We’ve all been there.
You spend hours lovingly crafting a video, convinced it will be the next viral sensation.
Anticipation builds up as you upload it to social media and then…nothing.
Hardly anyone views it. All your hard work has gone down the drain.
But why?
Chances are, your video wasn’t optimized to work on different social media channels.
Don’t worry. Below, we’ll show you 8 tricks to optimize video for different platforms, ensuring that your next marketing campaign delivers sensational results!
The Essentials
If you get the basics right, success is sure to follow. Here are some video optimization tips that are applicable across all social media channels:
1. Size Matters
Different platforms call for different aspect ratios. This ensures your videos aren’t squeezed out of proportion, stretching your image and making playback choppy.
The 16:9 aspect ratio is a classic, favored by YouTubers and mobile phone users. These dimensions are also suitable for Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. If in doubt, stick to this aspect ratio.
Instagram favors a 1:1 ratio, a perfect square. Keep this in mind when filming your videos, you don’t want to crop anything important out of frame. Again, these dimensions will also work on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, and may help your videos stand out from the crowd.
2. The Sound of Silence
Many people scroll through videos while on public transport or while waiting at the doctor’s office. It’s no surprise that 85% of YouTube and Facebook videos are viewed with the sound on mute.
Make sure your video packs a punch, even without sound. If your video has dialogue, add subtitles.
3. First Impressions Count
Most social media platforms auto-play videos. This gives you about 3 seconds to grab the viewer’s attention before they scroll past your content.
Punchy graphics, a clear message, and a compelling storyline are all vital components to any social media strategy.
This is where professional production companies like Highlights Media come into their own. High-quality editing and videography will capture the viewer’s imagination. Soon, customers will be flocking to your website.
One Size Does Not Fit All
In an ideal world, you would create one perfectly crafted video and then simply share it across all social media platforms. Unfortunately, not all social media video platforms follow the same rules. Here are some platform-specific tricks to keep in mind:
4. Facebook
More than 8 Billion videos are viewed on Facebook every day, so a well-optimized video is sure to get noticed.
To make the most of this powerful platform, ensure you only upload Native Videos. Native videos are videos that are uploaded directly to Facebook, instead of being shared from another platform.
Facebook’s algorithm prioritizes Native videos, so your video is more likely to get views. The autoplay feature is only applicable to native videos, giving them an edge over shared content.
The video gallery page only displays Native Videos. Linked videos are not archived. This means if an interested customer is exploring your previous uploads, they won’t be able to see any linked videos that you have shared.
Facebook also allows you to target native videos towards certain audiences. This helps you market your video to specific people, ensuring maximum impact. It also prevents disinterested users from affecting your engagement rates.
The ideal length for a Facebook video is about 1 minute. Facebook Live recordings can be longer, but shouldn’t exceed 10 minutes.
5. Twitter
According to Twitter, tweets that include videos receive 10 times more engagement than those without. You do not want to miss out on all those views!
Much like on Facebook, Twitter’s autoplay function only works on native videos. It’s worthwhile taking the extra time to upload your video directly to Twitter.
These Native videos become part of your Library, appearing on your Twitter profile. Interested customers can then browse through these archived videos at a later date.
Twitter videos can be up to 140 seconds long, but viewer engagement drops significantly after the first minute. Try to cut your videos down to 45 seconds or less.
Lastly, don’t underestimate hashtags. Before you upload your video, take a look at trending hashtags to see if any of them are applicable to your theme.
6. Instagram
200 Million Instagram users visit at least one business profile per day. Instagram is a visual platform not to be underestimated!
Instagram videos are limited to 60 seconds, but research shows that viewership drops after about 30 seconds. Try to keep your videos short and sweet.
Videos appearing in stories only last 15 seconds, but you can upload multiple videos in a story sequence. If these 15-second video segments are well-edited, they can form an engaging and cohesive narrative.
Keep in mind that website links are only clickable on stories, paid ads, or on your profile. If you are posting a video to your feed, be sure to add the website link into the description so that customers can still navigate to your site.
Again, make good use of your hashtags. Apps like Hashtagify help you find popular hashtags that are relevant to your topic.
7. LinkedIn
If your target market is big-business corporates, then LinkedIn is the right platform for you.
On LinkedIn, it’s important to remember who your audience is. Unlike other social media platforms, LinkedIn is strictly aimed at business professionals. Be sure to convey a corporate and professional tone in your videos.
LinkedIn videos can be up to 10 minutes long, but try to keep yours at around the 2-minute mark for maximum engagement.
8. YouTube
YouTube is the internet’s video-sharing powerhouse. Conquering YouTube is a recipe for success.
Remember to add a call-to-action at the end of each video, directing viewers to more of your content, or to your website. Create playlists to categorize your videos so that viewers can easily sort through them.
Unlike other social media platforms, YouTube is a great place to post longer, more informative videos.
Don’t waffle on though. Even though videos are longer, they should still be punchy and engaging. Experiment with different types of videos to see what works best for you.
Optimize Video for Improved Sales
As you can see, if you optimize video for each social media platform, your sales are sure to skyrocket.
Hiring Highlights Media to take care of your video production needs gives you time to prepare for the influx of customers that are sure to come your way.
Are you ready to give your video marketing a boost? Contact us today!
