With social media video marketing, you can maximize your advertising budget. Social media helps you expand your reach through targeted ad campaigns. Compared to other marketing channels like television, these ads are available at a much lower cost.
For your ads to be most effective, you must have the right strategy. A social ad campaign for a software company will not follow the same strategy used by a mom-and-pop restaurant. By spending some time thinking about the right video types and where to put them on social media, you can ensure you have the right strategy and run an effective campaign.
The type of video marketing you use will also depend on where you plan to share it. The specific social media website can determine whether you include written content or only visually compelling images. In addition, the type of marketing video you use will depend on whether it is a paid ad or organic content.
Short-Form Versus Long-Form Videos
Choosing between a short-form and long-form video is often a difficult decision for business owners. Studies show that long-form videos often perform better, but consumers also often have short attention spans. To figure out the type of video that works best for you, you’ll want to look at your campaign goals and where your target audience is within the marketing funnel. Does your campaign want lower funnel clicks? Are you trying to boost your completion rate? Click through rates and video completions are two of the top performance indicators, but they are not the only ones you should focus on.
If your end goal is to get new visitors to your website, short videos tend to work the best. In general, there is an inverse relationship between click throughs and video length. Because of this, your best bet is to have a short-form video if you want more click throughs to your site from new leads.
Another metric to consider is your completion rate. This is the number of people who watch the entirety of the social media videos. When considering this rate, make sure to remember that non-skippable videos will have much higher completion rates without necessarily having more attentive viewers.
On the other hand, long-form videos are highly effective when used for remarketing, and getting former leads closer to making a purchase. They are often placed on landing pages and used in email marketing campaigns when a potential client has already shown interest in a product or service.
Within the broader segments of short-form and long-form ads, there are also several sub-types of videos you can use. Video ads are included separately on the list, but the other video types could be easily converted into an advertisement as well.
- Video ads for social media
- Educational
- Promo video
- Short company profile video
- Demo interview
- Explainers
The difficult part is deciding which social media video marketing option is the best based on the audience you are trying to reach. The decision comes down to the size of your budget, your company, and what you want to tell the individual on the other side of the screen. The right option for a tech company could be completely wrong for a family-run hardware store.
The right video length varies based on the social media site, your budget, and your objectives. In general, the following video lengths are commonly used on these social media sites.
- Facebook: 1 minute
- Twitter: 45 seconds
- YouTube: 2 minutes
- Instagram: 30 seconds
But you also shouldn’t limit yourself to these specifications. There are many factors to consider when deciding the length and appropriate content to include in your social media marketing videos.
Short videos with highly engaging visuals like great photos and videos are a great marketing tool for new audience members. Pair these with a strong marketing message that is short, precise, and to the point, and you’ll have new customers flowing into your lead funnel. Long videos can do well if you need to provide an in-depth explanation or educational video to leads who are gaining more interest in what you have to offer. While there is no perfect distinction between whether you should use a short-form or long-form video, Top Notch Cinema can help you identify which will be more effective for the goals of your ad campaign.
Short-Form Videos
Short-form videos generally perform the best for click throughs and video completion rates. In general, viewers tend to drop off as the video continues to play. This is obviously avoided in non-skippable ads. It is imperative these videos capture visual attention due to the lack of sound when scrolling through social media apps like Facebook and Instagram.
Most social media video marketing ads are only 30 seconds or less. To capitalize on short ads, YouTube started using 6-second Bumper ads. If telling a story in just 6 seconds seems impossible, then a long-form ad may be a better choice.
The Two Kinds of Social Media Videos
The type and style of video ads depend greatly on where you plan on using the video. With video marketing on Instagram, the image matters the most. Instagram campaigns tend to work best if all of your videos and images have a similar aesthetic and style.
Meanwhile, your Twitter ads will have a stronger focus on the actual writing. The design of this social media site is more writing focused, so you need an ad that features a good editorial voice. Then, design a consistent posting schedule and stick to it.
On all of these sites, your social media video marketing campaign can be carried out in two key ways. You can choose to post your videos organically, which means the videos are only viewed by your fans or followers, but they’re also free to post.
The other option is to expand your reach with advertising videos. This technique helps you reach audience members who are not currently fans or followers of your company. It does come with a cost, but also allows you to aim the videos at specific demographics. The investment for video marketing is well worth it when:
- Using Facebook ads to quickly scale and drive leads to your websites, meaning more sales.
- They expedite the growth of your fanbase or target audience.
- Top Notch Cinema is able to spend a great deal of time and energy organizing, preparing, and strategizing to develop a large amount of quality content you can use for months at a time.
- You get numerous videos with various themes and different looks, while still maintaining your branding, to give you quality content that can be shared on any platform.
Let’s check out some facts about the difference between organic videos and paid advertisements.
Videos Posted Organically
Organic videos have a number of benefits. They are a great way to support your community, receive customer feedback, and respond to questions. Meanwhile, paid ads are an excellent way to reinforce your organic message.
These videos are generally less than 30 seconds in length. Nike’s ads are an excellent example of high-quality, short videos. Thematic shorts like Nike’s “Unlimited Fight” campaign show how stunning visuals and short messages can capture the viewer’s attention.
The interesting thing is how Nike builds on these shorter stories. The thematic shorts build a connection with the viewer and give them a glimpse into someone else’s life. Later, Nike builds on this connection with a longer, informational video.
If you want to prepare six months of social media content, one way to accomplish this goal is to do it all at once. A lot of video can be shot at one time, but these can be divided into short, high- quality clips. Stylistic changes, excellent sound, and striking images make each video engaging to the viewer.
Then, these videos can be used on social media to tell your company’s story. Whether you want to gradually build the story through a series of posts or announce a major change, organic videos are a useful way to accomplish your goals. They can also increase your audience engagement.
Advertising Videos
Social media content is based on the idea of instant gratification. Users want to enjoy content without wasting any time. They want to be informed about trending topics, get entertained, and learn about the latest happenings in the world around them.
Because of these goals, short videos are a common choice for companies. Social media users want to consume their videos and content while they are on the go. Because of this, 80 percent of social media content is being viewed on mobile devices.
Paid content is excellent for micro-targeting. This technique allows you to target your audience based on their demographics, interests, or other factors. Using micro-targeting, you can maximize your budget and make sure the people who see your videos are actually interested in your products.
Other than initially targeting a certain audience you should also look at remarketing. This technique involves returning to people who have already interacted with your company and then promoting a relevant offer later on. With Facebook, you can easily target those users and build up loyalty marketing campaigns.
The length of your paid video depends on the site you are using. Video marketing on Facebook must be 45 minutes or less. While shorter videos tend to work better for a potential client’s initial introduction to your company or product, 2-minute ads and longer are better as they get closer to making a purchase. These are especially good for remarketing purposes via Facebook or Google Ads.
A good video marketing company will assist you with determining the ideal placement of both short and long-form videos within your email or social campaigns. They’ll help you find the right point in the marketing funnel to share specific content that will make potential clients more likely
to buy your product. The goal is to transition prospective clients from the short, visually pleasing videos to the long-form content, which will give them more details and convinces your visitors to make the purchase.
On Instagram, your advertisement must be less than 60 seconds. The good news is that a shorter ad will generally perform the best. When people have to sit through a longer video, they tend to skip it.
Whether you have a short or long video, there are a few tricks that can help it to succeed. The first 5 seconds are key for your video. You need something compelling or unusual to catch the viewer’s attention and keep them engaged.
Since the audio is off until you click on the ad, most of the time this compelling concept has to be a video with a powerful visual intro. You need to use clips that have fantastic messaging, preferably with captions at the bottom of the screen, that are truly eye-catching. Otherwise, the viewer will likely skip the ad and move on.
No one can hear what is going on in your ad until they click on it to turn on the audio. If they are at work, they might even keep it muted for the duration of the video. Adding subtitles is one way to make sure your audience can understand what is going on in the advertisement.
Some companies choose to make longer videos to educate their previous customers or to demo a product. While Facebook does allow you to pay for longer video advertisements, this might not be the best use of your marketing budget if you’re aiming them at brand new leads. But long- form videos can be tremendously effective once you’ve hooked potential clients.
Long-Form Videos
Long-form videos are typically considered to be anything over two minutes. They can be a good way to engage your returning customers and provide additional information to individuals who are drawing closer to purchasing your goods or services for the first time. If a customer watches the entire video, the goal is to help them learn more about your business and hear your story, while also giving them the information they need to make a decision regarding your product.
Non-skippable ads basically force the viewer to see your video, but these ad options are only available for short videos. When you use a longer ad for your social media video marketing, the viewer has a choice about whether they watch all of it or not. Because of this, short videos often have the best viewing metrics when a client is hearing about your company for the first time. But this does not mean long-form videos aren’t still a good option for you. It strictly depends on the goals of your campaign. Long videos are an excellent way to capture the viewer’s attention for longer periods of time and dive into greater detail for remarketing purposes.
If you want to educate your previous customers, a long video might be better. There are challenges with creating an engaging long-form video and getting your audience to watch it all if they haven’t already been introduced via a compelling short-form video. But once you’ve hooked their attention, a long-form clip is a great way to give the key information they need to make the final decision on whether or not they want to purchase your product or service.
Top Notch Cinema can help you determine at what point in your ad campaign a long-form video will be effective for where current leads are located in your marketing funnel.
Where Do They Go From the Ad?
Your marketing advertisement is finally paying off. People are clicking on your ad, but now where should they go? What should you do after someone clicks on your ad?
With social media video marketing, you can send your viewers to several different places. Many companies choose to link their ads to their website’s homepage or a landing page. This allows customers to check out their website, look for products and learn more about their company.
Another option is to combine your short and long-form ads. After someone clicks on a short- form ad, you can send them to a promotional video or a company profile video. This is often where long-form videos come in at 2 minutes or longer, providing additional details about the company or the specific product the short-form video was promoting.
The shorter video captures the viewer’s attention, but the long-form video converts them into an engaged and loyal customer.
When you first start creating your marketing campaign start by building a simple ad and a company video. This is one of the fastest ways to drive traffic to your website. By using your ad to connect viewers to your company video, you improve the results you get from your marketing campaign.
What Should You Generally Include in a Long Video?
If you are going to create a long video, it needs to be done well. During the two or more minutes of the video, you need to show customers why they should buy from you, as well as what sets your company apart from everyone else?
You can also use long-form videos with your email list subscribers. Since the individual already signed up for your emails, it is safe to say they are interested in your company on some level. Now, you need to convert them into a paying customer with the right video content.
For your email list, your videos should include facts, statistics, and important information about your business. You may also want to include reviews and testimonial videos to build trust and reliability in your brand. Since you generally use more of these attributes with an email list than a typical video, it is okay if your video is longer than normal.
Another thing to consider is the type of ad you use for current or probable customers. A pre or post-sales video for a big ticket item tends to be a good time for long form videos. If someone is buying $5,000 or even $20,000 worth of products from you, an in-depth video is an ideal tool for
a sales representative to use as part of their strategy to close the sale.
This in-depth video helps to calm the client’s nerves about committing to such a large purchase. It also adds product value through showcasing the benefits of your products or services. This video can help to justify the ticket price in the client’s eyes.
Meanwhile, long form videos can also work well for post sales. The only difference is it stops being a marketing tool. If you use it as a closing tool instead, a long-form video will generally capture the viewer’s attention well after the sale is complete.
Using Short and Long Videos for Your Company’s Marketing Campaigns
There is no reason your company has to stick to just short or long-form videos. A short-form video can generate excitement and interest in your business. Then, you can use the short video to channel customers to an educational, long-form video as a remarketing tactic.
Education and information provide product value to your clients. If they are not aware of a certain benefit or feature, it is like the product’s benefit does not actually exist. You can add some educational information in the middle of the marketing process to optimize your sale.
Use Social Media Video Marketing for Your Business
No matter what video you use, it must be engaging. Within the first 5 seconds of the ad, you have to capture the viewer’s attention and make them want to watch your ad. While this is often easier to do in short videos, you can do it in a long-form ad as well once the lead has been engaged.
Even with a long-form video, you will generally want to keep your advertisement to just 2 to 6 minutes, but don’t be afraid to make it longer when necessary. Focus on telling your story in a concise, compelling way. Use authentic stories and stunning imagery to seamlessly integrate your videos into your brand.
The right social media video marketing approach can make or break your company’s marketing campaign. Top Notch Cinema will help you figure out the right type of video and the best social media channel for the video, you can boost your campaign’s results.
Here at Top Notch Cinema, we can help you create powerful and engaging videos to add to your marketing strategies. Get in touch with us today to learn more!
