For many corporate and personal brands, video is more important than ever before. With 78% of people online watching videos weekly–and 55% watching daily–it’s a great time to gather video marketing tips for your strategy.
A staggering number of viewers watch video content online. In addition, 82% of all online traffic is projected to come directly from video by 2022. When you consider the numbers, video marketing seems like a real no-brainer.
Video gives you the opportunity to:
Engage authentically with your followers
Give your audience a peek into your everyday life
Teach valuable skills and share your knowledge to help others
Entertain and inform your followers
Thinking about jumping into video creation for your brand? We’ve pulled together a list of top video marketing tips for 2020 to help you map out your strategy.
Let’s dive in!
1. Engage More Viewers with Stories
Instagram and Facebook Stories allow users to share short-form, vertical videos that disappear after 24 hours. Instagram Stories currently has 500 million active daily users, with 800 million using the platform as a whole.
Stories tend to be more informal and relaxed than posts in the feed (particularly Instagram). They give viewers a quick snapshot of your day or a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes world of your brand. Keeping your Stories authentic to you and true to your brand will keep your viewers coming back for more–they won’t want to miss what you’re sharing.
Stories videos can be leveraged to:
Send users to your profile
Promote your product or service
Gather and share user-generated content (UGC) from your followers
Answer questions and start conversations with your viewers
To engage more viewers with Stories, post consistently. Consistent posting across all social media platforms is a standard best practice for building a relationship with your audience. Therefore, factor in regular Stories when you update your marketing strategy.
2. Optimize for Mobile Devices with Vertical Video
As video continues to increase in importance–both to marketers and to viewers–there is a higher demand for vertical video optimized for mobile screens. In fact, 75% of mobile users say they’d rather watch vertical video on their phones, rather than horizontal.
To properly optimize your videos for mobile viewing, you need to make sure your videos are sized to the correct dimensions for the platform you’re using. This handy guide to video sizes from Sprout Social is a great reference that includes video marketing tips for video dimensions across all social media platforms.
3. Capture (and Keep!) Viewers’ Attention with Shorter Video Ads
Generally speaking, video should be kept short across all platforms to ensure your viewers are watching your content all the way through. Ads are no exception. The shorter the video ad, the more likely viewers are to watch the entire thing.
For instance, YouTube bumper ads are a great example of this strategy. In 2016, the platform introduced a 6-second ad format that users couldn’t skip. The strategy paid off: on average, these ads bumped up brand awareness by 30%.
On average, social media videos should be kept under 2 minutes long, but the length of your video really depends on the platform where you’re sharing it, as well as the format. (For example, video ads should be much shorter than an informative video.) Here’s a handy guide from Vidyard to how long social media videos should be for effective video marketing.
4. Provide More Accessible Videos to Your Followers
It’s crucial to make sure you make your video content accessible to everyone, including individuals with disabilities. Accessible video is more important than ever, and you can ensure your content is as easy as possible to view or listen to.
To create more accessible videos:
Add captions for the hearing impaired
Include a video transcript and descriptive copy that can be read by a screen reader
Add descriptive audio where it’s needed
Don’t use content that flashes rapidly on screen
Choose easy-to-read fonts
Pay special attention to color combinations and contrast in your content
In addition to video content, it’s important that all business owners make their online content accessible. You can get extensive accessibility information from the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) here. Above all, an effective video marketing plan will include accessibility, which will draw in more viewers.
5. Don’t Skip Out on Live Video
Live video continues to be incredibly important for businesses–80% of online shoppers say they would rather view live video than read a blog post. And, 63% of viewers age 18 to 34 frequently watch live streaming content online.
Facebook Live and live YouTube broadcasts are a powerful tool for engaging with your audience in real-time. Additionally, Instagram Live video may be poised for a boost. Instagram is currently testing the possibility of allowing users to re-upload their live streams to IGTV.
A few tips for creating engaging live video content:
Engage directly with your audience in real-time
Host Q&As and live training sessions for your followers
Shoot live, behind-the-scenes videos of events
Broadcast exclusive videos to private groups on Facebook
6. Start a Vlog
A vlog (video blog) is a great way to repurpose your written content into shareable videos that are easy for your viewers to watch on the go. Or, if you prefer, you can spin written content off your vlog! Therefore, you can maximize your content
Vlogging is a fantastic way to incorporate video marketing tips and content into your digital marketing strategy. For content creators who might not be comfortable appearing on live video, vlogging is a great alternative. You can plan, record, and edit your video in advance–no pressure to perform on the spot.
Wrapping Up
Now that you’re equipped with some top video marketing tips and trends for 2020, it’s time to create! What kinds of videos do you want to share? On what platforms? Let us know in the comments!
Featured image via Oberon / shutterstock.com
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