Originally published on October 4th, 2018. Updated for December 29th, 2020.
Social video (digital video seen and shared through social media networks) is a powerful way to tell your brand’s story and build brand awareness. Video provides a unique way to really connect with your viewers by giving them a glimpse into your company culture and personality. It’s also a great way to show off your products or skills, by showcasing a new product or teaching your followers something new in a fun how-to video.
Video has become a big part of social media marketing. In a survey of over 570 businesses, Hubspot reported that 81% of people have been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video. With such a huge ROI, the trend toward social video is growing, and here’s the good news: it’s right at your fingertips.
We’ve compiled a list of resources to help you start (or enhance your already existing!) social video marketing. From learning how to create a video, to which platforms to use for maximum visibility and engagement, this one-stop-shop is for all your video needs.
Tutorials
A great place to start creating videos, or making better videos, is learning about what tools are out there and how to use them. Search for tutorials on YouTube, there are millions of free videos YouTube users have uploaded to help you get going.
Stock Videos
Now you need some great content and footage. Smartphones are powerful enough that you can go out and film your own footage! Go out there and have employees film some behind the scenes, or interview satisfied customers. If you have to you can also use stock footage. But remember: video from your actual organization will always be more impactful and personal than stock footage.
Editing Software
Video editing software allows you to put content together professionally on your computer. With many of these resources, you don’t even need experience to start using them. There are also free and paid versions of a lot of software, so don’t worry about going over-budget.
Metricool is a free AI video editing site. Upload your video and image elements and Metricool makes the video for you. You can select different layouts, different transitions, and music. They have free and paid versions.
Wave.video is another useful tool worth looking at. Wave.video can automatically resize your edited videos for use on different social media platforms. The free version includes access to over 2 million royalty-free images and videos and video creations up to 15 seconds.
Platforms
Finding the right platform for your business or nonprofit is essential to social video marketing. Maybe you already have social channels set up and want to augment your content with video. Or you want a channel specifically for social video. Whatever the case, here are some options for different platforms to host your videos.
Instagram is purely image-driven and video is prevalent on this platform. Hashtags make stories highly discoverable.
YouTube and YouTube Live are the most popular video sites with Google search integration, meaning better discoverability. You can also embed YouTube videos onto your website, so you can include videos without slowing down your site or paying for large file hosting fees.
Facebook Live is favored over regular Facebook posts because of their built-in distribution and autoplay. People that follow your page get a notification when you start a live video and Facebook saves the video to use after the live event is over.
When it comes to social video, it’s never too late to start. Use this list as a jumping-off point for resources and don’t be afraid to ask companies like us at Technology Aloha for help. We love making you more successful, so you can make more meaningful contributions to your community.
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