The Importance of Video in Social Media

Video is becoming an integral and necessary part of social media and an essential way to reach customers. YouTube, a worldwide video-sharing community, is the second largest search engine in the United States, and more than one-third of the time that someone does a Google search, video content comes up.

There are 24 hours of video downloaded on YouTube every minute of the day…this is where people are “shopping.” Facebook is the second-largest video referrer. By providing potential customers with something interesting to watch, they not only stay on a website longer, but also are a lot more likely to buy.

The quality and value of the video’s content is more important than the quality of the video, as the public are familiar and comfortable with cell phone and inexpensive Flikr camera videos. But that doesn’t mean it can be slipshod. Simple techniques are to keep the background clean, look straight into the camera, and make sure there is good lighting on faces.

Elinor Stutz, CEO of Smooth Sale LLC, says professional video really outshines any other form. “Professionally done looks and sounds better. But you won't do it as frequently. I do a video every single day and it has made a huge difference in my book sales. I can post my videos directly into social media sites. You may want one video on a website to be a truly professional video. But to increase traction for books and speaking, you need to get in front of the masses as often as possible.”

The most effective videos are honest, transparent, real, relevant, educational and authentic, all factors which take the opposite approach of traditional sales, says Jennifer Abernethy, author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Social Media Marketing. And the first and potentially most important component of marketing videos is that the video must be targeted. This means that it must 1) identify your audience and highlight your product with what it can offer that group, 2) target specific groups, because if you are too broad you will glaze over most people, and 3) understand and relate to the groups’ needs and interests that you are targeting.

Set a goal of posting a video on a social media site at least once a week – mark a time in your calendar. Be creative and give valuable information, don’t make it a sales pitch. And for those with home offices, yes its best if you get out of your pajamas for this work assignment.