How to Use Video Content to Enhance Your Social Media Presence

The popularity of video content has been driven by mobile devices and social media, and today, thousands of UK businesses use video content to connect with their customers and promote their services and products. 

According to the 2024 HubSpot State of Video Marketing report, video plays increased by 15% in 2023, and watch time by 44%, indicating a huge increase in demand for video content. For B2B and B2C businesses alike, this creates a golden opportunity to use video content to increase your presence on social media. Let’s look at some practical strategies for doing so.

Why Video Content Works So Well On Social Media

Video content has become a powerful tool for businesses to capture the attention of a mobile first audience and convey a message in a short and impactful way, and social media platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn are the ideal channels for doing so. 

One of the main reasons is that videos are often an easier way to consume content on a small phone than a written blog or webpage – and they also help businesses to overcome the scepticism that many viewers feel about AI generated content saturating the search engines. Direct videos, delivered in person, are seen as a more authentic and reliable source of truth by many users.

In the B2B sector, video content gives you the opportunity to showcase your products, your services, and your unique value proposition in a way that builds trust and rapport with potential customers on social media.

Social Media And Mobile Internet Use

When people research questions on social media, they are often doing so on their mobile, and are looking for a succinct answer. They might visit your blog if they want to read about something in more detail, but on social media they might prefer a short(ish – see below) video that can explain a complex concept or feature in a concise manner. This opens the doors for B2B SMEs to use video to attract leads at every stage of the buyer final, from awareness to consideration, and even decision.

For some people, moreover, the visual nature of videos helps achieve a higher retention rate compared to written content, making it easier to communicate your value proposition with a wider audience. People are more likely to watch a 10-minute video on social media than they are to spend the same amount of time reading a long social media post. It’s also easier for nonspecialists to express a unique personality and workplace culture through a video, which can be difficult to do in writing without training and experience.

How To Maximise Engagement For Your Videos

These days, you can create a good quality video using just a mobile device and a video content platform, such as Vidyard. There really isn’t any need for expensive studio equipment and production costs. However, publishing a quality video isn’t, on its own, a guarantee of engagement. For your content to connect with the widest possible audience, there are several actions you can take:

• Optimise video length – the idea that social media videos must be kept super short because of fleeting attention spans is a misconception. HubSpot’s 2024 data actually shows that videos over five minutes long have the highest conversion rates, because viewers value detail and find it easier to engage with more in-depth and valuable content. The trend is for people to engage with social media video content on their laptops and iPads at leisure, and not just while snatching a couple of minutes on their phones.
• Use hashtags – hashtags are as important as keywords for maximising visibility on social media platforms, helping your videos reach a larger audience by making them more discoverable. This is especially the case if you leverage trending hashtags or hashtags with specific relevance to your industry. Research the hashtags your target customers are using and use these as cues to create high performing video content.
• Respond to comments and shares – try to respond to comments and likes promptly. This helps nurture a relationship with your audience and encourages even more shares and engagement.
• Cross-promote your videos on other channels – video content marketing doesn’t exist in a vacuum. For the best results, promote your video content on your blog and other social platforms, and even on website landing pages, to maximise your audience and potential reach.

Find Out More

To find out more about how video content can help develop your business profile and authority on social media, please get in touch with one of our inbound marketing team today by clicking here.

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