#AwesomeContent – Why Native Video Gets Higher Engagement on Social Media

In our last blog post, there was great detail about why live video is important and how it impacts engagement on social media. Live video is cream of the content crop but other videos are almost as impactful.

In a 2016 HubSpot survey, 43% of consumers wanted to see more video content.

Today, most of the major social media platforms have their own native video publishing options.  Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter… not to mention YouTube and Vimeo…are invested in video content.  This makes it simple to take a video from your smartphone or your desktop and upload it to these sites.

We’ve already talked about WHY you should be creating and sharing videos. Now we need to talk about native posting and why it’s important.

Native video is video that is uploaded to or created on social networks and played in-feed, as opposed to links to videos hosted on other sites. Native video formats are specific to each social platform and are designed to maximise video engagement (i.e. number of views), discovery and distribution.

-Wikipedia

Yes, being able to schedule your social media posts in advance is not only helpful, but often necessary to ensure that you remain consistent and relevant online. Unfortunately, this sort of scheduling is not encouraged by the major social platforms and their algorithms are set up to boost native content over scheduled posts.

Video takes time and effort to create and produce. You, absolutely, need to be getting the most return on your time.  Since video content promotes the most engagement – you want to expand your reach as much as possible with every post. Facebook and Twitter and Instagram want you playing in their sandbox as much as possible and will reward you with expanded reach and presence when you do so.

According to Adespresso, one case study found that there was a 135% increase in organic reach for native videos even compared to photos.

There are additional perks to taking the time to post videos natively – including better analytics and editing opportunities. However, the real push is that 135% more reach! This is no small number.

Take the time to really showcase and highlight your videos by posting them directly onto the platforms. It’s my mission in life to show you how to #BeAwesome with your social media and native video is exactly the technique to use. I will leave you with this nugget:

According to Facebook, by January of this year there were three billion video views on their platform everyday.

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Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+,YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and the tools to manage them.

Click here for her Social Media Workshops, Classes and Seminars

#AwesomeContent - Live Video is the Highest Engaging Content in Social Media

Want to know where it’s at in social media right now? Live video is all the rage. Last year there were several players on the live video scene, including some platforms that have already folded and closed their doors. However, this surge in popularity got the attention of social media goliath, Facebook, and their live video option has been a game changer. As it tends to work, the other social apps are getting into the action now that Facebook has succeeded with Instagram Live and Twitter incorporating live video into their offerings.

“Video on social media is being shared 12,000% more than posts without video.” Matt McAllister, Agency FIFTY3

How has it changed the way we interact on social media? Here is just a sampling of some stats from this article on live video statistics…

·       81% of Internet and mobile audiences watched more live video in 2016 than in 2015.
·       80% would rather watch live video from a brand than read a blog.
·       82% prefer live video from a brand to social posts.
·       45% of live video viewers would pay for live, exclusive, on-demand vide from a favorite team, speaker or performer.
·       78% of online audiences are already watching video on Facebook Live.
·       92% of mobile video consumers share video with others.
·       By 2019, online video will be responsible for four-fifths of global Internet traffic.
·       Combining video with full page ads boosts engagement by 22%

“Most of the content 10 years ago was text, and then photos, and now it’s quickly becoming videos. I just think that we’re going to be in a world a few years from now where the vast majority of the content that people consume online will be video”

Mark Zuckerberg

Why is there such appeal for this type of content? Our multi-tasking tendencies and our brains are wired to digest visual content 60,000 times faster than plain text alone. A live video is more attractive and appealing to followers and, while you are live, engagement and interaction has a bigger ROI for those watching than engaging with a page alone does. This new experience is actually changing the way that people engage with one another online.

The audience not only wants to consume your content when you are live, but they want that real time connection with you. Really focus on engaging back with viewers as the content is streaming to get the highest returns on your effort. While Facebook live can be watched at a later date, your max return on engagement happens during streaming.

This is just some of the impact that live video has generated in the last year and a half. Anyone already incorporating this type of content into their marketing strategy is well ahead of the game since a multitude of brands haven’t entered the field yet. Why aren’t more companies utilizing the raw power of live video?

·       Lack of knowledge, equipment or experience.
·       Fear of public speaking or being on camera.
·       Budget for generating live video content.
·       Not sure how to get started.
·       Not aware of the power or impact that live video generates.

While it is certainly possible to hire a live video expert to get you started with your own content – and we know a great one! – It’s not necessary. One of the perks of live video is that it doesn’t require a ton of fancy equipment or a large budget; all you really need to get started is your smartphone.

As with any content, it pays to be prepared. Worried about being the primary focus of your video? Then deliver some stellar content and make that the star of the show! Join down some notes, an outline, or whatever will help you stay on track with your message and then pull out your phone and start recording. Do a trial run (or two) if you are really nervous before you go live. Don’t worry about being perfect. With live video, your audience isn’t seeking some big production. They just want to see the real, authentic you behind the brand and walk away with some information that will help them in their own journey or experiences.

Go out there and #BeAwesome with your social media and live content. I can’t wait to watch your videos and engage with them!

Be sure to Follow us and Let's Engage!

Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+,YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and the tools to manage them.

Click here for her Social Media Workshops, Classes and Seminars

#AwesomeEngagement – Paying Attention to What You Share

There are several different elements that comprise a solid social media marketing strategy. Content creation, scheduling, peak posting times, platforms…. Engagement is just one piece of the puzzle. However, engagement is such an essential aspect that is frequently overlooked or avoided. It doesn’t matter what sort of quality content is posted if no one is engaging with your page. It’s extremely difficult for business page engagement to happen spontaneously or organically without activity from an admin. People want to engage with a person, not a static page full of posts – even if they are phenomenal posts.

As if all of that isn’t complicated enough, your company should really have an engagement strategy developed. Going in and commenting, liking and sharing other posts is important but, as with any marketing strategy, determining ahead of time what to engage with will increase your ROI and results.

Engagement Strategy

WHAT you engage with is one of the keys to drawing your ideal target audience to your page and motivating them to linger, follow and interact with your posts.

• Does what your sharing strike a chord with your followers?
• Does what your sharing inspire new visitors to hit the follow button on your page?
• Your business might share common influencers with your readers – do your posts reflect that?
• Do your posts have questions or interactive elements that your readers will want to respond to (quizzes, contests, etc.)?
• Are you sharing content just to share it and remain consistent OR to stand out and be a different voice in your field?
• Are you simply selling to your potential audience instead of inspiring them and giving them the tools to be better?

Influencers

Don’t fall into the trap of being afraid to share quality content from other companies. Influencer marketing is a buzzword right now because it works. Make sure you are tagging, mentioning and sharing the work from your top clients, power partners and favorite influencers. This will expand your viewing pool to include the networks of those individuals.

Share As Your Page

While there is nothing wrong with promoting engagement using your personal profile, your business page needs the attention more than you do. The algorithms make it tough on business pages to get noticed and really benefit from organic reach. Make the time to engage with other people, companies and posts AS your business page.

Get Local

Most likely you operate your business, and network, locally – not on a national level. That’s too big of a pond and there are too many fish. Social media doesn’t always make it simple to discover and interact with people directly within your community. Spend some time seeking out local groups and finding ways to build a presence in those communities without coming off as only having an interest as a solicitor. Follow the local news outlets and organizations that already have a built-in audience of people nearby that might benefit from your work.

Algorithms

The algorithms are mapped to look for specific things. Engagement is a HUGE piece of this. Links to content not created by you are eagerly sought out by these formulas, as well as authentic links back to your work from other people. This is why guest posting is so popular. The more you engage, prove that you are a real, legitimate business and build a following – the better your organic reach will be. Your posts will have higher probability of being displayed to your audience. It’s a win/win/win – for you, for your readers and for the social platforms. Companies that try to “work the system” for better reach without investing time in making it a genuine and authentic experience for people may see some immediate results but will not generate the longer-term perks that actual engagement creates.

Curation

A positive, and often overlooked, benefit to spending time on engagement is that YOUR feed begins to fill up with exactly the type of content you like to see and share. A well-curated newsfeed will save you from hunting the gigantic World Wide Web for content that resonates with you. It will be right there every time you open up your social network. Learn how to unfollow individuals and companies that share content that is irrelevant to you or that you don’t want to see. Exercise your right to hide sources and block pages and people. Trust me, it will be worth it. There will no longer be a need to “take a break” from your social media because you are tired of seeing negative content AND you’ll have a better pool of posts to share from right at your fingertips.

Does your company have a social engagement strategy in place? How often do you go onto your social networks and participate in this practice? I’d encourage you to set aside a time, either daily or weekly depending on your schedule, dedicated to nothing but engagement.

Want to know more? The Social Media Advisor can show you how to #BeAwesome with your social media engagement and really become a powerhouse when it comes to your company’s social media experience.

Be sure to Follow us and Let's Engage!

Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+,YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and the tools to manage them.

Click here for her Social Media Workshops, Classes and Seminars