No matter the size of your business, you should include social media marketing or better yet local video marketing as part of your overall marketing plan, and video needs to play a central role to that strategy. Video has been proven time and time again to be extremely engaging for viewers, and is now the media format that is most consumed and shared on social media. In fact, by 2022 online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic — 15 times higher than it was in 2017!
It’s undeniable that video content is the way to go for businesses looking to take their social media marketing strategies up a notch. The following tips will help you maximize your investment in videos and turn them into an valuable asset on which people can rely!
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Use The Following Local Video Marketing Tips
1. Develop a Strategy First and Then Put Together Your Plan of Action
Before you start filming videos, take the time to do some basic research and plan your videos based on what you find. Your research should include what your audience is interested in, which platforms they are on, the type of content they prefer, and what your competitors are doing.
In terms of planning, you want to have clear goals from your video campaign. Whether it is getting new followers, boosting sales, or getting more website visits, you want something measurable. This will let you confirm that your video marketing efforts are successful.
2. Understand What Works on Each Social Media Platform
Social media is a powerful tool, but it’s also one that can be daunting to use. With so many platforms and features- how do you know which ones will work best for your business? You need to research the requirements for videos on each and every platform. Basically, you want to make sure that your videos will meet all the technical requirements.
3. Find Video Ideas From Your Current Blog Posts
Your website hopefully already has a blog. Assuming you do, use your analytics tools to see which posts are the most popular. These are likely to be great choices for videos. You can see if you can convert the blog post into a short video or come up with another related topic.
4. Don’t Be Close-minded to Different Types of Videos
When it comes to planning your videos, consider various types of videos. You may want some behind-the-scenes videos, some product demos, and some interviews. The following are some types of videos to consider:
- Behind the scenes
- Entertainment
- Event videos
- Live videos
- Meet the team
- Interviews
- Product introduction
- Q&As
- Testimonials
- Tips relevant to your industry
- Tutorials
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5. Keep Videos Simple and Short
While you can post longer videos on YouTube, you should not typically do so on other social media pages. The best videos will be short, within a few minutes or even less. The absolute best ones will be less than a minute.
When on social media, people want to scroll and just take brief pauses to watch interesting videos. They don’t want to spend 10 minutes on a single video.
To keep your videos short, cut out excess information. If you just can’t keep it short, break it up into several videos.
6. Get Their Attention in the First Few Seconds
Not only should your social media videos be short, but they should engage viewers within the first few seconds. If you don’t get their attention right away, they will keep on scrolling. You want your introduction to generate curiosity for the rest of the video. Consider incorporating thought-provoking questions or popular music. Don’t forget to include your brand as well.
7. Never Forget Branding
No matter the type of video that you make, be sure to include your business name or logo somewhere. This is obvious to include if you are giving a tour of your building, but you may not think of it at first in a video about general tips.
8. Always Use Calls to Action
You should incorporate a call to action in your marketing materials, including videos. To figure out what call to action you want to include, think back to the goals you’ve set for the video.
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9. Show Your Face
As you plan your content, do your best to show your face in the video. This will help make your video seem more personal and encourage engagement. As a bonus, this can help you become recognizable in the local community. That is especially true with small businesses having local audiences. People may spot you at the supermarket or local parks, helping you grow your brand.
10. Including Subtitles is Good
There are several important reasons to include subtitles on any local video that includes speaking lines. To start, you want to make sure that anyone in your audience with hearing problems can still view and enjoy the video.
On top of that, many people browse social media in public or at work without headphones handy. In these situations, they will watch videos without sound. If you don’t include subtitles, you miss out on that entire segment of the audience.
Additionally, adding subtitles can make it easier for non-native English speakers to understand your video. This is important if your business caters to a diverse area.
11. The Right Equipment is Essential
With technological advances, you don’t have to get a fancy camera to shoot videos for social media. A good smartphone camera is typically enough. However, you will get the best results if you get some extra equipment.
Consider a tripod, so the video doesn’t seem wobbly. Invest in a microphone to ensure you have good sound quality. You should also get some additional lighting. Even if you buy additional lighting, which you should, you still want to take advantage of natural lighting whenever possible.
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12. Always Get Permission for Music
If your video will include music, take the time to ensure that you have the rights to use it. The easiest way to do this is to choose music with a Creative Commons License or in the Public Domain Music. Otherwise, you will need to get a Master License from the label and a Synchronization from a License. This can take time and money, so most small businesses will stick to stock music or other free options in their local video marketing strategy.
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13. Review and Analyze Past Videos
As with every other part of your marketing strategy, you should constantly evaluate how your local video marketing is doing and make changes when necessary. This means that before you create a new video for social media, you should look at the analytics for the past videos. If you notice a type of video that tends to not perform well, avoid those. If you had a great response to a video, figure out why and create new videos with similar features or related topics.
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