America’s favorite armchair pastime, Facebook, has encroached on YouTube’s territory in a major way. Last October, the social media giant announced that it will establish a “dedicated place” on its interface where people can watch videos. On March 1, a company spokesman admitted that, in the interest of time sensitivity, live videos now take precedence over prerecorded footage in users’ news feeds. For marketers, Facebook’s growing obsession with all things video flings wide a door of lucrative opportunity.
Two Types of Video Advertising
Marketers use two types of video ads on Facebook: paid ads and in-stream videos. A paid video ad blasts a target audience with an intentional sales pitch. Through strategically placed video, a business can fine-tune its image and gain a sense of control over its audience. In-stream videos, by contrast, seem less intentional and salesy. Viewers who encounter these videos organically often don’t realize they’ve been sucked into a commercial. Rather, they feel they’re learning something new or benefiting from the wisdom of a friend.
Grab This Opportunity
Facebook executive Ted Zagat is so confident in his company’s audiovisual future that he predicts the entire social network will go “mostly video” in a year or two. That’s great for big companies that can afford to hire professional videographers, but what about small business owners who don’t feel confident in their video-making capabilities? Given Facebook’s snowballing success in the video realm, this is an opportunity marketers clearly shouldn’t miss. Here are some actionable tips for making the most of your Facebook video:
- Keep it Simple and Short: Small business owners who feel squeamish about creating videos needn’t panic. The Internet boasts plenty of low-budget tools that help amateurs create winning videos, including user-friendly sites like GoAnimate and WeVideo. The good news is that Facebook videos are better when they’re short. A recent study by the analyst group Socialbakers found that 21 seconds of video footage is far more effective than 60, 100, and even 150 seconds of footage.
- Align Video Content With Brand: Before posting a video ad, give it the star treatment. Write a script that shines, and make sure its message aligns with your brand. Consistency is key to building a trustworthy ad campaign. All of your marketing materials, including your videos, should reflect the same identifiable company mission. If you can’t summarize your company’s mission in a sentence or two, chances are your public won’t be able to, either.
- Go Native: The way you get your message onto the platform matters. Don’t share videos to Facebook via a YouTube link; upload them directly to Facebook. The network’s algorithm prefers “native” videos to imported ones. And if you’re puzzled about how to launch a video campaign, fear not. The site’s Advertiser Help Center walks you through the ad creation process and provides plenty of helpful tips along the way.
Facebook’s foray into the land of video is not a temporary jaunt. Rather, it’s a permanent voyage into a promising new world. If you want your company to remain a contender, you really ought to climb aboard. The good news is, it’s not difficult to join Facebook’s video advertising crowd. In fact, it’s quite easy, and with over one billion people logging on per day, it’s also quite lucrative.
from Darlene Milligan http://ift.tt/1pM6WlJ via transformational marketing
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1TP0BSX
No comments:
Post a Comment