) 

Capturing Attention 

But how do you create a video that provides value to your target audience? The first few seconds matter the most. By capturing attention quickly with your best shots, most critical information and a creative title, users are more likely to continue watching your video and retain your message.  

It’s important to remember that while social videos can serve as an advertisement, they shouldn’t be expressly approached as an ad.  The most successful social videos focus on storytelling while naturally incorporating brand identity, creating an emotional response in your audience.  

As an additional note, know that many social videos see better engagement when they include open captions. This allows for users to understand the full message of your video without having to hear the audio and is especially important for videos that include voice over messaging.  

When creating and shooting your social videos, be sure to remember what format your product will live on. For most users, social videos are viewed on their phone and will be seen on that sized screen – keeping that in mind from the beginning of production will help create a better, more effective video in the end. To deliver your message clearly, spend time creating an organized video plan.  

Types of Social Videos 

Social videos come in all different shapes, sizes, lengths and styles, but each have their own distinct purpose. To succeed in delivering your intended message, choose a category of social video that best fits the brand identity, desired call-to-action and purpose.  

• Informational: Utilize an informational video to debut a new product, share information about a new offering or showcase a team member. Informational videos can be a compilation of shots with a voice over or a mix of text and talking head with a prominent brand leader.  
• Brand Messaging: A brand messaging video focuses on the brand as a whole and highlights the pillars of that brand in a succinct, story-driven way. Voice overs are also helpful for this type of video and will help increase brand awareness in campaigns with that goal.  
• Expert Interview: Interview a thought leader within your company or brand to showcase expertise while building brand recognition.  
• Live Video Live video is the newest form of video that social platforms are embracing. Utilize native streaming on Facebook or Instagram TV to showcase a thought leader, lead a class or debut a new offering. This is also a great way to increase brand engagement through viewer comments and live interaction.  
• Behind-The-Scenes: Give consumers a VIP look at your brand and share ‘insider’ information with your audience to increase trust and transparency with customers.  
• Event Recap: After a successful event, capitalize on that FOMO feeling by highlighting the best parts of your event and build hype for upcoming events hosted by the same brand.  

Recommended Social Video Lengths 

Remember how we talked about the beginning of your video being the most important to capture your audience’s attention? On social media, it is also key to keep in mind that short and sweet videos reign supreme. Users’ natural behavior is to quickly scroll through their social feed, only stopping when something catches their eye, and the window of time brands have to retain that attention span is very limited.  

To create impactful and successful videos for your brand’s social channels, be sure to consider these video length limitations and recommendations.   

• Instagram: While the maximum native video on Instagram is 60 seconds, videos in the regular Instagram feed under 30 seconds are the most successful.  
• Twitter: With a maximum of 140 seconds or 2 minutes and 20 seconds, Twitter’s algorithmic focus on video is less than Facebook and Instagram. As a platform that focuses on fast, short content, 45 seconds is the maximum recommended length to maintain engagement.  
• Facebook: Facebook loves video, as long as you are uploading natively. The maximum length that Facebook allows for uploads is 120 minutes, but engagement goes down after the recommended length of 1 minute.  
• YouTube: The original social video platform, YouTube is the place to put your longform videos that are intended for users prepared to engage with a video for entertainment purposes. Many brands utilize a YouTube channel to share their brand identity and video lengths range from 2 minutes to 40 minutes, with 12 hours being the maximum limit.  

The Bottom Line 

Social media videos have changed the marketing landscape and the way that we create and consume content. While we didn’t touch on paid advertising in this blog, videos often serve as optimal ad content as they provide a deeper way to connect with your audience and even the opportunity to retarget users based on the percentage of your video that they watched.  

Whether used organically or in paid ads, social videos should be a strategically planned component of any comprehensive marketing strategy. If you are interested in integrating social videos into your brand’s content strategy, reach out to us at hello@fulltiltconsulting.com to discuss how we can help you get started.