Social media videos: They're short, they're shareable and they have revolutionised the way we view content on the internet. From YouTube to TikTok, social media videos have become the go-to way to showcase your life, your style, your business, and your brand. They're also an excellent tool for promoting and archiving major events.
"The bigger picture tells us that despite incremental growth from 2015 to 2017, the number of internet users in Australia between 2018 and 2019 remained unchanged. However, the number of active social media users has continued to increase by +5.9% and the number of mobile social media users has increased by +6.7%."
– wearesocial.com
Social media is here to stay
The mobile aspect of social media views is also an important factor that can make or break your videos. Optimising for this format allows the typical viewer to engage in your content wherever they are – a behaviour that is shared by the vast majority of users.
According to the digital trends site, talkwalker.com, Australians spend an average of 1 hour and 31 minutes on social media every day. That's time they're looking at feeds, posts, blogs, and most importantly videos that showcase everything under the sun.
Here's another fun statistic from the monthly social report available on socialmedianews.com: approximately half of all Australians use YouTube. While the case can be made that other social media sites like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook hold additional eyeballs for things like text and picture posts, YouTube is based purely on video. The views are there, your business should be also!
There is another additional factor when it comes to sharing your content via social channels: scalability. For the most part, the internet has no borders (with the notable exception of things like firewalls up in countries like China and government restrictions like North Korea). So while your video may be produced, uploaded, and shared to an Australian audience, the shareable nature of social media means its reach is literally limitless. A key element to consider when creating and showcasing your brand to a worldwide audience.
When it comes to social media videos the world is your oyster, but it can also be overwhelming. Social media video can take many forms, here are just a few of the options for showcasing your brand on social media using video:
Case studies
These videos showcase a particular client and project to your audience as an example of scenarios your brand faces on a day to day basis. The attempt is to capture how your company's solutions can add value to a business. Take for example the case study showcased on the CMS Australasia site titled: Taking sports beyond the game: CMS' work with Melbourne United. It shows the scenario, the challenge, and the success CMS had partnering with this legendary sports franchise.
Testimonials
These videos let your satisfied customers do the talking for you. What better way to show the value your business brought to a particular person or client than to hear it straight from them? These often take the shape of an interview with specifically curated questions designed to positively show your brand's impact.
Behind the Scenes
Does your company do something unique, interesting, or insightful? Have customers asked: how did you do that? If so a behind the scenes look at your operation is a great way to engage your viewers and potentially increase your reach. In the world of video, the more exclusive the content the better, and if there is one thing your brand can provide viewers its an exclusive look into the operations of your brand.
A note about the above types of social media video: more so than any other medium, social media videos require a sense of transparency and authenticity. There are advertising options online, however one of the aspects that social media videos can help overcome is the feeling of being "sold" to.
"Also of note is over one-third of the Australian internet population are using ad blocking tools. This aversion to advertising is also reflected in the increasing number of subscriptions to online streaming services such as Netflix, that offer ad free entertainment."
– wearesocial.com
Building a video library
"Today the web is all about streaming video and audio. Even 4K videos are beginning to increase in numbers on YouTube and other streaming sites. Multimedia is difficult to archive not only because of its size (it's quite easy to accumulate a few petabytes of HD video without much difficulty), but also because most streaming video sites don't make it easy to download the original source files." – Forbes
Whether on your own site or a third-party site like YouTube or Vimeo, a video library can allow you to showcase your content for years to come. For that, there are several library best practices that can enable your audience to find curated content.
- Tags: these are used to help your audience discover your content no matter when it was uploaded.
- Formats: utilising a universal format like mp4 allows video to be shared and stored efficiently.
- Curated playlists: These are tools your audience will use to discover your content and by extension your brand.
For more information on what CMS Australasia can do for your social media content, contact the team today.