5 simple ways to ace your next social video like a pro

Ever made or seen a social video? Chances are you have, but have you thought of making one or a better one? If yes, great.

That’s what I’ll be highlighting in this post, five (5) super simple ways to ace your next (or first) social video like a pro.

Social videos are becoming a thing, nearly everyone on social is encountering, creating or consuming one. In fact statistics say over 1 billion hours of video content is consumed daily on YouTube alone.

Yours could be part of the videos being watched, replayed, shared and saved for future viewing, that’s if you know how, but before I show how, here are

Some Interesting Video Marketing Statistics to Note

  1. In a report published by Forrester, including a video in an email leads to an astonishing 200-300% increase in click-through rate.
  2. According to Wyzowl, 79% of consumers revealed they would rather watch a video to learn about a product than reading text on a page
  3. According to Unbounce, including a video on a landing page can increase conversion by as much as 80%
  4. According to Forbes, 65% of executives visit marketers website and 39% call a vendor after viewing a video
  5. ComScore reveals that the average internet user spends more than 16 minutes watching online video ads every month
  6. Thirty-six percent of online consumer trust video ads, according to NIELSEN Wire
  7. Invodo reveals that 92% of mobile video consumers share videos with others.

So,

What Really is a Social Video?

When you scroll to/through a Facebook video on your timeline, it automatically plays. Same for Twitter, Instagram, etc.

A social video (in this context) is simply any video created for use on social media. It can be for:

  • social marketing,
  • social media marketing,
  • personal branding,
  • artistic expression,
  • explainer videos,
  • protests,
  • demonstrations,
  • campaigns,
  • breaking news,
  • announcements, etc

With billions of daily active users, social media is one of the best places to advertise and market your business, products or services. And with billions consuming video content, video is one of the best means to spread the word, with visuals of course.

There are several free video editing software with which you can create amazing videos for social marketing or other bigger video projects like GoPro, Adobe Premiere, etc.

That said, here are

5 Simple, Smart and Straightforward Ways to Ace your Next Social Video like a Pro

  1. Decide Your Goal(s)

You should do this ever before you commence creation. What do you want to achieve with your social videos? Is it views, likes, shares, comments, engagement, traffic, subscriptions?

This will determine the content, concept, tone and style of your video, from start to finish. And it may vary from project to project.

Doing this will give direction to the entire project, measurability and accountability, plus help you track progress. Just remember to keep it SMART

Specific

Measurable

Achievable

Realistic

Time bound

  1. Know Your Consumers/Audience

What’s the point of selling ice to Eskimos, except you’re including something never seen before, unique?

You should know your audience as much as you can, their age, stage, state, sex, income levels, tastes, preferences, hopes, aspirations, language, slangs, etc.

This will help you create videos that’ll resonate with them and elicit the responses you desire in #1 above. Remember it’s about them.

  1. Know Your Platform

Videos for Facebook Live will differ from those for Instagram TV, ditto for other social networks. Because video requirement differ from platform to platform, it is essential to optimize your videos per platform.

If your target audience are more of Instagram users then Instagram TV may be your focus, which will require you to shoot and use vertical videos.

Also, there are bitrate, length and size requirements per platform. Understanding these and implementing them will ensure that your different audiences on different platforms get the best videos from you.

  1. Write the Right Script

A good video isn’t just camera, lights and action. There’s a whole lot that goes into making a great video, no matter how short or long it is. One of such is a good script.

A good script is the foundation of a good video, then good directors, actors, editors, etc. Nearly everybody can talk and write but not everybody can write a good script.

If you’re copy challenged you can hire the services of a skilled copywriter to help you craft the perfect script for a solid video.

  1. Keep it Short

I know you have a lot to say, but they (probably) don’t have a lot of time to stay, so better make it snappy, sharp and straight to the point.

Reports suggest that viral social videos (grossing over 1m views) are typically 30 seconds to 1 minute long. This doesn’t give room for long speeches.

This is why you need good scripts, directors, actors and editors to help make the most of your videos by ensuring only the best remains.

Conclusion

There’s a lot to be said about creating a great social video, these are just a few, but they’re still a great place to start.

Just remember to:

  1. Decide your goals ahead of time
  2. Know and understand your audience
  3. Know and understand your platform
  4. Write a great script or hire someone to
  5. Keep it simple, short and straight to the point

And you’ll be fine.

Share with us your thoughts and tips you use to create great social videos.

Author Bio:

Amos Onwukwe is an AWAI trained Business and Ecommerce Copywriter who loves to write about business, entrepreneurship, ecommerce, social media and tech, as seen in Huffington Post,Dumb Little Man, Self Growth, Ecommerce Nation, eCommerce Insights, Understanding Ecommerce, Result First, etc. Twitter: @amos_onwukwe