Welcome to the dynamic world of social media video marketing, where the power of visual storytelling meets the boundless potential of social media.
With billions of users scrolling, tapping, and swiping through their feeds every day, social media platforms have become a breeding ground for video content that captivates and inspires audiences across the globe.
From short-form clips to long-form narratives, social media marketing videos have emerged as the crown jewel of social media marketing.
With their ability to evoke emotions, simplify complex concepts, and amplify brand messages, videos have become a must-have tool in every marketer's arsenal.
So, grab your popcorn, sit back, and get ready to be inspired by the magic of social media video marketing.
Let's take a look at everything that you’re going to find in this article:
There isn't clear segregation of what works for videos on social media and what doesn't. So we're going to list the points out explaining both sides. This should bring more clarity than a simple do's and don'ts list. So let's get started!
This helps build a recall value for the brand. And it does that in 30 seconds.
It uses the example of a door to explain what a better network looks like. What makes this video great is the fact that it doesn’t use any technical jargon. It explains the concept in a simple and entertaining way.
If you’re in the insurance industry you might’ve known how people have always perceived insurance to be a serious matter.
In fact, all the messaging of insurance companies has historically been pretty serious. So when you see this video, it stands out because of the way humor is used in it.
Now that you know what works for these social media videos and what doesn't, let's take a look at some of the different ways in which you can use social media videos.
Social media video marketing has emerged as a transformative force, propelling businesses toward lead generation and exponential growth. By leveraging the power of visual storytelling and engaging content, social media videos have the potential to captivate audiences and drive meaningful results.
Explore, how to enhance video content on social media through animation.
Social media is the most cost-effective platform for generating leads. The ads are affordable, and the reach is unbelievable. After all, almost everyone you know is on social media.
Here, we explore the effective strategies that harness social media video marketing to fuel lead generation and catalyze business growth.
For lead generation using social media video marketing, we're going to focus on education. But the topics you need to educate the audience about would vary from one audience to the other.
Reaching out to a Marketing Manager, your content could revolve around lead generation, for example. But if your audience is someone from the CXO level, lead generation might not work for you. Instead, you would want to make content revolving around brand identity or something else that concerns them.
That said, in our experience, these are the types of social media videos that work well for lead generation:
Utilizing social media video marketing is a powerful way to drive traffic to your blogs.
Engaging and informative videos can pique the interest of your audience, encouraging them to click through to your blog for more content. By optimizing and sharing these videos on social media platforms, you can effectively attract visitors and increase the visibility of your blog.
As you’ll soon see, HUB worked on the same concept. The company works in the insurance sector. Instead of talking about in-depth topics about insurance, the company picked news from top brands and plugged an insurance-related concept into it.
From the Starbucks employee/customer incident to the Washington-based construction business incident, HUB plugged its services in a natural way. In all of these situations, they talked about crisis management which is something they’re actually pretty good at.
Here’s one of the videos we made for our client, Hub International:
Our client safeguards different businesses against external and internal risks. They wanted to educate their audience about insurance-related topics.
We handcrafted a series of five bite-sized animated videos for them. These videos helped their audience know about these topics.
With the help of these videos, we redirected traffic from social media to the client’s blogs. This helped them get relevant and better-quality traffic.
Read HUB's success story to know more!
You spend countless hours and a lot of resources in making an ebook. After all, they are a great means of lead generation.
It's simple, you give them information, and they give you their email address (and a few other details, if you ask for them). While Resona, is paid, Experte offers a free tool that performs a similar function, predicting and verifying email addresses for your convenience.
But if you share it on social media and expect the ebook to go viral, that isn't happening. In fact, you might have a hard time driving a lot of downloads.
It all comes down to how you're enticing your audience to check your ebook out.
And for that, we recommend ebook trailers.
You don't want (or need) to tell the audience all about your ebook. All you need to do is convince them to go to the landing page where they can find and download the ebook.
It is challenging to attract your audience’s attention and convince them to move from social media to the landing page.
What you might be thinking of doing is writing a few lines of amazing textual content for it. But when you're competing for attention, you need to make sure that you grab eyeballs. And that is where ebook trailers stand out.
The below social media marketing video was done to promote the report launch by Omnivore. The story focuses on what future mankind will create and entices the audience to check the report for the completion of the story.
They are not only attention-grabbing but also engaging. So you can rest assured about conversions when you try them out.
For a lot of companies, the decision-making process is quite a complex one. This holds true for both B2B and B2C companies.
But in the case of B2B companies, there are a lot of people involved in the decision-making process. And that adds to the complexity of the process.
What makes decision-making so difficult? For most companies, it is the lack of appropriate data to support the decision. Without enough data, it is difficult to predict the outcome of a decision.
For businesses of all sizes, a wrong decision could end up being an expensive affair. So they remain stuck in the decision-making process until they find relevant data.
Thought leadership videos can help such businesses make the right decision. When you make these videos, you give statistics and your analysis of those statistics.
This helps the decision-makers pick and choose wisely. It helps them make an informed decision. And when your audience sees positive returns on those decisions, they trust you more.
It is out of this trust that they keep coming back to you when they need data. They listen to what you have to say about things. They see you as a leader. And that is what makes thought leadership videos important.
But when you make thought leadership videos for social media, you need to be extra careful.
Being relevant on social media is important.
Look at how Qualcomm did it in this video:
The video explained the 5G technology. Great. But that’s something many people have already done. What makes it a leadership video is the kind of insights that are given in it. These come straight from the experiences of Qualcomm which is why they’re so valuable.
Everyone knows that commercials should be short. But when it comes to social media, you have to get extra creative and make it fun.
Keeping it short and punchy ensures maximum response to your call to action. This doesn’t mean that it always has to be short. There are some pretty long commercials that have worked just as good as the short ones did.
The thing about commercials is that it gives you a high ROI while improving the quality of engagement from the audience. And it does that by building curiosity.
Commercials never give you complete information and instead, leave you wanting more.
They make it clear that this “more” is present on the landing page. This way, they’re able to drive quite a lot of traffic to the landing pages thus bringing the ROI up.
Let's talk about how they worked for our client, McAfee.
The video uses storytelling to tell the audience about the company’s product in just 30 seconds. It is engaging and builds curiosity, leaving the audience wanting more. This is where the CTA comes in, so the audience knows that to learn more, they need to act on the CTA.
If you are a SaaS company here are some tips to help you master social media marketing through videos.
In the world of social media marketing, selecting the right videos for your campaigns can make all the difference.
With countless options and formats available, it's crucial to understand which videos will effectively resonate with your target audience and drive desired results.
Animated videos offer a unique and engaging way to capture the attention of your audience and convey your brand message effectively.
To nurture potential leads and turn them into customers, leveraging social media with engaging animated videos is crucial.
By addressing their concerns and providing updates, you can educate them about your core competencies, share customer testimonials, and inform them about the latest features, products, webinars, or events.
Nurturing is an ongoing process that extends beyond the conversion stage, and social media serves as an ideal platform to consistently engage and communicate with your audience.
Animated social media videos excel in capturing attention and delivering information quickly, making them a powerful tool for effective lead nurturing.
Let's look at how you can use animated social media videos in different ways to nurture your leads:
Remember when we told you that educational content can be used for nurturing on social media as well? Explainer videos are exactly how that happens.
When you need to explain concepts related to your business in great depths, explainer videos help.
You might think that explainer videos aren't a great fit for social media. Untrue. Explainer videos work great for nurturing even though they're pretty long.
The duration of social media videos increases when it comes to nurturing. And the reason why longer duration works is because now the audience is interested in your products and services and wants to make a purchase.
But something holds them back. This something can be trust or timing and the best way is to keep in touch or gain trust by establishing that you're a leader.
How many times have you bought a product after someone recommended it to you? A lot of times, I bet. You learned about the experience that someone you know had with the product and you decided to buy it.
You trust the people you know more than you trust the brand.
Testimonials are quite effective on social media owing to how they connect people. Do that in the form of a video and now you're turning heads.
Videos are all the rage on social media so it is quite natural and productive for you to go for them. Look at how Erie Insurance won the hearts of their audience with their testimonial video:
Even though the video takes you through the journeys of three clients, there's clarity. At no point did the video stop making sense.
Sometimes, you release a product and also get decent traffic on your landing page but people don’t convert.
More often than not, the reason behind that is the people coming to your landing page expected certain features that your product lacks.
What you could do in such cases is to release a new version of the product with the required changes. This would help you convert the ones that went away when they didn’t find the required features.
You would obviously work hard to make your product the best your customers get with this update. So when you release a feature update, why not let the users know about it on social media?
For your audience on social media channels, think in terms of feature update videos. These videos are quite engaging and are easy to consume.
Look at this video by Asana:
The video talks about Asana’s new timeline feature. What makes this video great is that it not only informs the users about the new update but also talks about how they can benefit from the update. This ensures customer loyalty.
Launching a product is a big deal. You've worked countless hours on it and are excited about the big launch. When you've left no stone unturned in making the product the best it can be, why not launch it the right way?
The launch should build hype about the product. Riding on this wave, your product hits the ground running. But that wouldn't happen if you aren't able to pique your audience's interest in your product.
This is why you need a product launch video. These videos are eye-catching and have a high retention rate. This raises their conversion rates as well.
When you launch a product with a video, you show the people a glimpse of what their life would be with the product. It intrigues them and makes them convert to see the product in action.
Look at this video by Goldi:
With this video, the viewers get to know what to expect from the product. And if it is right up their alley, they convert.
One of the best ways to humanize your brand is with the help of your brand's story. When you talk about what led to the creation of your brand and its journey, people listen. They listen because these are the stories we inherently like.
With brand story videos, you can connect with your audience on an emotional level. At this level, your audience understands you as a brand and relates to it. This humanizing of your brand increases its overall appeal and creates lasting connections.
When a buyer connects with your story, they become loyal to your brand and stick by your side forever. But you need to keep in mind that you need to earn this loyalty by giving your brand story video your best shot.
Look at how TOMS did it:
Not only did it take the viewers through an amazing journey but it also established a connection. And that is what builds loyal customers.
Webinars give you an opportunity to let your potential customers know why you're good. Not only are they great for lead generation but also for nurturing existing clients.
With the help of webinars, you can add value to your existing customers by teaching them. This could be something about your product/service or even a concept related to what you have to offer.
The only problem with webinars is getting enough people to enroll. And that is something webinar promotional videos can help you out with.
With these videos, you can build hype for your webinar and ensure maximum participation. The best part of these videos is that they can be used on social media platforms. This gives them a wide reach.
Regardless of the size of your company, events are a big deal. More often than not, many dedicated teams work on various aspects of the event to make sure it goes well.
With so much effort put in to make the event a grand success, you would want as many people as possible to attend it. And that isn't possible without promotion.
If you're promoting your event on social media, what could be a better way to do so than with an event promotion video? These videos perform many tasks at once.
To start with, they get noticed by users which increases conversions. It also builds hype for the event and that attracts more people. Lastly, it also gives an insight to the audience about what they can expect from the event.
Look at how Tedx Kalamata's organizing team did it:
The video uses kinetic typography with a few animated objects to tell a story to customers.
Infographic videos offer a visually compelling and concise way to convey information, making them highly effective for social media video marketing.
By combining visuals, text, and animations, infographic videos can distill complex concepts into easily digestible and shareable content. Their eye-catching nature grabs attention and quickly communicates key messages, increasing engagement and comprehension.
Infographic videos also have the potential to go viral due to their captivating and easily shareable format, extending your reach and driving traffic to your brand.
For example, if you see a recent trend in the industry, make a video about your analysis of the trend. Did ground-breaking research recently? Share it with your audience in a video.
Look at this video by Dell EMC:
It represents the company’s key observations from their TCO report for a product of theirs. A lot of companies use such infographic videos for sharing their research reports visually.
While this report was about a product of theirs, you could analyze your industry and share the reports of that as well. It boils down to what you want to share with your audience that would add value to their lives.
3D videos are a powerful tool for social media video marketing due to their immersive and attention-grabbing nature.
They offer a visually stunning experience that captivates viewers and stands out in crowded social media feeds.
3D videos can bring products or concepts to life, showcasing them from different angles and perspectives. This dynamic and interactive format increases engagement, boosts brand recall, and encourages sharing.
The unique visual appeal of 3D videos can leave a lasting impression on viewers, driving interest, and ultimately leading to increased conversions and business growth.
Look at this video by IBM Watson Talent:
The video talks about how recruitment has been changed by technological advancements. If you’re an HR personnel, this would be of great interest to you. Not only would you like to watch the video but also share it in your professional circle.
What makes this video a good example is its description which leads you to their landing page. As a business, you too can put links in the descriptions of your videos for lead generation.
There's a lot you can do when you know the direction you should be working toward. With these ideas, you could make videos for your audience.
It's always a good idea to do event-based content around important dates or current events because if done right it has a high probability of going viral. Now that means more brand awareness and ROI for every dollar spent per view.
Sometimes, using current events can work well for brands. For example, let's say a topic is in the news that you think relates with what you do. So you make a video talking to your audience about it, as well as your own views/analysis.
These type of social media videos help you easily connect with the audience on an emotional level. But it’s more than simply wishing your audience. It works when you start important conversations around the events.
For example, look at this social media marketing video from Giant Ant, its a collection of beautiful frames with a holiday theme that keeps you engaged and delivers pocket full of JOY:)
Such animated video content can create a very high impact and brand recall in a short amount of time for your business.
When you're making social media videos, there are a lot of things that affect their efficiency. If you're not careful about these things, you might end up making a video that doesn't perform well.
And you don't want that to happen after spending a lot of resources on the video. So it is best to get the video right in the first go. And that is why we're telling you about a few of the best practices you should keep in mind while making your video.
Without further ado, let's begin!
Without a strategy, you're like a cloud drifting in the direction of the wind. And that's an absolute waste of your marketing budget.
With a proper strategy, however, you can define a path for your company to reach a specific goal on social media. While you're at it, remember to put it all in numbers.
You need to define the number of followers you would want the page to have by the end of this week, this month, and this year.
Likewise, you would need to define numbers for the rest of the aspects of your presence on social media. All you need to keep in mind is to keep these numbers as realistic as possible.
Moreover, you have certain marketing goals. Your content should always be geared toward these goals. Without a strategy, you wouldn’t be able to see measurable results so you wouldn’t know if you’re putting the right content online. So always have a strategy.
The better you know your competition, the better it is for you. Following your competitor's journey on social media can tell you what's working in the industry and what isn't.
This can help you prepare your campaigns better.
Moreover, you want to stand out, right? So you wouldn't want to do much of what they do. For example, if they're into live-action videos, you could try animation.
If they're into a specific style of animation, you could try some other style of animation.
Do whatever it takes to stand out.
Your failed campaigns can tell you a lot about what you should be avoiding. The learnings from these campaigns can help you define the newer campaigns in the best way.
Tracking successful campaigns can help you templatize things. This helps you speed the creation process up. Moreover, you can run A/B tests against these campaigns to know the extent of success that you can achieve.
When you track everything, you learn what your audience wants to see on social media. And then you give them that.
Most of the people on social media prefer to run the videos on mute. This is because you aren't always alone and/or near your headphones.
When you add subtitles to your videos, you make sure that your message reaches the audience. This can give you an especially great ROI on your commercials and promotions.
Moreover, you ensure those with hearing impairments can consume your videos.
When something works out for someone and it becomes viral, everyone copies it. This makes it boring since now every single post on your timeline has the same format.
This is when you can stand out by being unique. When you put out unique content, you are easily discernible. And trust me, people remember you for being unique.
Another Google could be good but it'll never be as good as the first one. So, be unique.
Here is a complete guide on video marketing by Hubspot that might help you in your Social Media Video Marketing.
Well-designed and creatively-directed animation videos are a powerful marketing tool that can reshape your brand image and connect with your audience on an emotional level.
Information is logical but not exciting, art is organic but not impactful, but storytelling combines both to create a powerful connection. Storytelling through short-form animation has been perfected through years of experience and draws from various sources.
Businesses worldwide are recognizing the impact of animation on their brand, making it essential to include animated videos in your social media content calendar.
And that’s all we had for you for this blog, but before you leave, here are some things you need to remember:
This should make success on social media a breeze, but if you still run into problems or have questions, let us know in the comments below! If you need help with social media video production, you can always reach out to us here! And stay tuned for updates because our experiments make it into this blog every now and then.