Why video is perfect for social media

 “I see video as a megatrend,” Mark Zuckerberg, 2017

There’s been a huge growth in the quantity of video content across social media over recent years. What was once considered primarily text driven mediums, are now increasingly geared towards supporting visual media.

More than 4 billion video views take place on Facebook alone every single day. It’s a staggering number, which begs the question, why is social media so great for video and what do people get out of it?

What’s driving the megatrend?

Whether or not the Facebook CEO first coined the term ‘megatrend,’ the figures for video views across social media speak for themselves. Nearly all the social media platforms are now becoming primarily video driven. In Facebook, the trend is towards longer videos, on Twitter and Instagram, it’s for short, engaging, and readily shared snippets.

On the same day that Zuckerberg pointed out the scale of the trend, he also predicted that Facebook would be primarily video driven by 2021.  Over the last few years, investments and initiatives at the company have been driven towards supporting this movement towards a video-led platform.

Facebook isn’t alone, with both Twitter and Instagram launching story style features that allow for the sharing of longer video media. So, as our browsing and engagement habits change, the platforms respond to support and perhaps encourage the trend.

Video gets more engagement

It gets harder to get noticed on Facebook with every passing year. This might be because the amount of material on the platform continues to grow, or it could be that all of us are becoming savvier and more discerning when it comes to what we engage with.

Video now has a clear advantage. The average engagement rate for a video posted on Facebook is 6.01%, for photo posts the figure is 4.81%, for a post linking elsewhere it’s 3.36%, and for a status update it’s just 2.21%.

So, if you want your latest business announcement to get noticed on Facebook, make a video. Otherwise, the level of engagement may be disappointing.

Video is viewed on the go

Another staggering statistic is that 65% of all video views on Facebook now happen on mobile devices. This means that video users are 1.5% times more likely to watch videos on a smartphone than a computer. Video that’s created with this in mind is likely to be more appealing.

As found on wearesocial.com

People keep watching

65% of people who watch the first 3 seconds of a video, watch for at least ten seconds. 45% of people will keep watching for at least 30 seconds. That’s an impressive retention rate that compares very favourably with written media.

If you have people watching at least 10 seconds of your video, it suggests that users have a positive view of your content, if they reach 15 seconds, then your media is performing well.

Video grabs attention

As the above statistics suggest, video is uniquely able to grab the attention of social media users. Social media users spend most of their time passively scrolling through their feeds. Unaccompanied text increasingly gets scrolled past, images engage a little more, video a little more still.

Only the most compelling content gets noticed on social media these days. Placing clear indicators at the beginning of a video as to its content and intent, gives you a better chance of grabbing a user’s attention.

We respond to visual stimuli

More people watch films and TV than regularly read books. This reflects the fact that our brains are wired to respond to visual stimuli. Babies that receive more visual stimuli in the forms of colours, shapes and patterns show more robust brain growth than those who do not.

They also experience improved emotional and cognitive development, which can help promote curiosity. If we’re marketing our products or services, curiosity and emotional engagement are two key responses we should be trying to foster.

The growth in video across social media reflects the important role that diverse visual stimuli plays in our emotional well-being. We are essentially programmed to seek it out, and social media provides an ideal platform for us to find it.

Video is concise

Video doesn’t demand too much of the user. It allows you to be concise, yet to make a quick impact. You can engage users in the first few seconds, and it allows you to condense information into easily digestible content. It can get people engaging with your content and hopefully leave them wanting more.

Don’t forget YouTube

When people think of social media, they tend not to think of YouTube. But the ubiquitous video sharing platform is social media. What’s more, it’s growing at an incredible rate, with a 36% increase in revenue from 2018-2019.  

51% of YouTube users visit the site daily, and 70% of all video views now happen on mobile devices. Increasingly, businesses have a YouTube channel, but not all of them use it as well as they could. Developing a YouTube platform for your business could be the bedrock of your video strategy.

Don’t be left behind

The trend towards video shows no signs of slowing down. Businesses that aren’t using video as part of their social media strategy are not going to have as much engagement from users than those who are. If the trend continues, then video will become the principal means by which companies communicate with users via social media. The more engaging, and medium-tailored the video is, the more likely it is to make an impact.

If you’d like to find out more about how your business can encourage more social media engagement through video, then we’d be happy to hear from you.

Get in touch, for some friendly advice about your business video production in Manchester and to discuss any ideas you might have.