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Social Media: Trends And Tips for Social Video Marketing

3You know that social media is an important element of any marketing strategy. But do you know the single most important element that you should add to your social media plan? It is video. Whether it is video on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LiveStream, or the newest kids on the block, Periscope and Meerkat, video should be the content you add to your marketing strategy.

Here are video marketing stats we can’t ignore:

  • According to Nielsen, 147 million Americans watch video on the internet
  • 87% of online marketers use video content according to Outbrain
  • According to Online Publishers Association, 46% of users take some sort of action after and after watching a video and 64% of users are more likely to buy a product online, according to comScore

More and more people–across demographics–are watching online video. And, of course, you want to be where your clients are. Right?

Here are five ways to develop a social media video marketing strategy:

  1. Decide What Story To Tell: A good place to start is to produce a video about your company and your services. Testimonial videos or an EPK (Electronic Press Kit) are also a great way to showcase your skills. Having an event? Think about live streaming.
  2. Choose The Right Platform: Research your options before committing to any one platform. If most of your audience is on Twitter, try Periscope. If you need a wider reach, use YouTube.
  3. Length Is Everything: Research by Visible Measures said that you have 10 seconds to grab the viewers’ attention. Make your video pop right off the top.
  4. Know Your Audience: Is your audience looking to learn more about you or more about the services you provide? Think about sharing video tips to your viewers so they’ll get to know you and what you have to offer. I’ve done a series of social media tips here.
  5. Engage Your Audience: Think about adding interactive elements to your video. Include in-video links.YouTube has “cards” or you can create your own links. You could also add a survey to encourage engagement.

Need help developing video content for your social media plan? Fill out the form below so we schedule your FREE one-on-one consultation.

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Five Things To Know In Social Media This Week

I searched the headlines for the hot social media topics of the week. Here are five stories to help with your professional development in the social space.

Twitter Blog JpegFrom TechCrunch: Twitter Officially Launches Its “Retweet With Comment” Feature – “Twitter just officially launched its “retweet with comment” feature, which it began testing last summer. “Retweet with comment” allows users to embed a tweet in their own tweets, which lets them get around Twitter’s 140-character limit when they write their own commentary. The feature is now available on Twitter’s site and iPhone app and will be available on its Android app soon. [ED NOTE: This is WAY cool!]”

From WaPo: Snapchat’s controversial emoji update: An explainer for the old and/or confused– “Nothing prematurely ages you quite like social media. Are you upset about the big Snapchat update? No, okay, you’re probably old. You didn’t hear about the update? Positively ancient. You don’t even use Snapchat?!?!??! Dinosaur!! Allow me to inform you, oh fossilized one, that Snapchat yesterday made some changes to its popular messaging app, which have become something of a flash point among the teenage set. But if you’re older than, say, 17, the very substantive, concerning implications of the update are not apparent immediately.” [ED NOTE: After reading this article, we can all be happy with the notion that we are not dinosaurs!]

YouTube JpegFrom Re/code: YouTube to Video Makers: Join Our Subscription Service or Go Somewhere Else– “YouTube is getting ready to launch an ad-free subscription service. And the world’s largest video site is flexing some muscle to make sure its new product is as big as possible. YouTube is doing that with new rules that will make it difficult for video makers to keep their clips out of the new service, which should come out in the second half of this year. The key change: YouTube “partners” — video owners who make money from ads on their YouTube clips — will need to let YouTube put their clips in the ad-free service, too. If they don’t, YouTube will make it nearly impossible for a casual visitor to find the videos. It will classify the clips as “private,” which means the only people who can see them will be those preselected by the video owner. YouTube says it will share subscription revenue with video owners whose stuff gets viewed, and it isn’t requiring video owners to keep their stuff on the site exclusively. So the new rules likely won’t pose a problem for the majority of video makers.”

From ReadWrite: Yahoo Has Apparently Decided It’s Time To Really Cash In On Tumblr – “Yahoo is planning an internal reshuffle that could effectively end the independence of its most popular acquisition, the visual blogging platform Tumblr. The Information reports that CEO Marissa Mayer spoke about the major changes inside the company at an offsite meeting with executives. She also reportedly asked Tumblr CEO David Karp which Yahoo executive he’d like to report to from now on. Yahoo spent $1.1 billion to acquire Tumblr in May 2013, and it looks like the company is finally planning to seek a return on that investment. Tumblr’s highly visual format makes it possible to serve native ads—that is, ads that are barely distinguishable from the content around them, and thus less intrusive to users.”

From The Verge: Facebook launches standalone Messenger for web browsers – “There’s now a web browser version of Facebook Messenger to go along with the standalone smartphone apps the company is making everyone use. No, Facebook the website isn’t taking away your ability to chat with friends. After the controversy that surrounded divorcing the two central features on mobile, Facebook is adamant that Messenger isn’t leaving Facebook.com anytime soon. Instead, Messenger for the web — which you’ll find at Messenger.com starting today — focuses solely on simple conversations and leaves the other parts of Facebook that can be distracting to the primary site.” [Ed Note: I don’t use Facebook Messenger. It’s the one place where you cannot get in touch with me. It’s my own private rebellion]

There you have it. You’re up-to-date on the hot social media topics for this week.

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Why You Should Have A Social Media Plan AND Ten Ways To Get Started

4You know you should be active in social media. It’s good for your personal brand and your business. But you just don’t have time to do all those posts. One way to help you get organized is having a social media plan. A social media plan or mapping out what your posts will be on a weekly and even monthly basis helps you think strategically about what you should share with your audience. The social media plan includes a daily breakdown of what you should post most days of the week.

Yes, I said most day so of the week.

Consistency is the key in social media. Don’t ride the social media wave unless you can commit to a consistent schedule that your followers can depend on.

I tend to use themes to map out the days of the week on my social media plans. I am also a big fan of iteration. Below is an example of a Monday through Friday Twitter and Facebook social media plan. I developed this weekly plan for my client, AmeriCorps VISTA. It helped guide my posts throughout the week. You’ll see the days of the week divided up into five categories:

  • Mission Monday
  • Tip Tuesday
  • Webinar Wednesday
  • Throwback Thursday
  • Follow Friday

SMM Plan Image

SMM Plan Twitter JPEG

To get started on your plan, think about the content you have to share. If you are new to the social space, focus on one social media site at a time. I would recommend you consider getting starting with Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube.

Twitter – Without a doubt, Twitter is the best way to share and discover what is happening in the moment. To grow your audience, think about following and sharing popular hashtags and TweetChats.

Facebook – Most of your friends and colleagues are on Facebook. So are your clients and customers. Why not join Facebook Groups that support your mission and vision? Better yet start a group of your own. It’s a great way to connect and engage with the people that mean the most to you or the people you are trying to reach.

YouTube – Everyone has a story to tell. YouTube provides a forum to allow people to connect, inspire, entertain and inform. If you are comfortable in front of the camera or have a lot of video content, YouTube is a great place to start. Consider producing a web series of your most popular content. 

Here are ten tips to keep in mind once you are ready to start your social media plan:

  1. Determine which platforms you will use – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube or all four
  2. Devise a daily, weekly and monthly social media schedule that incorporates each platform
  3. Monthly posts should reflect recurring dates such as holidays, celebrations or conference dates
  4. Determine who will manage your accounts and how often they will post
  5. Build upon the content you already have (photos, video, press releases)
  6. Come up with a regular posting schedule and stick to it
  7. Use a social media management tool such as Hootsuite to schedule your posts
  8. If you are cross posting from one site to another, factor in a few organic, original posts for each site
  9. Remember that it is a plan, a guide, so leave room for unexpected breaking news stories or changes
  10. Engage, engage, engage and then engage some more

 If you need help developing your social media plan, I’m here to help!