Currently, video is the most popular form of content in terms of traffic. The user engagement and lead generation of video marketing is also more effective than that of other types of advertising. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram, and others, have further helped to increase the dominance of video marketing, thanks to the large consumer base they offer, and the ease of creating and sharing videos. Therefore, if you are looking to share videos with your target market, social media videos are the way to go. Facebook video is especially a great idea due to its large number of users (over 1.7 billion users).
However, if you want a social video to work for your brand, you can’t just share any video; you need to share a great video that will engage and generate leads. Below is a look at some tips on how you can create great Facebook videos for your brand.
- Use a professional for the video production
Nowadays, you can easily shoot a video using a camera phone and instantly share it with millions of users on social media. Therefore, when creating a social video for your brand, it might be tempting to “do-it-yourself”. However, hiring a video production company can prove to be more beneficial.
For starters, professional production will guarantee you a high-quality video that will capture the attention of your audience and engage them thus leading to more leads and conversions. Professionals are also more likely to help tell your brand story in better and more engaging ways, thus leading to more interactions (views). Lastly, a high-quality video will help to create the image of a reliable and trustworthy brand, which will make it easier to engage your audience.
- Make your video relevant to the target audience
Social media users have a lot of content to choose from, and usually, very little time to view everything. Therefore, if you want to capture the attention of your audience, you must share with them content that is relevant. On top of that, Facebook uses an algorithm, EdgeRank, to rank posts (including videos) on users wall, with relevancy being one of the top factors of the algorithm.
Therefore, if you want your video to be viewed by more users – and to engage them – you must make it relevant for them. As a result, when creating your corporate video, you should identify your audience and tailor your video to meet their interests, attitude, understanding, and beliefs. In case you have more than one audience group, consider creating different videos for them – this will help to create more interactions.
- Focus on telling a story
Today, consumers are bombarded with advert messages from every corner, from online ads to mobile ads, emails, TVs, newspapers and magazines, and so on. With such a huge daily exposure to ads, most people tend to find them annoying, and will often ignore them. Therefore, when creating a Facebook video for your brand, you want to avoid anything that looks like a sales pitch. Instead, you should focus on telling the audience a story.
Unlike a sales pitch (which can come across as cold and generic) a story is interesting, emotional, and memorable. As a result, it has the ability to engage your audience easily, and influence them to take the action you intend. Therefore, your video should be more of a story, for example, a story about your brand, or a specific product. Make the story as interesting as possible, and help it to resonate with your audience.
- Make the introduction compelling
Social media videos are like any other type of content; you must make an interesting and compelling introduction to capture the attention of the users. Therefore, the first few seconds of the video are very important – it is where you will engage the audience or lose them. You can make these first few seconds count by:
- Using captivating thumbnails
- Using a short teaser to tell the audience what the video is about
On top of that, you should keep the introduction as short and brief as possible. In fact, you can even forego it and dive straight into the story; no wasting audience’s time with a long-drawn introduction.
- Make use of non-verbal cues
When it comes to social media videos, you cannot just rely on sound to get your message across. This is especially the case with Facebook videos, which are sometimes auto played while mute. On top of that, some people might not be in a position to listen to the video sound, for example, when at work, in public, or are distracted. Therefore, you should make use of non-verbal cues to help get your message across.
Captions are one of the top non-verbal cues you can use on your Facebook video. Even without sound, the captions will help the user to understand your video. Asides from captions, you can opt for text overlays, which are just as engaging. In fact, you can even make your video more appealing by using beautiful images with colorful text colors.
- Keep the video brief
Social media is all about instant gratification. Therefore, anything that takes up the attention of social media users for more than a few minutes is likely to be ineffective. With this in mind, when creating a Facebook video for your brand, you should keep it as short as possible. Focus on just one, easy-to-understand point, and remove anything that draws out your video. In the end, your video should only be a few minutes long, enough to capture the attention of your audience, share the message, and get the users to follow up (call-to-action). 1 to 2 minutes will be enough for all this.
- Add a call to action
A great social media video will be of no value to your brand if it does not have a call-to-action. Therefore, your video should feature a call-to-action that offers the viewers direction once they are finished watching it. The direction offered can be anything from visiting your website, subscribing to newsletters or mailing list, claiming a free trial, visiting a product page, and so on.
The call-to-action should be brief and clear, and in an easy-to-find place, for example, end of the video. On top of that, it should be less about selling and more about offering direction to your audience.
Social media videos can help you to hook your target audience, engage them, and influence them into taking an intended action. However, to achieve all of these, your video needs to be great. If you are looking to make a Facebook video for your brand, the above tips can help you to create an interesting, engaging, and compelling video that will engage your audience.