What Local Businesses Need to Know About Video Marketing on Social Media
Running a
successful local business requires dedication, passion and hard work. Hard work
often means finding new and creative ways to promote your brand. After all,
marketing always has been and always will be the key to keeping a business in
operation.
While there
are numerous mediums to explore, video marketing is arguably the most
important. In fact, a study from Cisco found that video will account for
82% of all internet traffic by 2021.
Video Marketing Benefits Local Businesses
At one time,
video marketing appeared to be out of reach for most local businesses due to
budget constraints. Thanks to technological advancements, video production is
more affordable and can benefit local businesses of all sizes. If you want to
learn more about the specific benefits of local video marketing, check out this guide.
The average
adult in the U.S. spends more than 100 minutes watching digital videos each
day. In 2011, adults spent just 39 minutes watching videos online. We’ve
reached a point where video accounts for a third of all online activities.
There are Numerous Types of Videos
When
creating videos for social media, there are several different formats to choose
from, including:
- Vlogs
- Live video
- Explainers
- Product reviews
- Presentations
- Advertisements
- Demos
- Interviews
Having a
wide variety of options makes video marketing more accessible to businesses of
all budgets.
Video Length is Important and Platform-Dependent
Videos are
more engaging than textual content, but there’s still a limit to how long
viewers will stick around.
Choosing the
right video length is important, and will be dependent on the social platform
you want to share it on. Here’s what HubSpot recommends:
- Twitter: 45 seconds
- Instagram: 30 seconds
- YouTube: 2 minutes
- Facebook: 1 minute
Even with
video content, people still have short attention spans. Longer video content
may be effective in some cases, but generally, the shorter the better. With
video content, it’s surprisingly easy to get your message across in a
relatively brief amount of time.
Live Video Will Improve Engagement
Live video
continues to play an important role in video marketing, and it will account for
more than 10% of traffic by 2021.
Instagram
Live is particularly effective at improving engagement. Because these videos
are only available for 24 hours, followers are more inclined to watch.
Otherwise, they’ll miss out on your exclusive content.
Local
businesses can live stream events, new product launches, announcements or just
give viewers a tour of their operations.
The key most
important thing is to let followers know that you’re going live. Yes, some
social platforms will send out notifications when users initiate live
streaming, but announcing it ahead of time will spread awareness and increase
viewership.
Video can Improve SEO Results and Promote Brand Awareness
Video
marketing can help improve SEO results and promote brand awareness.
- The title of the video should be value-oriented and
specific. It should include the brand name and the type of video (review, demo,
etc.). - Descriptions should include keywords to improve search
engine rankings and help users find your video.
Google
Analytics can be used to get a better understanding of how your videos are
performing, who’s watching them and more.