The Rise of Video Marketing: Get more from your social media video production
Updated: 4 days ago
In social media, video is king. It's the most popular form of content that social media users are engaging with, and for good reason - video conveys a message in a way that no other medium can. Because social media has been around for so long, brands, videographers, and video production companies have had plenty of time to develop best practices when it comes to social video marketing.
In this blog post we'll discuss why social video marketing is effective, how to maximize your content strategy, and what you should be doing with your video marketing initiatives.
Social video marketing is effective because it's an emotional form of communication, and social media users are constantly seeking out that sort of content to engage with.
Video allows you to better connect with your audience than through social posts or static images. What type and how long your content is will depend on your objectives and strategy.
Short Form Video Content
People actually get a sense for what goes on inside your company when they watch a short clip from behind the scenes as an example. This social video marketing approach is particularly effective on social networks that feature a stories type feature, where users have a personal connection to the brand they follow.
You don't need a video production company to create behind the scenes videos for your stories. But before you just hand over your Instagram handle to the intern, or brand ambassador make sure you have some guardrails in place
Create a clear social media best practices (do and don't on the company's social media pages) document using visual examples. Your social media company partners may already have a template for you to use, but if not, let us know and we will send you some ideas.
The right video production company can maximize all your content through creative video editing.
Another way to approach short form content is to post clips from content shoots that are either snippets from longer form content or outtakes and angles that were never used during previous video production shoots. A skilled video editor can repurpose this footage in ways that will feel fresh.
When you're creating longer forms of video for your social media, campaigns, or events don't forget to ask your video production agency to edit a short teaser from the overall raw footage. Using the right approach in your video editing strategy can stretch a budget to the max!
That way users have something to look forward to and, when done correctly, with planning during the pre-production phase, creating shorter videos (under 15sec) from longer video edits is an effective way to use shorter pieces of video content.
Using best practices like these will help you see positive social video marketing results with campaign and maximize your content marketing budget.
20EVO edited this 15 sec video for @XSNATION Instagram
to promote a new product and launch their XS Sports fit in 30 days campaign
during the COVID-19 lockdown. By using existing footage and licensing new material
we were able to deliver fresh content to the XS audience.
Medium to Long Form Video Content
Medium to long form video production offers ways to make deep, thought provoking, connections with your audience. You can use medium to long form videos on social media to tell a story that's part of your brand's initiatives.
Use long form content to create:
Narrative content that tells a story
Educational Videos
Brand or Product Launches
Documentary Films
Corporate or Employee Profiles
When creating longer videos try and have more than one person speaking. Creating a conversational tone in your video gives the feeling among your brand's social media followers of inclusion and will keep them engaged throughout the entire video.
Long form social video is perhaps the most effective social video marketing strategy you can use. You'll have the opportunity to introduce your brand, showcase its personality and give people a reason to stay on your social networks longer than they normally would.
People love long-form live videos because they allow for engagement with those who are watching them as well as other users within the comments section of the post. You can do this with a simple setup with a cell phone camera or go with a multi camera setup and live switcher.
If your seeking an elevated experience for your live audience but lack the budget for a produced television style broadcast, you can find inexpensive tools on the market. For example the Mevo camera incorporates live cropping using facial recognition technology, giving the illusion of a multi camera production. This will create a more engaging live video, with multiple guests, without breaking the bank.
20EVO worked with agency Trone Brand Energy to produce a series of videos
telling the story of the Breweries coming to North Carolina through Craft Central.
By interviewing several people from the brewery, in this video,
we told the story of Devil's Backbone Brewing Company
Branded Documentary Films
While digital video ads have become more popular in recent years, branded documentary films, with the same production quality and storytelling impact of traditional films, offer a valuable alternative strategy in marketing plans.
The strategy behind branded documentaries is to build brand equity and become part of the cultural zeitgeist. Telling a story through a documentary style film allows a brand to share their core message and brand ethos to the world.
Digital video ads only reach an audience that actively chooses to engage with "look a like content" which can lead to varying results and success or failure.
However, by reaching their target market through a documentary film, means that brands will be able to provide organic product placement in daily life for their target consumer which can often go under the radar. Allowing for brand awareness without interrupting the consumers' experience watching it.
Companies need to show thought leadership when using documentaries for brand awareness strategy.
The audience needs to be able to watch the documentary and understand that it was not paid for by a brand because of a marketing plan but that the brand deeply cares about the subject and story being told.
Branded documentaries are becoming increasingly popular with brands changing strategy to tell their story through authenticity rather than traditional digital video ads.
This strategy is important when brand building in today's world because it allows for organic storytelling in a way that reaches the customer where they are already spending time.
You can learn more about how 20EVO creates documentary films for brands here.
Case study: 20EVO produced Bhushan Thakkar's Returning Home, a 12min short film featuring Pro Mountain Biker Richie Schley.
The films sponsors all had a connection to the story:
Vaude creates environmentally friendly outdoor gear. We used Vaude tents throughout the film to offer a base camp for our main characters journey.
ABUS is a security company that offers locks, bike helmets and other safety equipment for people on the move.
Cedar City Events is overseeing the building of a new multi-use natural trail system and wanted to feature one of their trails in the film.
"The core goal for Returning Home was to promote audiences to get outside and appreciate nature, and to do it without coming across as preachy." - Bhushan Thakkar
Films like these will give marketers new audiences to reach.
When the film you create is authentic, engaging, and informative it can live for well over a year through events like film festivals. The content also can have a second life on an OTT network.
Far too often we see film producers only thinking about the making of the film. This is easy to understand since the project is usually the single most important thing for the creator.
As content creators, it's too easy to hyper focus on the creation and birth of our films. We need to think of the films distribution in the short term without sacrificing long term viability.
Make sure the producer of the film your brand is investing in, has a good message that speaks to your brands core and make sure they also have great marketing strategy in place for post launch of the film.
"Returning Home" wins Best Cinematography at the Environmental Film Festival
Understanding why companies are telling stories that speak to their core mission and ethos can help marketers better understand how they can incorporate this strategy into their own marketing plan.
Ready to reach new audiences with authentic storytelling?
We have the capacity, capability, ideas, and most importantly, the strategy to maximize reach.
Schedule a call with us today!
The one social network where brands are seeing the greatest social video marketing success is Instagram, and it's not hard to figure out why. Instagram (along with its brother Facebook) offers the most options for length of content.
Looking to scroll through endless video clips? Check out reels. Looking to get a behind the scenes look at your favorite brand? check out stories. Looking to get educated about the newest product? Check out IGTV.
Instagram is the one stop shop when it comes to social media video content, which might be the reason for its huge success. The platform has more than 1 billion active users. According to Pew Research 71% of U.S. adults between 18-29 use Instagram.
Video is the social media platform's most engaging content type, making it easy for brands to connect with their target audience. This video marketing success stems from a combination of great storytelling and visually beautiful imagery - something that Instagram has mastered over time through its highly engaged and creative user base.
When creating social videos on this social network, keep in mind, quality matters. You don't have to spend a fortune on video production, but you should make the investment necessary to create quality video content within a pre-determined strategy.
Using these best practices for social video marketing success will help your brand stand out from the rest of the Instagram content that's being shared at any given moment.
If your interested in more Instagram data check out this article from our friends at Hubspot.
YouTube
YouTube has become the second largest search engine in the world and offers many opportunities for people with interesting stories to share their knowledge and expertise online.
If you've got a social video marketing strategy, this social network is one of the best places to make it happen.
YouTube has more than 2.3 billion active users, and if that number needs perspective there are approximately 7.8 billion people on earth.
YouTube video is a great way to show people how they can use your products or services in their own lives.
One of the most popular forms of content is educational videos revolved around a product or service and open box videos where a YouTuber receives a product and opens it, showing the viewer what they get when they make a purchase.
Some of the most successful videos on YouTube are those that have been viewed millions upon millions of times. It's not because these creators went out there with a big budget and hired actors. They used strategies to make them stand out amongst the crowd, with strong CTAs, and holding to a consistent posting schedule.
Video marketing is the most popular social media content type, making it an important part of any social media strategy. When you create social media videos for your brand on Instagram or YouTube keep in mind that quality matters.
Conclusion
As we’ve mentioned, it can be difficult to get people interested in your brand just by telling them about it. With video content you have the opportunity to show customers what makes your business unique and why they should support you through purchasing a product or service from you.
When creating videos for social media, think about how much time is available in each post and how to incorporate room for text overlays to further the narrative.
Short form video content like behind the scenes footage of events, outtakes from shoots and teasers are great ways to keep followers engaged without requiring hours-long productions that only work well when posted on YouTube (or other platforms where long form videos thrive).
Think of shorter content as the way to grab attention and build community. Longer content as way to build a deeper more meaningful relationship with your audience.
Longer form video content such as profile videos, live videos, corporate films and even documentaries can tell an engaging narrative for a brand that social media users will follow and engage with.
Bonus Tip: Maximizing Content
By telling a story through multiple short posts you can create content that can live on multiple platforms and channels. For example, in this series called "Behind the Can" we produced for @XSNATION we interviewed Richie Schley, (one of their sponsored athletes at the time) and gave the community an insiders look.
By keeping answers and questions under 15sec we could use the Stories feature on Instagram to post throughout the day. Later we could take all those segments and put together a longer video that could be used on IGTV or their YouTube channel.
By breaking up the day into 15sec chunks
Bhushan was able to tell a cohesive stthat could be used for additional platforms
Video marketing is the social video content type that's driving social media success for brands and it's not going away any time soon, so get on board with a social video strategy today! If your looking for a partner in your video marketing strategy lets talk. Schedule a call with us today.