Social Video Marketing in 2017

Videos tend to be the most popular form of viral content that can earn high ROI for your business. The momentous success of a well drafted video marketing plan can bring to your brand is undeniable.

The year 2016 witnessed a bright spark added to the Facebook feature list, the live video streaming. Few early-adopters of technology benefitted their marketing strategies with the introduction of this truly distinctive info-sharing medium. 2017 too would harness from the fastest and most viral form of content strategy and the enormous engagement it would draw for brands.

So, for marketers, who are yet waiting for the big moment when they can cash in from social video marketing, should start working now. Creating videos won’t be enough, as they should be in sync with your product-funnel. Videos should be engagement rich which would force the user to opt for your product instead of the competitors.

Distribution or social sharing of the videos form the strongest pillar which needs to be well thought of. With tons of videos uploaded each hour and the viewership figures crossing millions, the social networks should not be ignored while drafting the video marketing plan.

Getting a clear understanding of this critical yet highly essential element of online marketing is a must for newbie marketers. To be like a Pro, you must follow what the Pro marketers do, create engaging and content rich-videos. Sharing a few social trends that would be prevailing in 2017,

• Facebook and YouTube still lead the race

  – Facebook and YouTube are still the most searched and viewed social platforms.

Social Stats - Over 8 billion videos or 100 million hours of videos are watched on Facebook every day (TechCrunch 2016)

From small business to Fortune 500 brands, each of them have their presence marked on Facebook. YouTube accounts for millions of searches daily for How-to videos.

Social Stats Searches related to “how-to” on YouTube grew 70% from 2014 to 2015 (Google, 2015)

• Create Personalized Videos

  – Customers need to be delighted at every point of the funnel. They need to be made to ‘feel special’ by your brand. Personalized videos help you build lasting relations, earn brand advocates and loyalists. Integrate your E-mail marketing strategies with Video Marketing. Grab the attention of your viewers, embed a personalized video within the email. Get ready  to witness whopping click-through-rates for your e-mail campaigns.

• Share and share alike across all social media networks

  – Don’t just glue your marketing strategies to Facebook and YouTube. This way you would be missing on crowds that are using other prominent social networks. Include Twitter, Instagram, Google+, and Tumblr in your distribution channels. Also, take care of the viewer’s interests and those who access these networks according to their preferences.

• Create short, content rich and information loaded videos –

  Poor-quality videos are not preferred by viewers and can be skipped in a mere 2-3 seconds. Prioritize your campaign with the product/service offering. Focus primarily on the content and information that would be displayed.

Some of the proven and successful hacks Pro marketers used to engage viewers are – keeping the videos short, identifying the problem and offering a solution. Giving apt details related to product and the brand. No fake promises and not too much brand promotion.  Follow, the success mantra – short, solution and quality.

• Assure viewability across devices and platforms –

  Sharp and crisp videos fetch greater viewers. Check your video creation set-up and sound quality. There should not be background music that is too loud or confusing voice-overs. Also, the videos should be built keeping in view multiple-device viewability. Not every viewer can afford HD. So, build videos with standard definition and they must be responsive across all devices.

It all starts with the customer and ends with their satisfaction. So, a completely customer-centric approach should be the vision of your social video marketing strategy in 2017.  Choose the social way for your video campaigns and don’t forget to gauge the performance of your video marketing campaigns.