Social media video is no longer the exception but the rule. If you are not posting video, you are missing out on a huge opportunity to connect with an enormous audience through direct views and shares. As an example, a few months ago I used Facebook Live and posted a short video where I took the audience on a tour of one of my media training workshops. Sort of a “day in the life” kind of thing. Within two hours, the video post had more than 200 views. By the end of the week, more than a 1000 people had watched the video. Facebook loves video! So what kind of content should you post? And in what form? Here are some tips:
Show Your Best Stuff First!
For some reason, many content producers make the mistake of “saving” the best visual for last. The problem is, most consumers will never see it because most will not watch the entire video. In the news business, this is called “burying the lead”. Don’t make this mistake. Lead with your best stuff and you are more likely to capture viewers attention for a longer span of time.
Be Technically Sound
You don’t have to be an Oscar winning film crew to post relevant content but you do need to pay attention to video and audio quality. As technology continues to improve, consumers expert to watch video which isn’t shaking. They expect to be able to clearly hear the people speaking on-camera. Be careful here, especially if you are posting for a business. The quality of your content directly reflects on you.
Avoid Excessive Text On-Screen
This seems to be a trend right now. Social media allows you to scroll through moving video without clicking. You see the video but do not hear the audio, so content creators are adding big bold text over the video to allow consumers to “read” the video when previewing. When I see these text heavy videos, I move on. First, the text covers up the video I want to watch. Additionally, why click on it if the text is already there? You can also effectively “set-up” the video with text in the headline and sub-title areas of the post. My bet is this trend will prove ineffective over time.
Connect With People Via Emotion
Viewers love a good story whether on TV, Netflix, or online. The best stories convey emotion of some kind-joy, overcoming the odds, inspiration, tragedy, triumph, humor, etc. All of the tips I listed above do not matter if you are unable to connect emotionally with your audience. Every video needs to convey emotion.
The better the story, the better your chances of getting shares and views.