Instructions on How to Incorporate and to Create Engaging Social Media Video Ads to Your Marketing Strategy

Video marketing’s popularity is soaring. It’s not surprising — with people watching 16 hours of online video a week, it’s an excellent way to raise brand awareness. Research also shows that 79% of people say that a video ad on Instagram has persuaded them to buy a product or software. It’s no wonder businesses are turning towards social media video as a top marketing tactic.

Social media platforms are booming, and they’re fast becoming a great way to increase ROI. Even better, videos on social media channels don’t require fancy recording equipment or sound studios. As a result, it’s easy to raise engagement while simultaneously having fun.

It’s best to start with some customer research before choosing which social media channels to use. Find out where your ideal audience hangs out and try that platform first. For example, Gen Z tends to hang out on TikTok, while older audiences seem to prefer Facebook.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the social media channels suitable for video marketing.

Facebook

If you’re looking to capture the attention of potential customers that will focus more on your messaging, switch to video. Research shows that Facebook videos bring in 59.3% more clicks than images.

What’s more, Facebook offers a variety of video formats for brands to use, including:

• Stories
• Newsfeed videos
• In-stream videos
• Video lives

To get the most out of your Facebook video ads, pay attention to your target audience. Facebook allows marketers to be very specific when it comes to selecting their potential audience (although some recent privacy changes on Apple have made this more difficult).

Once you’ve targeted your audience, make sure your video resonates with their wants, needs, and pain points.

YouTube

Most businesses use YouTube because it’s the best-known video platform. There’s also no restriction on the length of your video — you can create long-form or short-form content.

The downside of YouTube is that it’s more technical than creating a reel or story on Instagram. You’ll need to do some editing and camera work for the video to look professional.

However, the benefits outweigh the extra work. With over 2.3 billion users worldwide, YouTube is the ideal online search engine for your marketing.

Try out the following tips when creating your videos:

• Use an attention-grabbing title
• Make your videos accessible to all using captions and translations
• Link to your website or landing page using clickable CTAs
• Use keywords to boost your SEO

Instagram

Consumers spend a lot of time on Instagram, with most users spending one to two hours a day on the app. Stories, reels, and live videos are the perfect places to highlight your brand.

Each form of video ad has its own costs, so don’t be afraid to experiment and find out which form of ad suits your brand best.

Bear in mind that most social media users want to see entertaining videos on the apps. Adding trending music to your reels and using stickers on your stories can increase views by 83%.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is sometimes skipped as a social media channel and viewed more as a professional networking platform. However, it’s an excellent platform for sharing more business-like and formal video content.

Want to use LinkedIn as part of your marketing strategy? Here are some top tips:

• Share customer testimonials and social proof
• Create product demo videos
• Use LinkedIn to advertise network events or webinars
• Post industry insight videos to establish authority and credibility

LinkedIn video marketing has the potential to grow brand awareness and engage with new and existing clients.

TikTok

TikTok’s the new kid on the block when it comes to social media. It’s a world away from LinkedIn and therefore requires a different approach.

TikTok users tend to be Gen Z or younger millennials, although the platform is growing in popularity with other audiences. Users want to see original, entertaining, and authentic videos. Therefore, you need to create content as far from traditional advertising styles as possible.

Using influencers is often beneficial as they stay ahead of trends, knowing when and what to post. Hashtag challenges also engage users and increase brand awareness.

If your ideal customers hang out on TikTok, experiment with several forms of ads and see which performs best.

How To Plan Your Social Media Videos

Although it may look like brands are creating some social media videos ad hoc, chances are they have a carefully planned strategy. The skill is making your videos look raw and honest but actually having a goal and purpose behind each one.

Goals for social media videos might be:

• Increasing awareness
• Boosting engagement
• Sending viewers to your website or landing page to increase conversions
• Entertain and educate
• Inspire and motivate

What’s the point of goals? First, they keep you accountable and on track. Second, knowing your goals also gives you a metric to help measure your video’s success. Like anything in business, knowing what you want to achieve is the half step to achieving it.

Once your goals are in place, the next step is to plan out your content. Again, having a script and knowing what message you want to get across has more impact than impromptu video.

Think about the following aspects before filming, and you’ll end up with videos that stand out from the social media crowd:

• Using props
• The trends and expectations of the channel
• The quality of the video, including lighting and sound
• Whether you need a license for any music
• Editing to ensure the footage flows smoothly
• Making it accessible to all (captions, transcripts, language)

Social Media Video Marketing Is Here To Stay — Use Your Data To Grow Your Success

Some videos will inevitably be a hit, and some may not achieve the outcome you’d expect. That’s marketing! The key is to track the data and look for patterns.

Use your goals to set measurements and your insights to judge success.

Don’t give up — think of video marketing as a long-term strategy and experiment until you find the sweet spot. There’s no doubt about it, video marketing is only going to increase in popularity. So jump in with gusto and make the most of its benefits for your business.

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— — Author Bio:

Torrey Tayenaka

Torrey Tayenaka is the co-founder and CEO at Sparkhouse, an Orange County based video production agency. He is often asked to contribute expertise in publications like Entrepreneur, Single Grain and Forbes. Sparkhouse is known for transforming video marketing and advertising into real conversations.Rather than hitting the consumer over the head with blatant ads, Sparkhouse creates interesting, entertaining and useful videos that enrich the lives of his clients’ customers. In addition to Sparkhouse, Torrey has also founded the companies Eva Smart Shower, Litehouse & Forge54.