Panelists including, from left, Jeff Achen, David Krejci, Farrington Starnes and Chuck Olsen address the audience at the January 23 SMBMSP event.
Digital marketers have known for some time that video is an essential part of the marketing mix: 76% of B2B companies use video as a content marketing tactic. Video is also an important part of a social media content strategy. After all, YouTube is the second most popular search engine after Google and Facebook has more than 1 billion daily video views.
Great examples of companies using video to enhance both B2C and B2B marketing are in high demand whether from major brands, agencies and small DIY businesses. At TopRank Online Marketing we’re always on the lookout for social media video trends and new examples to share with our community and clients. That’s why seven members of our team attended a recent Social Media Breakfast at 514 studios in Minneapolis – to learn how other companies are implementing video as part of a social media strategy.
The SMBMSP74 panel of social media video experts and pioneers included:
• Jeff Achen, Executive Director of The Uptake
• David Erickson, VP of Online Marketing for Karwoski & Courage
• Erica Hanna, Owner, Puke Rainbows Creative
• Chuck Olsen Owner, VidTiger
• David Krejci Executive Vice President, Social Media and Digital Communications at Weber Shandwick
• Farrington Starnes Digital Media Coordinator, Bedlam Theatre
TopRank team members take in the presentation at SMBMSP.
What did the team from TopRank Marketing learn about video and social media? Here are a few takeaways, tips and insights that we each brought back to the office.
Brooke Furry – Associate Account Manager
Get past the idea that video marketing is all fuzzy animals and funny things kids say. Brands have a huge opportunity in 2015 to deliver helpful content visually to their audiences – how to’s, stories, product tours demos. 90% of online shoppers find video on a major retailer’s site helpful to their purchasing decision.
People have less tolerance for wordiness than ever before as our attention spans decrease and usage of Instagram, etc. increase. Video makes sense to us more quickly than words do. That’s not to say you should ditch your well-written articles and blog posts… Not at all. But do consider the changing nature of culture and content consumption when you’re trying to connect with your target audience. Give them something they will actually like, watch and find helpful.
Emily Bacheller – Social Media Lead
Interesting and engaging headlines prompt more video views. However, make sure that your headline accurately reflects what the video is about. If the video doesn’t meet the viewers expectations, they will stop watching after just a few seconds.
Don’t have any video equipment? Experiment with video by using Google Hangouts on Air for interviews, podcasts, demos, and testimonials.
Evan Prokop – Digital Marketing Manager
Experiment with different video lengths to see what resonates with your audience and results in desired business outcomes. Similar to written content, the longer the video, the smaller the niche it will speak to, but that’s ok!
The most important thing isn’t just reaching more people, it’s reaching more of the right people.
Many marketers and businesses drag their feet on testing out video marketing because they are intimidated by the work that goes into creating a video with high production values. Yes, all else being equal, a well produced video will likely out-perform a cheaper one, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities for businesses that don’t have a production studio at their disposal. That phone in your pocket can do some pretty incredible things with a little creativity.
The most important factors that determine the success of a brand video are that it is sincere, concise and relevant to your target audience, not how much it cost.
Debbie Friez – Social Media Lead
Jeff Achen emphasized letting your business objectives drive your video production. Don’t let the video draw strategy. The panelists emphasized understanding your audience (as part of your strategy) and what they want or and what length of video they will engage.
Consider using closed captioning on all your videos to gain the deaf community audience, and it will help increase your SEO.
James Anderson – Director of Content Marketing
Long-form video with heartfelt storytelling creates long-term gratification and touches niche audiences. In an example in which a nonprofit uses video for revenue development, longer video is absolutely necessary to tell the story that will bring in long-term donor investments.
With smartphones and HD video, we are going to see more individuals adding their expertise to news stories. One way to reach journalists looking for background information and experts to contribute to their reporting is to post original opinion video. When a reporter searches for the topic, your video should be ready for them to find. Remember that YouTube is second only to Google as the largest search engine. You can improve your potential for being found in search by including video transcripts.
Joel Carlson – Social Media Lead
The human brain processes video 60,000 times faster than it processes text, so video has the power to change a person’s impression and make an impact.
The length of a video isn’t a problem, if it shares a compelling message. So make sure that the lighting and the audio for the video are of good quality, so that the viewers aren’t distracted and miss the message.
Kate Heithoff – SEO Copywriter
Video advertisements provide more control over the overall message. In order to create effective video content, use appropriate music and imagery. Music adds an extra dimension to the storytelling that can make the audience feel a wide range of emotions (i.e. sadness to empowerment). With the ability to evoke greater emotion, using music in videos can ultimately help compel viewers to carry through with the advertisement’s CTA.
Because of Facebook’s video auto play, it is imperative to make the video’s first three seconds as aesthetically pleasing and compelling as possible. Using auto play can actually be an advantage, as it attracts more eyes and allows people to see the content who normally would not have.
Thank you again to Mykl Roventine from the Minneapolis / Saint Paul Social Media Breakfast for all that they do for the Twin Cities social media scene. TopRank Online Marketing is proud to be a long time sponsor of SMBMSP.
For video of the event or to see upcoming events, visit SMBMSP.org.
What tips can you share about video content for social media marketing and community building?
