Videos are quickly becoming the most popular type of content on the Internet. A video has the ability to provide much more information than a photo, but does not force viewers to read large portions of text. Videos are especially important on social media, where people are looking for opportunities to share messages and stand out from the mass of content that their followers are sifting through. For these reasons, smart digital marketers are taking advantage of the popularity of video, sharing their own personally made videos on their social media channels. Using videos on social media increases your viewership and your chance of being shared, but only if you do it right. We’ve compiled a list of tips to help you create successful videos to share on your business social media channels.

1. Use Interesting Visuals

A successful video is an interesting video that people want to watch. To be interesting, it’s important to have visuals that catch people’s attention. A still video of a person talking or scrolling text isn’t likely to hold anyone’s interest. You should also make use of live video and animation and avoid posting videos that are simply slideshows of different pictures. When you use interesting visuals, your viewers are more likely to watch your video until the end and have their attention held.

2. Keep It Brief

People’s attention spans are growing shorter and shorter, especially when it comes to web content. For this reason, it’s important to keep your videos brief in order to hold your viewers’ attention. More than half of your audience will abandon your video after the first ten seconds, with over 90% of your audience gone after the first minute. Keep these statistics in mind when you’re creating your videos to share on social media. Present the ideas you want to get across quickly, rather than trying to drag them out. When your videos are brief and to the point, you will have more viewers that watch until the end, maximizing your engagement and interest.

3. Make It Educational

You might be tempted to create videos for social media that simply promote your business. However, like other content you share, the most successful content is educational and valuable to your followers. Create videos that are useful for your followers. Consider explainer videos and others that provide valuable, practical information. If your website has a blog, you might consider turning blog posts into videos to provide another platform to receive educational information. When your videos are educational and useful, your viewers are more likely to engage with them and want to watch your next video.

4. Entertain Your Audience

When people are on social media, they want to be entertained. When people view your videos, they are more likely to keep watching if they are entertained. With this idea in mind, you should create videos that will entertain your viewers, either through humor, emotions, or other interesting, entertaining means. In addition to maximizing your viewership and engagement, your followers are more likely to share your video with others if it is entertaining. Therefore, creating entertaining videos is the best way to maximize your visibility on social media.

5. Use Your Branding

You might think this goes without saying, but it’s important to claim your videos as yours. You should focus your videos on providing educational, useful content to your viewers. However, you should also include your logo and mention your company preferably at the beginning and end of the video. When possible, include the coloring of your branding as well. Although the main focus of these videos is providing useful content, these videos will also help promote your brand. For this reason, it’s important to claim these videos and remind viewers that you made it in order to market yourself while you provide useful content. Viewers will then remember your company as one that cares about its customers and wants to give them what they need.

ImageWorks, LLC | CT Social Media Marketing

Does your social media marketing strategy consistently fall short of your goals? Knowing is half the battle. If it’s time to rethink your strategy, all is not lost. Do research on what others in your industry are doing in social media: what works, what doesn’t and their tone.  Take the time to get to know what your potential clients or customers want to see from you.

We understand that social media can be overwhelming, and it's not always easy to change with each update or refresh. If you are looking to boost your social media marketing then you may want to take a step back and reevaluate the online presence you already have.