Key Ingredients of a Perfect Social Media Video

Is there any such thing as a perfect social media video?

Yes, when planned and executed perfectly.

Human beings are incredibly visual people. Nothing affects their mind so much as moving images. This is why we are living in an age of tremendous volume of video streaming.

Don’t believe us. But pay attention to these facts –

• Social media posts with video have 48% more views. (HubSpot)
• Facebook has over 8 billion video views per day. (TechCrunch)
• Social video generates 1200% more shares than text and image content combined. (G2 Crowd)
• Videos attach 300% more traffic and help to nurture leads. (MarketingSherpa)

Social media video is probably the most powerful tool marketers have in order to get and maintain the attention of their target customers.

So, what makes for a perfect social media video?

Here are the key ingredients:

Ingredient # 1

Your video should have something to say

Never indulge in social media video creation unless you have something solid to say. That’s because the social media world is often unforgiving and the best brands can’t escape trolling. This is not to say that you must be scared of trolls. In fact, trolls sometimes help in making your videos viral. But this caveat is to keep you guarded about the right kind of message for a great social media video. Your video should have something very important to convey to your targets.

For example – This very interesting video by Notarize Inc.

Ingredient # 2

A compelling story

Every social media post, video, photograph needs to have a story. By story, we mean a compelling one. A story that would prevent your viewers from skipping or scrolling down. Do you have a story that would make them put the ‘sound on’ and watch it?

Now how to tell a compelling story? By having three important ingredients: problem, conflict, solution. Build your story around a person or a circumstance of a person. A very interesting research by Harvard Business School called Why your brain loves a good story, says that a good story releases oxytocin. This chemical is responsible for bonding between people. Isn’t that what you want from your video?

Ingredient # 3

The first 10-second hook

What’s that first hook that would drive your viewers instantly to your video? Is it a scene or a close-up shot of an object, or a person or just some beautiful music around a landscape? Plan your first 10 seconds like they are all you have got. Microsoft did a research back in 2015 that said our attention span now is shorter than that of a goldfish – 8 seconds!

• 33% of viewers will stop watching a video after 30 seconds, 45% by one minute, and 60% by two minutes. (Ad Age)

How? Aim at evoking curiosity, surprise or shock.

For example, The Great Realization video by Tom Foolery was an awesome example of how you can hook people in the first 10 seconds.

Ingredient # 4

A strong take-away

Don’t waste too much time showcasing all the features of your product or service. Pick a few and create a solid messaging. Social media video production is about quick take-aways. You want your viewers to do something after watching your video. That’s all you need to showcase through good story telling.

Example – This How To Video by Ben and Jerry’s.

Ingredient # 5

Use subtitles

Appeal to all the people equally and impartially. That means have a voice over so the visually impaired can hear, have subtitles so the hearing impaired can read. If you come from a country with multiple languages, choose one language for the voice over and another for the sub-titles. For instance, India has a large viewership for both English and Hindi content. If your voice over is in Hindi, go for English subtitles. That way, you increase the scope of your viewers. However, you may use the same language for both voice over and sub-titles depending on your context.

Another reason for using the subtitles is when your video is played with the sound off, it will still be able to hook people. 85% of Facebook videos are watched without sound, while 60% of Instagram Stories are watched with the sound on. (Instagram)

Ingredient # 6

Mobile optimization

More than half of all the world’s videos today are viewed on mobile and for Twitter, that number is as high as 93 percent! It’s crucial that you optimize your social media video production according to mobile viewers.

You can do this by following some simple tips.

For instance, use simple graphics with extremely readable text – in terms the font type and size. Always play your video with the sound off and ensure it still makes sense. Use video analytics of your last videos to know what worked and what didn’t. Apply those insights for mobile optimization.

Example – This video by All State Insurance.

Ingredient # 7

The right concoction of emotions

Many consumers take action when they feel emotionally stirred. While in their mind they may calculate the costs, weigh the features, analyze value for money, they may still take an action based on emotion. Have a clear emotional quotient in your video. Your video must evoke one or more emotions such as envy, pride, joy, warmth, love – you name it.

Ingredient # 8

A stellar Call To Action

As we said earlier, the purpose of your video is to make your viewers act. They must be compelled to do something about what they watched. What’s that something? Visit your website or app? Download a form? Hit Purchase button. Create a clear Call To Action.

Check out what Mailchimp did it here on its Twitter video.

Final take-away

A social media video calls for precise bite-sized and good-looking information. Anyone looking for social media production must seek creativity at all levels because social media videos are played on various platforms. Your video production agency must have experience of most leading platforms in order to create compelling social media videos.