In case you were wondering yes, my title does say social video content and not social media. With the launch of IGTV by Instagram , the rise of nonmonetized videos on LinkedIn, and the expected high performance of social media stories in 2019, I thought vertical video content would be the most fitting topic to discuss in my first blog post. Creating engaging viral footage in the length of 3 minutes (the ideal length) isn’t simple, but hopefully, this advice makes it a bit easier! (Scroll past these tips to read about an experiment that suggests the best method to use to post your content.)
How to Create Viral Storytelling:
1. Invest more time.
66.5% of marketers said lack of time was the leading factor holding them back from creating more video content, according to Buffer’s state of social report/ 2019. So how do you play this to your advantage? Well, if you want to be like the guy or gal in the picture to my right and ride the front of this trend keep reading. Too silly of a picture? Probably, but it gets my point across. The first thing you can do to become a strategic differentiator on social media in 2019 is to start devoting more time towards video content creation today because the data above suggests your competitors are probably not doing it.2. Improve time managementIf you haven’t already, I suggest giving 3rd-party tools the responsibility of posting your content so that you can spend more time creating quality content, which is arguably the most vital and time-consuming form to create. (Scroll below these tips to discover results from an experiment that suggests posting with 3-rd party tools doesn’t negatively affect reach & engagement rates) Learn more about the experiment: Do 3rd-Party Social Media Tools Negatively Affect Reach & Engagement? by Brian Peters
3. Overcome the Originality Delusion
Creative content doesn’t always come from scratch. In fact, it rarely does. Peter Weinberg, Global Brand Strategy Lead at Linked-In, suggests effective creatives, “can do things differently without breaking from the past“. He even highlights that none of shakespeare’s pieces were original except what Weinberg considers his most boring piece – the Tempest. (I suggest watching the full discussion: Live with Marketers starring Ty Heath, Peter Weinberg and Jon Lombardo)
4. Embrace the Human Condition
When it comes to telling an engaging story, Brian Peters suggests to capitalize on a free resource we all possess; the human condition, “You are part of the human condition and people will relate to that“. You can start by thinking about some of your favorite movies or books and write down the key characteristics that fascinated you the most about them. Now tie that back to your own identity and you’ll likely see a connection. Read more about these powerful rules here: 6 Rules of Great Storytelling (As Told by Pixar), Brian Petters.
5. Tell Raw and Unexpected Stories.
This is the viral factor. Discover what traits your audiences’ identities are emotionally attached to and utilize story-telling to connect these traits to what your brand stands for in unexpected ways. As Brian Peters suggests in 6 Rules of Great Storytelling (As Told by Pixar), “Challenge yourself to dig deep”. This might seem difficult, but if you throw out your first five ideas like Pixar recommends then any ideas that follow are unanticipated for both you and your audience. If that means your content is a bit awkward don’t worry, that’s probably a good sign. Nguyen, a beta user of LinkedIn videos in early 2017 who has racked up 30,000 followers says “Awkward videos do well. Don’t do dark or shaky videos, but you need uniqueness in your personality.” I agree with Nguyen, this could make you seem more original, transparent, and relatable. Just think – does anything about my story remind me of an infomercial? If not, you’re probably on the right track.
6. Overcome the Creativity Block
So you initially have a great idea to grab your audience’s attention through a video, but now what? If you hit a block while creating video content you could use one of the following methods. Start writing down everything that couldn’t possibly happen next in your story. By keeping the ball rolling, these thoughts will likely lead you to some fresh ideas. Pixar also suggests to recall a movie you didn’t like and break down the worst aspects of it. Next, consider how you would improve those aspects and use those ideas to create a powerful story for your audience. Remember to keep it short and sweet. Read more about these powerful rules here: 6 Rules of Great Storytelling (As Told by Pixar), Brian Petters.
You’ve created viral content, so what decisions are next?
How to post it. You can either post content natively or with the help of 3rd-party tools, but let’s discuss the better option. We can start by looking over the results from an enlightening case study performed by team members at Buffer and enthusiastic volunteers to determine the best choice. Thanks to @MeetRivka for sharing a link on Twitter, I discovered Buffer’s experiment, Do 3rd-Party Social Media Tools Negatively Affect Reach & Engagement? by Brian Peters. Her caption read, “If you have been wondering, here is the answer!” and I have certainly been wondering. As an intern, I’ll admit I’ve found myself considering what effects 3rd-Party tools have on my content’s performance and whether I would be better off posting content natively.
So let’s clear up this gray area and leave it in 2018.
Buffer’s results suggest the content’s reach and engagement rates don’t seem related to the method chosen to post the content. Instead, their results suggest the quality of what you post determines the success of your reach and engagement rates. As you can see below, the 18th native post reach hit 44,321 and 3-rd party tools 1st post hit 41,711 impressions. Both successful because of their quality. Do 3rd-Party Social Media Tools Negatively Affect Reach & Engagement? Brian Peters.
Specifically, quality video posts performed best.The data below demonstrates that video outperformed every other form of content in terms of average reach per post type. This data is taken from content that was posted both natively and with 3rd party tools. (Instagram was not measured because they have not made posting available for 3-rd third-party tools.
This is a small snippet of all the amazing results uncovered from the experiment. I suggest you explore all of the interesting results: Do 3rd-Party Social Media Tools Negatively Affect Reach & Engagement? Brian Peters.So why not use 3-rd party tool’s to free up your schedule to create quality video content? You have nothing to lose! Thanks for reading my first blog post! If you found this post useful, feel free to follow me on twitter (@alizaisgnor) where I will update my followers with my most recent blog posts. My future posts will not only continue to highlight marketing trends but provide realistic advice and useful resources to help you implement them.So what tips do you have for creating viral video content in 2019? Why do you prefer posting natively or with 3rd-party tools? Share your suggestions in the comments below & any feedback about my first post would be greatly appreciated!