Video has rapidly become an integral part of the social media experience, and if your business isn’t using video as part of its online marketing strategy, there’s no getting around it, you are missing out. Social video generates 1,200% more shares than text and images combined. Studies have shown that viewers retain significantly more of a video’s message than a text post or article, and the majority of people prefer to watch explainer videos than read brochures, presentations, or instructions.
There is little reason not to make video a part of your online presence. With the availability of smartphones and inexpensive editing tools such as Canva and Adobe Express, even the luddites amongst us can enhance their social presence with some quick promotional videos, explainers, or even live video to reach out to our customers directly.
However, there are some obstacles and pitfalls the inexperience may not immediately realise.
A Failure to Understand the Platform
Think about how you use social media, whether it’s Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, etc. All of these sites use the same content-delivery method – content is stacked on top of each other encouraging the user to scroll. So conditioned are we to scrolling, that a lot of content gets lost in the noise. What we’re seeing doesn’t even register with us, until something catches our eye.
Different platforms present our content in different ways. Some sites, such as YouTube, allow the user to put a thumbnail image on the video. Other sites will use the first frame of a video as a makeshift thumbnail. More will simply autoplay the video once it’s in the user’s device viewport.
We need to understand how each platform will present our video and tailor it accordingly. Our thumbnails need to be intriguing and enticing, our first frame should pique curiosity, and the openings of our videos should be exciting and novel. Failure to tailor our videos in such a way leads to people scrolling past.
Not Getting to the Point Quickly Enough
In the film industry, there’s a rule of thumb that if a script reader gets to page ten of a script and doesn’t have an idea where the story is going, then the script gets tossed aside. In the TV industry, a writer has until around page five.
In the world of social media, you have about ten to fifteen seconds to grab someone’s interest, and even that is pushing it. Therefore, not only do you need an eye-catching enticement to stop scrolling and watch your video, but you also must ensure you’re delivering your message instantly, and that message needs to be something that will get people to stick around.
There is no point wasting a couple of seconds on your logo, or adding a title screen, or putting in anything that is likely to send an audience elsewhere. If you’re posting an explainer video, don’t waste valuable time explaining the problem, get right into how you’re going to solve it.
Ideally, your social videos should be as short as you can make them. Anything more than a minute in length is sketchy territory for maintaining people’s attention spans, and if you can get your message across considerably quicker, that’s a huge boon.
Not Having a Script
You don’t need to write a screenplay to make a good video for social media, but you do need to know what you want to say and have the confidence to say it clearly. Nobody wants to listen to somebody ‘um’ and ‘er’ through a video, nor are they interested in watching someone going off on wild tangents. If you look like you’re ‘winging it’ then the only reason people are going to watch your video is for comedy value, and that’s definitely not what your goal should be.
At the least, you should have a structure for the video planned out and rehearsed, so that you can deliver your message clearly and concisely. You should also ensure that you’ve researched your points, are using the correct terminology, and not making the type of errors the Culture Secretary makes on a regular basis.
Trying to Emulate Television Advertising
People aren’t on social media to watch television adverts, and most of the adverts shown on TV would fail on social media. For a start, most of the time, you’ll want your video to occupy as much of a user’s viewport as possible – and that means filming in portrait mode, as opposed to landscape/widescreen. Widescreen videos looks great on a 55” HD TV, or even a laptop/desktop monitor, but they look tiny on a phone screen.
For a phone user to watch your widescreen video, they need to click the maximise button then physically rotate their phone. Those are small, but still extra steps and steps a lot of people simply won’t be willing to take.
Forgetting to Subtitle Videos
When a video appears in your feed, it’s muted. People don’t like random noises blaring from their devices, so the platforms require the user to turn the sound up manually. Many people won’t do that, for obvious reasons. If someone’s in a public place and hasn’t got headphones, it’s embarrassing for them when their device suddenly starts blurting out noises. Consequently, you need to subtitle your video to make sure your message gets across.
It’s also worth noting that many people who use social media may be hearing impaired anyway, so subtitling your video is simply the decent thing to do and shows awareness of the current discussions around accessibility.
Lacking Confidence
Many people feel that they shouldn’t post video that is ‘imperfect’ – too raw, too shaky, too amateurish. What you need to remember is that expectations are lower on social media. People aren’t expecting to see MCU-style cinematography, or Leonardo Di Caprio levels of acting skill. Sometimes the imperfections can work in your favour, as they can lead to a perception of your video being more honest and relatable.
Don’t focus on what’s wrong with your video. Instead, ask yourself whether what you’ve got is interesting, enticing, whether it’s going to catch people’s eyes and get them to stick around. That’s far more important than having HBO production values.
Forgetting the Call to Action
You’ve done it! You’ve put up a video. It’s caught people’s attention. It’s being shared, liked, commented on – what’s next?
Don’t assume that people who watch your video all the way to the end will be encouraged to follow you, visit your website, email you, or anything else. You have to provide some instructions. If you want people to follow, ask them to follow you. If you want people to visit your website, tell them that. If you want people to buy your product, tell them where they can buy it. Give them something to do!
Otherwise, you’ll have put all that effort in and little will come of it.
Need Some Help?
If you’re looking to develop your social selling skills, we can offer a range of solutions to enhance your people’s abilities to sell via social media, master their virtual presence, and even lead remote social selling teams. Get in touch, and discover the RLA difference!
