Video content is king of marketing content. Though it may seem relatively easy to record a video, post it, and wait for people to view it, it’s not that simple. There are millions of videos on the internet today, with millions more to come. In order to make your video stand out in the ever-growing ocean of video content, you need to focus on one word: engagement.
An engaging video is captivating. It’s irresistible. It’s gripping enough to convince a viewer that it’s worth watching over any other video. Instead of focusing on buying followers to boost your social media ratings, it’s more cost-effective to improve the content you share.
Here are seven things that you can do in order to create engaging social media videos that viewers will be glued to watching until the very end.
- Catch the Viewer’s Attention Immediately
The most important part of any video is the introduction. Within the first 10 seconds of your video, you need to intrigue the viewer and prove to them that the rest of the video is worth watching. So how can you captivate your viewers in such a short amount of time?
Some of the most effective options include sharing an interesting fact, showcasing your product, or showing an emotional or thought-provoking image.
Thanks to social media, our attention spans are shorter than ever. We’re always anticipating scrolling through our feeds and timeline to find the next funny dog video or the next heartwarming story. As a video content creator, it’s your job to put a halt to the anticipation and finding “the next.”
With the right introduction, you can create a video that viewers are willing to spend their time watching.
- Know What Your Audience Wants
Everyone has their own ideas when it comes to content topics, but what really matters the most is what your audience wants to see. YouTube videos that are liked the most are also the well-planned.
Instead of creating a video without much thought or research, take the time to figure out what content has gotten the most interest and views.
Go back through your recent content, to include blogs and social media posts, and see what really got your audience interested. Look for posts that were widely shared or blog posts that spurred all sorts of conversations.
By turning that content into a social media video, you can expect the same amount of interest, while also encouraging new traffic and increase your brand’s reach.
Think about your best-performing content recently—blog posts, case studies, white papers, checklists, guides, and so on. Turning that content into (short) social media videos can achieve much. It can drive website traffic, encourage content downloads, reach those who didn’t see the original content, and help you position your business as an industry authority.
Plus, with videos becoming increasingly more popular, you can be sure that a quality video will be just as well-received as your top content, if not better. This will greatly increase your reach on social media and create increased awareness of your business.
- Use Calls to Action
Another effective way to make your social media videos more engaging is to use direct calls to action. Do you want your viewers to like, subscribe, and share your video? Do you want them to make a purchase or sign up for your email list? Whatever you may want your users to do, the best way to get them to do it is to entice them!
Offer a promotional discount for the item you discuss in your video. Explain how taking action will make an impact. These are all great ways to give power to your audience by giving them the power to choose.
- Text Still Matters (Even in Videos)
Video content is unique in that it allows you to share information using your voice. It’s well-known that humans are more likely to remember something they saw versus something that they read. But, this doesn’t mean that text is obsolete.
In fact, a successful and engaging video is one that is designed to be watched silently. According to Nieman Journalism Lab, 85% of Facebook videos are watched without sound. In fact, many social media networks by default play videos without sound. So what does this mean for you as a video content creator?
Before posting a video, be sure that you include text elements so that you can still get the point across, with or without sound. Always use captions and/or subtitles so that you can convey your message, even if your video is muted.
Conclusion
There are many dos and don’ts when creating engaging social media videos. Using these tips, you can have peace of mind that your videos won’t get lost in the crowd. Instead, you can post them knowing that they’ll produce a high ROI.
