In December, Tyler Lessard predicted on MarketingProfs that 2015 would be the year of video marketing. This was reinforced in January on VentureBeat by Tod Sacerdoti who said that this would be video advertising’s breakout year. Both pointed to video’s power to tell a story, engage a viewer, and motivate an action. More recently, though, what has become apparent is that this is really the year of the Facebook video.
In a report entitled, “The State of Video Advertising: Facebook’s Rise to Dominance,” Mixpo concluded that more marketers will use Facebook video for their ad campaigns than YouTube this year. Because Facebook can generate over 3 billion video views per day, it offers an unprecedented opportunity to reach a target audience. Marketing guru Gary Vaynerchuk insists that if you produce videos online, you need to get into Facebook video now.
What this mean to the average small business entrepreneur is that you have to seriously consider including Facebook videos into your marketing strategy. Your first reaction may be that you don’t know how to produce a video, or that you don’t have the budget for that sort of thing. But keep in mind that these are not the glossy videos you might be expected to host on your website. They are short, 30-60 second pieces that cover one specific point. They’re not supposed to be slick promotional pieces; they are designed to cover one point of interest to the audience. Here are a few things to think about when creating video for Facebook:
- Develop a Facebook Video Editorial Calendar: Decide how often you will post a video on Facebook – once a month, once a week, once a day – and start coming up with topics. What do customers and prospects always ask about? Is there something interesting or unique about your product or service? Is there something humorous that you can tie in with your business? Then start scheduling these topics into your editorial calendar. As you go along, you will want to make sure your topics coincide with holidays or seasonal variations in your business.
- Short and Sweet: Although people enjoy watching videos, they don’t want to get caught up in something that is too long. If you come up with a topic that includes a lot of information, try to break it down into several shorter pieces.
- Don’t Overproduce: It can be as simple as you talking directly to the camera about a particular topic. Try not to read a prepared script, as that can be obvious to the viewer. You can have a few talking points for yourself, but you really want your knowledge to come shining through. If necessary, you can include footage of your product or provide a quick demonstration.
You don’t have to say everything in one video. Stick to the point, and let it speak for itself. Remember that you are planning to produce another video soon to continue telling your story.