It’s a fact. Social Media platforms love rich media and in 2016 none more so than video.
On the 31st March 2010 YouTube exploded on the scene with a video-centric website that vowed to buck the trend of an internet made up of just text and photos. Sure they weren’t the first to put video online, but they were the first to focus on long term creativity and creating a community which would eventually turn ordinary people into global mega stars.
Fast forward to *right now* and they should be popping the corks on the champagne as they have achieved all this and more.
In fact because of YouTube’s meteoric rise to fame, video is now part of all popular social media platforms. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine, Reddit, Tumblr, Buzzfeed – they all love it.
Video, when produced well and relevantly to the target audience, outperforms pretty much any other form of sharable media. Team that up with the correct platform and it helps users/brands and companies drives traffic, sales and awareness like no other.
5 ONLINE VIDEO FACTS
1. Over 1 billion use YouTube
2. Facebook videos are viewed over 8 billion times a day
3. 78% of people watch videos online every week
4. By 2018 experts predict that 79% of all internet traffic will be video related
5. Over 12 million Vine videos are uploaded to twitter daily, played 1.5 billion times
So, how can you use video in your business strategy straight away?
1. Create a Video Newsletter?
Instead of sending out a flat email to your clients and customers, WOW them by turning it into an engaging 2 minute news blast that showcases the fantastic work you’ve been doing. Include talking heads from your clients and maybe a short message from your CEO or a designated team leader. This shouldn’t be a one off, you should make a decision to create a series of content.
Why not invest in the creation of digital assets, maybe some simple motion graphics of your logo/brand. This will make it look polished.
This isn’t as costly as it may sound and the potential ROI is huge.
2. Live Q&A
Facebook have a new feature. It’s called Facebook Live. It’s like Periscope (see periscope.tv), but my opinion…better. Communicate to your followers via your brand page,solicit for questions and topics and set up a time for when you’ll be on hand to answer them all. While you’re broadcasting you can see any interactions from engaged viewers below your video. When you’ve finished and ended the feed, It gets archived so everyone can watch it back later within Facebook.
Tip > Just make sure you try and set yourself up in a quiet area in the office or at home, so you can concentrate. Also spend a bit of time making the ‘set’ behind you look in-keeping with your brand.
3. Animation Explainer
An animation explainer video is perfect as an overview video for your company, event or brand. This is normally positioned on the homepage of your website and used in marketing meetings offline too. It’s delivered as a normal video, but really it's a bespoke motion graphics presentation, a dynamic version of the tried and tested infographics concept.
Always keep in mind that the key length for viewer retention is 1 to 3 minutes, so make sure that you set out a project that keeps within this time frame. It must be uncluttered, eye-catching and informative.
Recently the NDCS engaged with us to create an animation that help employers with deaf job candidates: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3HAL_4aF0A
Also see how Successful Sutton utilised this style to show residents what they achieved: https://vimeo.com/132106109
I hope I’ve given you some ideas of how to grow your online presence using video online. If you have any ideas of your own, or would like to ask any questions related to creating a project you’ve got in mind, please feel free to contact me directly.
Neil Bentley
CEO of CrowdScreen, webvid.co.uk & Swipe Digital Ltd.
Email me directly at neil@webvid.co.uk, via the website www.webvid.co.uk or by phone on 0208 133 1728.
