For starters, don’t be intimidated by the pressure to make an Academy Award-worthy film because Facebook videos thrive on brevity. As soon as your video hits the two-minute mark, you’re going to start losing viewers, so why waste the time? Ideas for marketing videos are valuable, so instead of cramming them all into your first video, try concentrating on one aspect of that story and saving the others for later. Time your voiceover before you even pick up a camera – it may need some serious pruning to keep it at a palatable duration.
And while we’re on about that voiceover, don’t forget that Facebook video viewers only turn the sound on 15% of the time. So instead of blowing your budget on a celebrity sound-alike and three days at Abbey Road, concentrate on getting yourself an accurate and readable set of subtitles so that folk know what’s going on in your video. You could consider creating a .srt file, which you upload after your video, and which gives your viewers the option to turn subtitles on or off. Or you could just go crazy and add ‘hard-burned’ subtitles into your video, giving you more flexibility over style and color – and allowing the titles to complement the aesthetic of your film.
To make the most of your stunning new video, it is vital to add a call-to-action. Campaigns with such a button get 185% more clickthrough from their viewers, which means you’re actually engaging those casual surfers and not just entertaining them. This call-to-action link can lead to any kind of interaction, such as booking a ticket, reading a review, or signing up to your mailing list.
This is just the start of what you can do to make your first Facebook video a hit. It’s simple stuff but there are plenty of ways you can improve your instinctive efforts. This guide to Facebook videos is the best way you can start on your route to audio-visual heaven!
