We’ve discussed before how important videos are to your content marketing strategy. But what’s often overlooked is the role that videos play in social media marketing. For one thing, YouTube isn’t just a platform for hosting videos. It’s a whole community, whose users often interact with one another. And it’s important to consider that when creating your channel and deciding what content to post on it.
Not only that, video can be an effective tool to use on your other social media platforms as well. Particularly now that Facebook has begun playing videos automatically in users’ newsfeeds, your video content needs to be tailored for social media. How do you do that? Here are five types of videos you can post to engage your social media circles.
- Behind-the-scenes. The reason people follow you on social media is because they’re interested in your company and want to know more about your brand and what it’s all about. So what better way to show them than with a behind-the-scenes video of what your company does and how it works. Give a tour of your offices, factories, or whatever facilities you have, and include interviews with some of the essential people who make it all possible. This will help your followers put a face on your company.
- Portfolio. This is a similar principle to the behind-the-scenes tour. What has your company done that you’re especially proud of? If you build, make, or produce something, create a video that shows off some of your best work. Do a tour of a house that you built, or a montage of pictures or videos that you shot, edited, or otherwise worked on. Whatever your product is, give people an idea of the level of quality they can expect when they do business with you.
- New products. Are you about to launch a new product? You’d better be promoting it on social media and working hard to get your followers excited about it. What better way to do that than with a teaser? Make a short video, maybe 30 seconds to a minute long, that shows just enough about your product to get people excited about it, and build anticipation for its ultimate release.
- Deals and promotions. Another reason why people follow companies and brands on social media, is to get the inside scoop on discounts and other promotions on their products or services. So instead of making an ad to tell people about these deals, make a video. Not a commercial, just a fun, clever video that incorporates your brand in some way… Then tag it with a brief, specific offer, with a special coupon code exclusively for people who Like you on Facebook or Follow you on Twitter.
- Customer Testimonials. Show your followers other people just like them, who tried your brand/products and liked them. Contact some of your satisfied customers and ask them to give a testimonial on video, telling about their experience with your company. Or, if you want to do something a little more interesting/creative, hire professional actors to give “dramatic readings” of actual reviews left by your customers, that turn their five-star Yelp review into a Shakespearean soliloquy. This is also a great way to encourage your customers to leave reviews on your site or third party sites. If they say something you like, it might be featured in a future video!
Content is about communication. Social media is about interaction. So it’s important to keep both those goals in mind when making videos. That’s the only way to have a truly effective video marketing campaign.
