Video content has pride of place on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, not to mention being the entire raison d'être for YouTube and Vimeo. Video on social media is here to stay, so how can your business and brand keep up?
The one-word answer: quality. The longer answer… well, that’s a bit more involved — but, surprisingly, less complicated — than you might think.
Know Your Purpose
For some brands, social media isn’t an ancillary channel; it’s the entire point. For them, posts with videos are self-contained. For others, the video is merely the hook to drive other behaviors — buying decisions, signups, site visits, and purchases. However, each of these types of posts and the videos they contain will be structured differently. Without knowing your why, it’s impossible to get your how right.
Give Your Audience Some Credit
Many brands have jumped on the short-form bandwagon. And by short-form, we don’t mean sixty-second or even thirty-second spots; even though Vine is a thing of the past, the ultra-short video format they pioneered lives on in the Stories format that’s being pushed hard by Facebook and Instagram. That format has its place, but don’t simply assume your target market’s attention span is too limited for something longer. They sat still for the entire 182-minute run time of Avengers. If you’ve got a long-form narrative video with a compelling story to tell, they’ll stick it out even if it means taking some additional time.
Serialize
For that matter, who said you had to tell your story all at once? From the earliest days of film up to the 1950’s — when television started to take audience share from theaters — people would return to theaters week after week to keep up with the adventures of Flash Gordon, Daniel Boone, or Commander Cody, told in the form of short chapters that would unfold week after week. Why not borrow a page from that playbook? Creativity helps you elevate your signal above the noise, leads to emotional investment in your story, and encourages your fans to spread the word.
Combine Media
One thing that’s important and all too often overlooked is content that’s tailored to the platform on which it’s posted, while also keeping a consistent voice across different channels. Even smaller organizations need to be “on brand” all the time. It takes experience and a good eye to ensure that kind of consistency, but it’s important to get it right to avoid muddling your message.
Quality Matters
If your social media is worth doing, it’s worth doing right. A solid message loses its impact if you haven’t gotten the fundamentals right. That means a script that conveys your message clearly and economically, proper sound and lighting, smooth visuals with logical transitions, and the right color grading (among other things), since missing details aren’t a good look for an established business.
Work With Video Production Experts
Of course, there’s far more you can do with video on social media; we’re here for your needs and concerns, to hear your suggestions, and to offer some more of our own. You’ve probably noticed a few repeating themes here: content matters; stories matter; quality matters. If you want to be noticed, video is your “how” and social media is your “where.” But showing up the right way matters, too, which rather underscores the importance of getting your video right the first time. 24Frames can help you do more with video on social media. We’ll take the time to address your needs and concerns, hear your suggestions, and offer some of our own. Get in touch today to take the first steps in telling your story in a way that resonates with your audience.