Published on June 17th, 2020 | by Victor Blasco

How to Make Social Videos That Your Followers Will Share

If you’re not on social media, you don’t exist: a statement that’s more accurate in 2020 than ever, and it applies to big and small companies, non-profits, individuals… even pets in some cases! The ways that people interact with each other –and with the brands they follow– have changed, and social media channels are a key stakeholder in all of this.

Oh, and at the center of it all? Content.

Over the years, we’ve seen social media platforms evolve from text to photos and pictures, creating new ways to engage with our groups. But today, text and images are not the engagement-drivers they used to be. Today, social video is king.

Social media videos are the best way to engage with an audience and connect with them. But, as most skilled video production companies will tell you, it’s not enough to just create a generic video and post it online – you need to tailor your content for social media to get the best results.

And that’s what we are talking about today!

Making a Great First Impression

People look at hundreds of pieces of content on their social feeds every day. Not all of this content will grab their attention, so how can you make sure that your video does?

Your video needs to stand out from the very start, and that means making it interesting for your audience from the very first frames. Something that usually does the trick is to open with a question, or with an intriguing phrase or expression that speaks directly to your audience’s interests.

On social media channels, videos usually reproduce automatically. That’s why the first few seconds need to be impactful: you have to make people stop scrolling and watch your content!

Also, remember that on social media, people usually don’t have the sound on. So, if you are opening your message with a catchy phrase, people might lose it if it’s not subtitled!

In short, make a strong impact from the very beginning, and subtitle your video so that it reaches more people!

Tailoring Your Message to Your Target Audience

There’s no possible way to reach every single person on the planet with the same message. And why would you even want that? Your main focus should be your target audience, as they’re the ones that are actually interested in your product or service.

So, your message needs to focus on catching specific target audiences’ attention; no more, no less. And that’s enough of a challenge! Getting help from video experts like Value Imagery will allow you to create social media videos that suit your targeted audience.

From the start, you should identify the social platform that interests your target audience the most, and make sure to concentrate your efforts there. It’s very different to make a video for Instagram than a video for YouTube, or Twitter.

After you choose the primary social channels you’re going to focus on, you should also take a look at which times they usually use social media to recognize the best moment of the day to upload your videos!

Also, choose topics that you know your audience will be interested in, and build your videos around them! If you’re not sure of what your audience prefers, you can always ask — think of social media channels as an active conversation between your brand and its followers.

Use question stickers on your Instagram Stories, or run a poll on Twitter or Facebook to get a better understanding of your audience’s interests!

Choosing Types of Videos That Are Social-Media-Friendly

After you’ve chosen a topic that speaks to your target audience, it’s time to give it a format. There are many types of videos, but not work great on social media. Which ones should you use?

Explainer Videos

Explainer videos are one of the most engaging kinds of videos for digital marketing, and on social media, their value is even higher. They are short, entertaining pieces that convey a message in an engaging and playful way, and they work particularly great for businesses that want to convey their value proposition.

These videos are made by professional illustrators and animators that make the product something very visually appealing. That’s why animated explainer videos created with InVideo’s video editing tool have high sharing rates!

Instructional and How-To Videos

People love to learn new things, especially when this knowledge comes from brands that they like and trust. That’s what how-to videos are all about: teaching people things that are related to their interests.

These videos are highly popular and shareable, too — audiences love to share relevant and informative content with their peers! Just combine with the right hashtags and segmentation strategies, and you’ll have a piece of content that will attract organic attention!

Live Videos

Live videos are cost-effective pieces of content that don’t need a lot of pre-production effort to be made, and they bring high engagement rates!

Almost all social platforms support live video right now, and they are making it a priority on their algorithms. Live videos show up first on user’s feeds, and most platforms notify an account’s followers when it starts a broadcast.

Pairing Your Video Content with Awesome Copy

Just like a fancy truffle risotto wouldn’t be complete with a glass of good wine, your high-quality social video needs to be paired with good copy.

But your post’s copy is not just an accessory; it’s a standalone piece of content that works as a way to provoke interest in your video. Look at it as an opportunity to boost results on your video piece!

Good copy needs to be interesting, short, and provide the audience with some context of what the video is all about without giving it away. Use it as a way to reinforce your video’s CTA as well, encouraging people to share, leave a comment, etc. And, speaking of CTAs…

Call to Actions Aren’t “Optional”

One of the main goals of any social media video is to generate interactions, right? Then you need to include calls to action in your message — that includes your video and, as we mentioned earlier, your copy.

But why should you include CTAs? Well, audiences usually need a small push to interact with a piece of content. And, as we already established, posts on social media are real conversations, so it’s completely okay to ask them questions or ask for their impressions to start these conversations in the comments.

You can encourage interactions by answering and liking these comments, showing your audience that there’s a real human being behind your brand that’s willing to engage with them. Show them you care about what they have to say!

Native Uploads: Why and How

Last but not least, let’s talk about how you should be uploading all your videos natively.

Yes, all of them.

A “native video” is a piece that’s uploaded directly on the social platform, instead of an external link that might open in another window or app. You’ve probably seen that this method is being used all over social media, and that’s because it drives results!

Native videos, for starters, don’t take your audience out of your newsfeed, so you don’t have to worry about them wandering away from your content (don’t forget that people online have the attention span of a freaking goldfish). External links are very inconvenient for users too, so they usually avoid clicking on them.

That’s the main reason why native videos trigger higher engagement, and platforms know this, so they prioritize native uploads in their algorithms.

So the bottom line is that you should upload videos natively, but that also means that you need to be aware of the specs needed for every platform. For example, on Twitter, your videos have to be under 140 seconds, whilst on Instagram, the maximum is 120 seconds. Study your specs to make before you make your video so that you don’t find any nasty surprises when you’re trying to upload it natively!

Let’s Wrap It Up

There are many benefits of using video on social platforms. Videos are also an important investment for many brands, and everyone wants their investment to give a nice return, right?

That’s why videos for social media need to be visually appealing, high-quality, and tailored to the target audience’s interests. By taking care of all the details, your video will be really engaging to your viewers, and after they see it, they’ll be waiting for more.

So, are you ready to make some videos that your followers want to share? Get on it!

Tags: followers, how to, make, share, social, videos

About the Author

Victor Blasco Victor Blasco is an audiovisual designer, video marketing expert, and founder/CEO of the explainer video company Yum Yum Videos. Besides running the business, he’s a lifelong student of Chinese philosophy and a passionate geek for all things sci-fi.