#WistiaChat with Sprout Social: The Evolution of Social Video

On February 11, we hosted a #WistiaChat with Sprout Social’s social media expert, Darryl Villacorta. This #WistiaChat focused on how to make social media video a core part of your marketing strategy, and folks had some excellent tips. In case you missed the live chat, we documented some highlights in this post. You can also see the Storify to look through some of our most helpful tweets.

Social video is different from the rest

Video made for social media has some limiting factors — it’s shorter, it should be really engaging, and most importantly, it should qualify as a “thumbstopper.” In a world where we scroll through feeds all day long, social video has to be engaging enough for someone to stop scrolling — a big ask in today’s social-heavy web. Wistians agreed that social video has to be short, sweet, and to the point, all while being super shareable.

“Social videos allow us to experiment. We can try out new concepts that are short and sweet!” @animoto
“I liken social videos to snackable, bite-sized pieces of content that best utilize social platforms as their venue.” @TheMiddle

Tailor your videos to your platform

Your audience differs across your social media platforms, so why don’t your videos? Content you make for Facebook may not work as well on Instagram, and vice versa. One of the largest differences between the platforms is their time limitations. Be sure to pay attention to video length!

Wistians across the board agree that catering to the needs of each platform will give you more engagement and a better rapport with your audience. Think about what does best on each platform and what your audience wants to see. From there, you can create social videos that shine.

“Definitely. Each platform has own audience which engages with different styles of content. Start w/ experiments/research.” @iservin
“Tailor social video content to the strengths of the network it will be published to. One size doesn’t fit all.” @TheMiddle

Make videos that don’t need sound

Autoplaying videos have made “mute” the default setting on everyone’s laptop. Being interrupted with high-volume videos is a terrible experience, and we’ve learned to adapt. Therefore, so should our content! Creating videos that excel without sound has been a tricky challenge, but Wistians had some great tips. For example, use text in creative ways to draw attention and tell a story.

“Internal Facebook tests show that captioned video ads increase video view time by an average of 12%.” @TheMiddle
“Strong visual opening is key. It’s kind of cheesy, but we ask how is this content a thumbstopper?” @iservin

Great video is meant to be shared

Great video should be shared, but there’s no formula for making it go viral. Wistians agree that it’s better to focus on your audience. What would they value? What helps them, and what do they enjoy? Once you have those answers, you can start making video that folks will love to share.

“Never try make something viral. Try make it relevant to your audience.” @Office_Zombie
“Yeah. Virality is a flash in the pan that’ll be forgotten. Helpfulness is how you build an empire!” @fixingyourvideo

Integrate social video into your marketing strategy

Video on social media works, and incorporating it into your marketing strategy doesn’t have to be a hassle. Choose some short video ideas, script them out, and start shooting! Social video doesn’t need to be perfect. Use it as your playground and experiment! Your concepts can engage your audience, explain your product, or just liven up your audience’s day! Social video can reinforce your brand’s identity and help folks feel closer to your company and your team.

“Hands down, social loves video - not that difficult for brands to produce, should be worked into social strategy.” @sarahkwalters
“Social videos help w/ brand awareness. We highlight company culture that helps support recruiting potential job candidates.” @TheMiddle

Get out there and create!

We love seeing great examples of video on social media. Have you created some “thumbstoppers”? Seen any brands making creative and inspiring shorts? Let us know in the Community!