Video on social media has become kind of a big deal.
Every day, people are watching over 100 million hours of video on Facebook [1], hundreds of millions of hours of video on YouTube [2], and over 8 billion video views on Snapchat [3]. That’s a lot of video.
“Social video” is any digital video that is seen and shared through social media networks. A great social video is:
- optimized for the platform it’s on
- shareable
- and most of all, engaging for your viewers
What’s the benefit of video?
Social video helps tell your brand’s story. Video is a great way to really connect with your viewers by giving them a glimpse into your company culture and vibe.
Social video also can help a lot to build brand awareness. It can be a great way to show off your products or skills—your video can showcase a new product or teach viewers something new in a fun how-to video.
Here’s why social video fits right into your marketing plan:
#1. Video is now included in pretty much every major social media platform.
Besides the obvious YouTube, video is a key component of Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
#2. Video is unique in its ability to connect with viewers.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I’m not sure what a video is worth but it’s definitely an efficient way to get your message across. A one page-long how-to guide could be replaced by a 30 second video that gets your point across just as well, or even better.
#3. Social video can deliver on ROI.
52% of marketing professionals named video as the type of content with the best ROI [4], and 72% of businesses that use video say that it has increased conversion rates on their website [5].
#4. Social video speaks to the important 18 to 33 year-old demographic.
Millennials are spending more time watching video on their phones, tablets, and laptops, and less time watching on their TV, so meeting your audience where they’re at is key.
Sources: [1] https://www.facebook.com/business/news/brand-videos-in-audience-network [2] https://www.youtube.com/yt/press/statistics.html [3] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-29/snapchat-s-spiegel-to-investors-we-have-8-billion-video-views-a-day [4] http://syndacast.com/video-marketing-statistics-trends-2015/ [5] http://www.webvideomarketing.org/white-papers2/9749-the-state-of-video-marketing-2016
