Marketing experts have been saying for a long time that video is the new champion of content. Granted, many have been saying that because they want you to buy their video content creation packages, but what do the numbers actually tell us? Is it worth the time and effort learning about video content for social media?
Facebook versus YouTube: Who will win?
A study by Market Intelligence Central recently released in the U.S. has suggested that YouTube is poised to take over the number two spot of Most Visited Website from Facebook. Google will obviously remain number one for some time yet.
But that’s America. Surely things would be different here?
According to Social Media News, who have been monitoring and tracking Australian social media statistics since January 2011, Facebook and YouTube have been relatively steady at 15 million average monthly unique Australian users since February 2017. That’s a long time for these two platforms to be neck and neck, so what gives? Why the prediction it’ll change soon?
Facebook is(n’t) dead! Yet.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you will have heard of the trouble Facebook has been facing with the Cambridge Analytica and other organisations having unprecedented access to the user data Facebook collects. This, combined with the fact that it has also been implicated in the meddling of political affairs in the U.S. means it is falling out of favour with the middle-aged to older audience it was retaining.
The cherry on the top of it all is that user adoption numbers are declining amongst younger audience segments, as teens refuse to adopt the platform because mum, dad, nanna, and all the aunties and uncles are there. They prefer more visual platforms like Instagram, Snapchat and Tumblr.
What sort of content should you be making really?
Visually-appealing content, like images and video, really are going to be more important moving forward.
So, what does this mean for business owners and organisations who still want to use social media?
The first step to any strong marketing plan is to know who your audience is, and where they already hang out.
If you’re looking to engage with people who are still using Facebook, develop content that performs well on that platform. Want to be known and shared amongst younger audiences? Make the content they want to engage with. Telling your message in a way that your target demographic can easily digest and share is key to getting your name out there.
The way the Facebook News Feed algorithm appears to be going, developing one strong piece of video content a week that tells the story of your business or organisation. Support this with smaller third party pieces or older evergreen content, and you’ll have a good content plan to start trying and testing.
Instagram and Snapchat demand more regular content that is highly visual and engaging. If you’re a product-driven business, behind-the-scenes stories, short looping videos (often called Boomerangs after one of the first apps to help generate these videos) and sneak peeks all help to entice audiences to come back for more content, driving your popularity and visibility.
Video for these platforms doesn’t need to be hard or have high production values. In fact, some of the best examples of strong performing content has been the smartphone video held by one worker as another shows the product. These vignettes offer something a highly polished campaign video can’t – authenticity – and on social media, that’s the Golden Ticket.
Know thyself (and your audience).
It doesn’t matter how slick your content is, if it’s not telling your customers and prospects a true story of who you are as an organisation, they will know and they will turn away from you in favour of another group who is being authentic.
Know your audience.
Know where they already hang out online.
Know who you are as an organisation.
Be authentic in telling your story.
It’s as simple, and as complicated as that.
If you would like help understanding your audience, or planning out your marketing strategy, we’d love to help. Drop us a line and let’s catch up for a coffee to discuss how Blank Canvas Digital can help you.