3 Tips to use Video for Your Brand

You know the importance of video, but what’s next?
What does it take to make a good video?
How do you start?

Discover 3 tips to use video now!

For an easy sneak peak, watch the video:

How to use video on social media for your brand – 3 practical tips

I mentioned in my previous blog post “3 Reasons to use Video on Social Media for your Brand”, that video can serve many different purposes in many formats. Before we dive into that, I want you to understand that every one of us can make a video. Fancy gear or a film crew is not essential in video content creation because we all have mobile phones, which is enough for social media.

On many platforms, overly produced content is seen with negativity, because the audience want to see brands that are relatable and human-like. Of course, getting into the video making mindset is a step that requires effort, but remember that we get better by doing!

If your first video was not very successful, understand that every new one you make will be better and better. If you are still reading, you are ready to know more…

Develop a Video Strategy

The most common mistake in producing video content is doing it just because everyone else is doing so. Video making, the same as any other marketing-related activities, can only be successful when approached with a strategy.

A very important tip for your video is to look into the customer journey: awareness, consideration, purchase and advocacy, and identify gaps. Moreover, if you look into all four stages the customer goes through before buying from you, you can see which stage needs the most attention or which stage your brand could benefit from the most. This should be the base of your campaign goals.

So how do I make this work? Let’s take a look at all 4:

Awareness – do we need more people to be aware of us?

This stage is used for expanding the reach. To make a successful video you need to trigger viewers’ emotions, you have to explain the “why?” of your business in do it in a way that resonates with your audience. It is best done by using storytelling techniques (more on that in section 3).

Consideration – your audience is aware of the problem, but they are not aware of a solution.

Especially, they are not aware of YOUR solution. At this stage, it is very important to answer questions your audience might have and establish a relationship with them. Take into account that trust is not built over one video, and this stage might be a good one for making weekly series that your customer can benefit from.

Purchase –your audience becomes paying customers.

This is where you consider what is stopping potential customers from making a purchase, and then come up with rational reasoning that addresses these concerns. A great way to do that is by developing an onboarding video and tracking its view time.

Advocacy – your clients already bought from you.

At this stage you want to improve the customer experience so they would buy from you again, and possibly share their experience with others. To get the best out of it, it is important to identify touchpoints and to develop personalized videos at a scale that is possible. This way you can assure clients that choosing you was a good decision.

In conclusion, video can play a role in any of the four stages, but it does not have to be in every single one. Read further for two more tips to use video in social media.

Go Vertical

I am not saying that from now all of your videos should be vertical, but I suggest you to experiment, and to not be afraid of vertical formats. By 2022, mobile video will account for 79% of total mobile data traffic, which shows that people are watching less TV and watching more digital videos. With that in mind, we as marketers should aim to reach our audiences on the platforms that they are already spending the most time on and in a format that does not require effort to be consumed.

Vertical videos match the format of our phone screens, and we see that being put into practice by Instagram in its IGTV and Stories functions. But what is the benefit of that?

Mobile video traffic 2022 - 3 Tips to use Video

Both IGTV and Stories are designed to take over the entire screen, this way leaving nothing to distract the user from the content that they are consuming. There are no comments, ads or pop-up notifications distracting the user from your video and the message you are conveying, which gives your content the full attention it deserves.

Both IGTV and Stories offer a different way to reach people in the place where they are already spending most of their time, and if that is not enough for you to consider using it, here are more points to think of:

IGTV content is showcased in the Discover section, as notifications on Instagram, and presented as recommended video on related videos. This gives it more visibility than a feed video can provide.
IGTV videos can also show up on the Instagram feed if you choose to have a preview. This gives it the best of both worlds.
On IGTV you can get creative by layering multiple horizontal videos into one vertical, which can improve user experience and give you a chance to make something amazing.

500 million accounts watch Instagram Stories daily.
Instagram Stories are always at the top of the screen and they do not get lost in the feed. The algorithm learns which profiles the user engages with the most and it will put those Stories before any others.
Comparing statistics from before and after the introduction of Instagram Stories suggests that people spend almost 50% more time in the app because of Stories.
It allows you to link IGTV videos directly in the Stories.

There are other platforms that support vertical format, like Facebook or TikTok. You need to discover what works best for your brand, but that can only be done by experimenting!

These are the special tips to use video in social media to discover what works well for your brand.

Use Storytelling Techniques

Storytelling is a powerful way that helps to translate any idea into an understandable message. It allows your audience to imagine themselves in the main character’s shoes and in this way helps them to relate to the product or message that you are trying to convey. On top of that, we are wired to enjoy a good story, just think about it!

A good way to think of your storyline is by using a three-act structure:

Act 1 – raise the question you will be answering, explain the content and most importantly, hook your target audience. Therefore, you want to grab their attention within the first few seconds so they would watch the rest!
Act 2 – is where the action happens. In this part you want to show all the struggles you went through before finding this great solution you are now selling. In this way, you show what you promised the audience in act 1.
Act 3 – resolution and conclusion. You do not want to leave your audience hanging and wondering “so what?”.

The Forrester story arc - 3 Tips to use Video

The three-act system is well known and widely used. Therefore most people will be at least subconsciously familiar with this structure thanks to television, which helps people to remember and understand what they see easier.

Next to the three-act structure, always remember that people like heroes and quest stories. Every story and every business have a monster to fight or journey to bring your customers through. All you need to do figure out what you are fighting and show it! The beauty of these techniques is that they can work in more formats than just a video. The next time you are writing a social media post think about how storytelling techniques can be used there.

In the end, I want to give you all a challenge.
Can you tell me which of the listed techniques we used in this campaign?

References:

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Ieva Vaitiekūnaitė

I am digital marketing enthusiast with skills in design thinking and event management. Curiosity and active lifestyle continuously encourage me to explore, which is how I ended up being away from my homeland Lithuania. I'm an easy-going person who loves to network and engage in meaningful conversations.

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