The Importance of Sharing Videos on Social

(PHOTO CREDIT: Nopparat Khokthong/SHUTTERSTOCK)

With so many new social media platforms popping up left and right, it can be tough to determine the best place to post your videos, or whether to post them at all. Not all platforms are equal when it comes to video, but with video becoming an enormous aspect of the social space, it’s more important than ever to get it right.

In this post, we’ll go over why creating videos for social is important, and give some examples of what to post and where.

Importance of Video

Throughout the last two decades, video has taken the spotlight as one of the best ways to grow your brand. Companies big and small have heavily invested in video to utilize a number of its benefits. This includes lead generation, SEO, storytelling, product and service explanations, and more. Not to mention that consumers simply love video; for example, 68% of consumers prefer to watch videos to learn about new products and services over articles. Needless to say, video is going to be a huge asset for your brand, and the same goes for videos on social media.

Over the last several years, social media has cemented itself as an important aspect of marketing. More recently, there has been a huge shift in favor of video as the format of choice. We’ve seen this across the board from long-standing social media giants like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and even Linkedin, while newcomers like TikTok have hit the ground running, focusing entirely on video content. So the big question to ask yourself at this point is: should my company invest in video for social media? The short answer is: yes, absolutely. The long answer: also yes, but with a few caveats.

Many of the same benefits you gain from producing normal video content bleed over into the benefits you gain when posting on social media. Additionally, there are a few extra benefits with posting to social sites, like more exposure, appealing to younger audiences, increased sales, the ability to convey your company’s personality, and much more. For an in-depth look at these benefits, check out this article from Later Media.

Every type of business has the opportunity to create great videos across multiple platforms. However, it’s important to note that the type of video content you should share will vary depending on a number of factors, such as your industry, your goals, and the resources that are available to you.

Videos created for a B2C (business-to-consumer) clothing company will likely look quite different than videos for a SaaS B2B (business-to-business) company. Videos for brand building may convey your brand story, while ones that are created to drive conversions will have more overt sales messaging in them. Furthermore, if your company has a large budget and production team, the quality and quantity of those videos are going to be a lot different than those produced by a small business with a few employees.

For the highest chance of success, be sure to evaluate your unique situation and set realistic goals and expectations around what you want to achieve with your videos on social.

Types of Videos To Create

While each business has different goals and objectives, there are a few types of videos that work best across the board, especially when getting started.

How-To Videos

How-to or educational content is one of the cornerstones of the video marketing world. Providing your audience with valuable information is a powerful way to position yourself as a thought leader in any industry, and these work especially well on social media since many users are craving helpful information in a quick, digestible format.

Customer Testimonials

One of the best ways to promote your business is by having someone else sing your praises, and this is where customer testimonials come into play. These types of videos are great because they add a very human touch to your social video efforts. Having a customer explain on video how your product or service helped improve their business is a very effective way to build trust with your audience.

Product Videos

Creating product videos is an absolute must. Because your product is the star of your business, it deserves to be highlighted on a regular basis. These types of videos can explain your product, showcase new features, or simply show off your product in a simple, visually appealing way. These videos can also be highly beneficial if your product or service is a bit more complex, since conveying your message through video on social makes it easy for potential customers to absorb the information.

Which Platforms Should You Post On?

Where you post will depend on the bandwidth of your creative team. In the most ideal situation, you would craft several videos, each specific for the type of platform you are posting to. While Facebook and Twitter generally work well for all types of content, you can also position Linkedin videos specifically toward a business audience. On the other hand, Instagram and TikTok videos are more ideal for short, visually impactful content or behind-the-scenes content.

However, it is common for businesses to lack the bandwidth to create a large variety of content. In this case, the best solution is to plan to make great content that can live on various platforms. This typically involves cropping or editing the video, which requires some effort, but far less than creating several different types of content on a regular basis. For a full guide on planning video shoots to accommodate different social platforms, check out our Shooting for Social How To Video.

Experiment On New Platforms

We also strongly encourage experimentation. The best part of having so many different platforms is the ability to cast a wide net for your target audience. While there might be some overlap, there is a good chance each social platform will have its own separate audience..

If you have the bandwidth, try posting on TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and any other new social media sites that crop up. Be sure to adjust your content to fit the overall vibe of the social platform, and commit to a consistent test period. The best-case scenario is to reach a new audience and grow your community of customers or fans. If your efforts don’t pan out as expected, you’ll at least know you gave it your best shot and tried something new.

We hope these ideas will help you maximize the value of your investment in social video. If you have any other ideas about unexpected ways to leverage your video content on different social platforms, share in the comments below!