GETTING STARTED WITH A SMART VIDEO STRATEGY
By Ami Murphy Iannone, Creative Director - August 02, 2018
There are many reasons to start implementing video in your social strategy. One big reason is that the social channels themselves are prioritizing and rewarding video posts through their algorithms. Brands like LEGO are using video strategies to engage with their customers on a new, deeper level. You may already be convinced that video is the right direction for your social strategy, but how do you get started?
Here are some ways to dip your toe into a video strategy.
Propose a low-pressure video scenario.
If your team is hesitant because they still believe that testing video has to mean big budgets and lots of man hours, here are some ways to evolve their understanding of the value and feasibility of a video campaign.
Start with something casual… it’s just a first date after all. Perhaps live streaming an event or interview would be a low-ante way to introduce the video conversation without the high stakes (or high budget) of a more formal video production.
Add Instagram stories into your regular mix. This is the ultimate way to dip a toe into video without the terrifying prospect of your video living forever in the digital universe. It disappears after 24 hours.
Consider 360-degree videos for Facebook or YouTube to provide an immersive experience of an onsite event activation or just show off a cool office remodel.
If you can drive engagement on one of these relatively easy video tests, you then have tangible data to back up your recommendation for a bigger video project.
Include CTAs in your videos
Just like every other piece of your content strategy, your videos should drive people further into the fold. Including CTAs in your videos and in the caption text helps drive viewers to take a specific action (of your design, of course). Test timing of your CTA based on your view duration-- you may have better success including your CTA toward the beginning of your video if people are dropping off before the end.
Try out some of these CTAs to see which gets the best reaction from your audience.
Good Ol’ “Like and Subscribe” -- a straightforward classic.
Direct them to the next video they might enjoy: “Want to see more videos of kittens? Of course, you do. Check below for links to my top 3 kitten videos.”
Send them to a larger piece of content that is related to the video topic: “If you’re interested in roller skates, definitely check out our ebook A Complete History of Wheeled Shoes”
Prompt them with a question to inspire commenting: “How do you take your coffee? Tell us in the comments.”
Encourage them to get in touch with you another way: “Shoot us an email if you’ve got questions we didn’t cover in this video.”
Ask them to follow you on social, let them know why and how: “Follow me on Instagram @socksabouttown for pictures of the most dapper socks I’ve seen around town.”
Here’s the kicker: you’ve got to be prepared to report on your successes… or all this convincing was for naught.
Prove it worked
If you hit the viral video jackpot or sink like a typewriter, the outcome of your video campaign will be pretty apparent. But more likely than not, your video will fall somewhere in the middle, which makes measuring success a little more difficult. But reporting on what did and did not work is critical to your position as a marketer. Fortunately, if you did your homework up front, you can easily understand what metrics indicate a job well done.
The first step to set up your campaign was audience identification. This is where you’ll start your measuring too. Views don’t always equal success. The question to ask is whether your video was seen by that target audience.
When you selected the right channel for your campaign, you also defacto selected the kinds of metrics that will be most relevant to your videos. Make sure to track the engagements for your social channels pre and post video so you have benchmarks for comparison. Be ready to discuss reasons that your CTA was successful or underwhelming and to provide the kind of engagement-- both qualitative and quantitative-- that your video earned.
To evaluate the quality and effectiveness of your creative messaging, you’ll want to look at additional engagement metrics like click-through rate, completion watch rate, and shares to understand if the desired outcome was achieved or if you missed the mark.
Want to really knock their socks off? Talk about how your videos performed in comparison to your competitor’s videos or demonstrate the audience segments that engaged with your video campaign to prove its effectiveness.
If you need help outlining thekey elements of a video strategyor convincing your team that video is the way to go, download our ebook. We’ve put together all the stats and info you need to show how a video-first social strategy can help you win the internet.