Video marketing is a powerful way to communicate with prospects and consumers. Videos have a tremendous power and will continue to gain more reach on social media platforms such as Instagram. You, as a marketer or business owner, will need to develop a video advertising strategy that suits your budget and needs.
Let's take an in-depth look at these video advertising strategies!
1. EMPHASIZE ON THE STORIES, NOT SALES
Your video must be valuable to the viewers if you want it to be seen in large numbers. Videos that only focus on driving sales or branding will be ignored. But videos that tell stories about the person behind it and what they have to offer their viewers will get noticed.
A video shows how Harry Caray (budweiser ad) , a legendary broadcaster, might have called the Chicago Cubs World Series Victory. This video is worth a look!
It needs to have a beginning, middle and an end. Facebook recommends that you upload short videos to tell a compelling story. This will keep your audience interested throughout the video. Check out Facebook's video best practice checklist.
2. USING THE FIRST FEW SECONDS WISELY
Did you know that today's average attention span is only 8.5 seconds? This is less than the 9 second attention span of a goldfish. Your videos should grab your viewers' attention as they scroll through your feed.
A hook is a preview of what's coming up. This is one of the best ways you can do this. Dollar Shave Club created an explainer video in 2012. Years later, it is still in use by driving conversions and bringing in new links.
The video starts with the opening frames and gives you the perfect hook!
The takeaway: Your video must deliver value to the viewers and present a clear value proposition for the company. No one will listen if you don't give a clear explanation of what you do and why it matters in less than 30 seconds.
3. LEVERAGE THE POWER THUMBNAILS
Both YouTube and Facebook allow you to upload thumbnails.
Thumbnails can be a great way for viewers to get excited about your video and grab their attention before it begins playing. The first impressions are crucial in determining how your audience views your content.
Takeaway Thumbnails represent miniature versions of video content. Thumbnails are designed to spark curiosity and interest in your audience. A great thumbnail can help you gain thousands of followers.
You should be aware of the following considerations when uploading thumbnails:
Thumbnail best practices for YouTube
- You can set the resolution to 1280x720 with a minimum width at 640 pixels.
- Upload images in JPG, GIF or PNG formats.
- Keep your files under 2MB.
- Use a 16/9 aspect ratio, as this is the most popular in YouTube previews and players.
Thumbnail best practices for Facebook
- For landscape, minimum dimensions are 600x315 and 600x600 for squares.
- Facebook says that text on thumbnails should not exceed 20% of an image.
4. CREATE SHOPPABLE VIDEOS THAT CONVERT
Shoppable videos are a way for brands to connect with consumers via social media.
Now brands can offer a highly personalized and curated experience to their customers that starts with a product placement or advertisement. Shoppable videos show products that can be bought via embedded links from the social media platform they are using.
Brands can make the most out of shoppable videos with platforms like Amazon Live, TikTok and Youtube. Here are the differences between them:
Amazon Live
Amazon Live allows brands to create interactive, live promotional videos that appear on product pages as well as the Amazon Live landing page. The brand can also pay to broadcast their video streams so that they are seen by more shoppers.
TikTok
TikTok allows users to shop through their favorite videos. Rihanna, famed Fenty Beauty founder, and makeup artist extraordinaire, often uses shoppable videos in her eCommerce social media strategies.
For brands with a large following or those just starting out, Instagram is the most shoppable video platform. Each video can be easily tagged with five products, and viewers can purchase directly from the app.
YouTube
YouTube introduced several features for YouTube advertising that allow users to shop while they watch videos. These include TrueView cards, which add shopping links to the video and CTA buttons that promote products.
5. SHOW YOUR VIDEOS WITH OR WITHOUT SOUNDS
Facebook removed their silent video feature in 2017. Videos now play with sound even though your audio device is off. Although this seemed like a gradual update, people ended up having to mute Facebook completely in their mobile app settings.
Optimizing your videos for Instagram and Facebook should be considered. This is a Wistia example of a Facebook video that aims to grab viewers' attention with engaging visuals and drive traffic to the author's blog post.
Lastly
Social networks were created to share content with family and friends. If you want views, make sure you post frequently. You can think of it as a TV program where there are new episodes every week. People will tune in weekly, or daily depending on how interested they are in what you share. These simple video advertising strategies will help you promote your business.
