Creating connections with your audience on social media helps establish you company’s identity. Followers will associate a personality with your brand through witty comments and timely responses to notifications. But, there are other ways to connect besides a .GIF reply or answering a direct message quickly.
Over the past year, we were thrusted into having to find new ways to work and socialize with one another. Happy hours turned virtual, traditional work meetings were replaced by Zoom invitations and personal celebrations of all kinds took place through video software with us asking the repetitive question, “Are you on mute?” 
However, even before a pandemic forced us to change our communication styles, social media had been giving us a taste of video communication. As we continue to find our way with technology, it has become more evident video is the best way to connect virtually. Continue reading to find out the four benefits of creating video content for your social media accounts.
Audience Engagement
Whether it’s through the launch of a new website or consistent social media posts, gaining brand exposure and engagement are some of the primary goals of any marketing strategy.
Statistically speaking, video on social media receives the highest interaction, engagement and reach in comparison to other forms of content. Facebook, Instagram and YouTube all have features that allow users to go live to engage with an audience, too. Twitter and LinkedIn also have these features but require the connection of a secondary platform. Live streams are ideal for Q&A sessions and gathering feedback from your social media followers.
We encourage you to troubleshoot your live stream and address any technical issues ahead of time. Whether it is lighting, audio or visual components, you want your live production to look as professional as possible for your audience. Also, consider having a second person off screen to monitor the comments during the stream. They can help with responding to comments, interacting with viewers or adding reference links for your audience to use later.
Customer Education
How often do you receive the same questions from customers on a daily basis? Now multiply that by a week, month and year. How much time are you wasting with repetitive communication? Creating a video or a series of videos answering common FAQs can alleviate some of that burden. The video link can also be sent via email or text.
Personality and Brand Development 
Social media allows companies to show themselves off during their daily projects and routines. Adding video to social media creates inside access to staff personalities and the culture of a company. A blog or photo is great to show people, but a video can show more than a single picture or words. Creating a long-format branding video is something every company should consider. These videos can last for years on a website and can be published sporadically through social media. In comparison, lower-production, candid mp4s can be used across all social platforms to share updates and highlight company services. Brand development will take time with word-of-mouth marketing and face-to-face interactions with customers. A single video can’t create your brand, but it can help speed up the process.
Multi-Use Functionality
One of our favorite reasons to use video on social media is its versatility. You can upload the same video to both Facebook and Twitter or the same video to Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube. However, all social media platforms have limitations and suggestions for content. The description, tagging, file size, video length, hashtags and character usage are all factors to consider. For example, you shouldn’t post the same video on Twitter as you would on Instagram. First, Twitter allows posting the mp4 or a video URL, whereas Instagram only allows the video file. Also, LinkedIn doesn’t provide the same description and tagging features as YouTube and Facebook. So, before you start uploading your videos and repurposing content, make sure you understand the limitations and options of the platforms.
Unless you’re a videography expert, brainstorming, scripting and producing videos is not a one-person job. You need a team! Drop Baer Performance Marketing a message today to start creating your video strategy and connect effectively with your audience.
