The Netflix documentary, The Social Dilemma, has reiterated the idea that everyone knew deep down but may have been in denial about—social media consumes us.

No doubt that there are downfalls to social media, but there are far more benefits, especially for businesses.

According to Tubular Insights, 64% of consumers make a purchase after watching branded social videos, and now more than ever, users constantly on social media.

With so many companies fighting for your target audience’s attention, stepping up your social media game is critical. Reports have shown that humans now have shorter attention spans than goldfish, so it’s safe to say that there’s a tiny window of opportunity to catch a viewer’s attention. Combating short attention spans with the influx of content on social media can be difficult, but leveraging videos on social media videos is an impactful tactic.

If you’re a marketer and not leveraging your videos on social media, you’re missing out on a massive opportunity for yourself and your clients. See why videos can level-up your marketing efforts and help with your social media presence.

3 Ways to Leverage Your Social Media Presence With Video

Grab Attention & Keep it Short

The human attention span is a mere 8 seconds, which is not much time to grab a user’s attention. Think about how much scrolling you do on Facebook and Instagram—how often do you stop to view something? What makes you stop to view it? What makes you keep scrolling?

There are so many factors that go into grabbing the attention of your audience. First off, make sure the thumbnail view is enticing and would be of interest to your clientele. If you’re marketing a children’s toy line, a black and white color scheme probably wouldn’t be the best.

Secondly, we’re going to keep bringing up the lack of attention span of humans. Keep your videos as concise as possible while still fitting in the necessary information. Remember that part of the “hook” may be leaving some details out in order to get a user to click through to your profile or to your website. There should be a clear message on what the video is about within the first few seconds, so the viewer gets hooked quickly and continues to watch the rest of the video.

Optimize for Search 

A beneficial tactic for leveraging your videos online is to optimize it for search engines, which includes search functionality in social apps as well. Just as all your content should be optimized, so should your videos.

Social media channels are becoming search engines in themselves since users navigate them by searching specific hashtags or topics. If your videos aren’t optimized for search engines, you could be missing out on potential customers and clients because you aren’t reaching them when they are looking for you or your service.

Before you make a video, you should do the same research you would do as if you were optimizing a piece of content. Look at keyword rankings, Google trends, hashtags, and relevant information that supports your video, and be sure to put it in the heading and description or caption.

There are tools like VidIQ that help you specifically optimize videos for YouTube. Creating awesome videos and optimizing it is the perfect marriage to success.

Cater to Your Audience

One common mistake that companies make is that they mindlessly get on social media without a strategy. Before putting all the time, effort, and energy into creating amazing videos, optimizing them, and distributing them, you need to make sure your target audience is on the same social media channels that you’re putting you’re content on.

The same audience on LinkedIn is different than those on Instagram. The millennial age group (25-34-year-olds) watch the most online videos. This doesn’t mean other age groups aren’t doing this, but you want to make sure you’re not shooting in the dark with your social media tactics.

Men spend 40% more time watching videos than women, too. You can easily find demographic stats online that show what users are on which platforms. For some more professional companies, it may make sense to only be on LinkedIn and Facebook. For businesses aiming more towards tweens and modern trends, Instagram and TikTok might be the channels that make the most sense for your client.

Find out where your audience is and get on those channels.

Types of Videos to Use on Social Media

You can use many types of videos for social media, so get creative and always bring new ideas to the table. If you need a starting point or looking for new ideas, here are some tried-and-true video options you can utilize are:

• Branded: teach the user about your brand, what you believe in, and why you’re awesome
• Testimonials: real-life testimonials are one of the most compelling selling points 
• Interviews: from your board of directors, CEO, or other industry leaders who are doing cool things
• Product demos/facility tours: show clear, closeup product details or give potential customers a tour of your rad facility
• Explainer videos: these are simple yet effective. Give a brief explanation of your product or service and the benefits that come with it.
• Behind-the-scenes: this is a way to show more of your brand’s personality and give users insights into the work that goes behind all that you do. You can keep these casual while still being professional and on-brand
• FAQ: answer common questions from customers

Following these tips isn’t a sure-fire way to increase your brand recognition and bring it revenue, but they are great starting points. A smart marketing strategy involves learning, tweaking, and getting better, but by incorporating these tips into your strategy, you’ll be able to leverage your social media presence in no time!

Author Bio

Daniel Nanasi: Music, people, and travelling have always fueled my passion for business, the arts, and life itself. I am a seeker of adventure and rich experiences. Early on, I found video as the medium that could help me achieve both. I have worked with celebrity hip-hop artists and rock icons as well as executives from the healthcare industry and fortune 100. My extensive travels and my craft have now merged into what I do for Think Branded Media .