Even though algorithms are constantly evolving and social media users’ behaviour changing, there is something that is more powerful than ever before: video.
The power of social video
Video is the primary type of social content. It’s the most immediate and cut through way for you to share your story and reach the right people. Although it’s a lot easier for you to create memes, or put together infographics, if you want to share your message and get results, video needs to be part of your campaign.
Personalising video content
However, it’s not enough to just “make videos”. Once you have your objective, you need to identify your target audience. Once you know who you are targeting (whether organically or through paid advertising), you can create the right type of content. Personalised video is a much more effective way to share your story. A male aged 65+ consumes and reacts to completely different types of video than a 25 year old female.
Optimising video content for social media platforms
Not only do you need to personalise your videos for your audience, you need to optimise them for different social media channels. What works on Facebook won’t necessarily work on Instagram. Each platform has its own video specifications in terms of dimensions, ratios, formats, lengths and file sizes.
But there are also user preferences. If you want to reach the right people, you need to give them what they want and how they want it.
Long-form video
In 2016 Google rolled out 6 second bumper ads. Digital marketers quickly responded with creating shorter style videos. This, combined with our ever-decreasing attention span, surely indicates that shorter videos are better? Not necessarily. Recent changes have demonstrated algorithms favour longer form videos. Facebook is encouraging creators to make videos at least three minutes long, so that the organic reach is higher. Instagram has introduced IGTV which allows you to increase the usual one minute maximum video upload to 60 minutes (if uploading it from the web). However, Twitter only has a maximum video length of 2 minutes 20 seconds. The rule is to experiment with your video content and see what works based on the platform you intend to use.
When all is said and down it comes down to 3 things:
- Do you have a powerful opening hook?
- Does the video tell an engaging story?
- Are you giving people what they want to watch?
Authenticity over production value?
In local public office you don’t have the time, money or resources to create the next big viral political video. But, don’t worry. What people want to see is real life, over well shot videos. People are drawn to real content and genuine stories. Not only do people want to see something, they want to feel part of it. Videos that reveal sneak peaks, behind the scenes and “live moments” help build connection and trust between the viewer and the author.
Video is the most popular form of content. This is unlikely to change anytime soon. Video is the best way to tell your story and to reach the right people.