an iphone taking a photo of blurred lights

Tips for Effective Video Marketing in 2017

photography-801891_640

Video accounts for 70% of consumer traffic in 2015, and trends show that video is only going to draw more traffic (82% by 2020 as Cisco Systems predicts). Social media sites have seen the trend and jumped on the bandwagon. Facebook, for instance, eyes the future of social media that teems with video. The power of video comes from it being visual and informative at the same time. Why read a long article when you can watch a video?

Are you now wondering how you can make your videos rock?

Be quick

superhero-534120_640

What most video marketers agree with are short clips. What exactly they mean by short is something that’s still up for debate. Some say a minute. Others say 3 or 4 minutes.

One thing is for sure. It’s possible to tell a story or entertain your viewers within a minute. People have short attention spans. In fact, attention spans are getting shorter. That means if you have to say something, say it right away. The longer your video runs, the more likely your viewers will click away.

What if you have a long video? You can upload the full video on YouTube and then upload a shorter clip on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram with the link to the full video in the caption. Don’t do this often.

Be clear

bubble-1716959_640

As if short videos aren’t enough. No, you have to make the most of the short duration you’re given. Within people’s short attention span, you should’ve expressed what you want to say in a way that viewers will easily understand. Make your message concise. People don’t fancy lavish introductions. No, they just can’t care about how brilliant your spiels are. They want to get right down to business.

Have subtitles

Most people view videos on social media without sound. For instance, people view 85% of the videos on Facebook without sound. That seems a little silly. Why don’t people watch videos with audio? Well, according to reports people hate videos on Facebook because they’re usually ads, and anyone hates auto-playing ads that invade the social media space of unsuspecting users. Obviously, you can’t have videos without audio without giving your audience another way to understand what you’re talking about. The obvious way to do it is put subtitles. Another alternative is post the transcript in the description.

typewriter-1245894_640

Be smart with hashtags

There are a few ways to compete with the others. You can pay for sponsored ads. Or you can be clever with your hashtags, which are ways for people to find you. Check out trending topics and most searched keywords related to your video.

hashtag-1120301_640