Using video content is a great way to engage consumers on social media, but there’s an art to it, writes Food to Film’s Anne Marie Cummins.
Video content is huge at the moment, with social media posts receiving 80 per cent more views than any other type of post. Facebook video ads are ridiculously cheap right now, often at 1c per view, so if your business isn’t investing some of its advertising budget in creating video content, you're missing out on reaching potentially thousands of customers.
Here are five tips for video creation that works.
1 Engage, entertain or educate
Before developing any creative content you need to cover at least one of the 3 'E's of social media.
Engage – will it your concept engage and stand out in a sea of content? Will it be different from your competitors’ content? How can you create a response from your customers?
Entertain – it’s called social media for a reason, so keep it friendly, fun and try to inject an element of humour to draw people in.
Educate – will this piece of content educate your audience on how to use your product? Start by communicating your brands’ taste, texture, flavour, ingredients, the origin of your product, or how you make the product. Create story ideas around these concepts to educate and inform your customers about the product.
Once you have nailed two or three of these questions, you can then move onto creating your content.
2 Use current assets and grab attention
Video content is getting shorter, with engagement dropping off after 10 seconds, which means you need to reach through the phone and grab your audience’s attention before they swipe away.
In preparation for your video shoot, remember to focus on how you will pique the viewers interest in the first two seconds. Remember, we eat with our eyes first.
Instagram stories are trending at the moment, with big brands creating clever campaigns highlighting the interactive features of the app.
Take advantage of the new features by cutting down longer ads or videos into five second micro videos. Watch your engagement grow by then adding fun gifs, or a poll, and some hidden hashtags.
You can easily edit your video with programs such as i-movie, Quicktime player, Power Director, and Windows MovieMaker.
3 Keep it simple and stay on brand
Before you launch into filming, be brand-conscious and consistent in creating content that reflects your brand's personality. Prepare a content schedule, and follow your brand's guidelines – or create your own style guide around posting on social media.
For example, if your product pops off an electric blue background, then use electric blue in all your videos.
Your audience will become familiar with your product when they see that shade of blue.
The same applies to fonts and graphics. Use your brand's guidelines to maintain consistency throughout all your content.
