Social media has changed drastically over the last few years, and the most popular platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are continuing to evolve as they grow.
Currently, “one third of online activity is spent watching video.” That means the use of video on social media is one of the most powerful (and cost-efficient!) tools authors have to spread the word about their work. In fact, “51% of marketing professionals worldwide name video as the type of content with the best ROI.” After all, if 33% of social media time is spent watching videos, then a large portion of readers could be watching your videos! ;)
Videos are currently also the most shareable content on social media - “92% of mobile video viewers share videos with others,” and as such “social video generates 1200% more shares than text and images combined.”
So - how can authors use video on social media to reach more readers? We’ve got a few basic tips and guidelines for you if you’re thinking about venturing into the world of live videos and book trailers…
Length - videos up to 2 minutes long get the most engagement. Due to shorter attention spans, your best bet is to get all the info you want out in a shorter amount of time. That being said, engagement seems to hold out steady for the first two minutes, so a video that is almost two minutes will hold a viewer’s attention as much as a video under 30 seconds. So, if you’re making a short video, you don’t need to stress about a few extra seconds in length - just try to keep it generally under 2 minutes for the most views of the whole video.
Sound - 85% of social videos are muted Something to keep in mind when you’re making a video is that most of the people watching it will be viewing it without sound. This doesn’t mean you can’t have audio at all, it just means you should stick to striking visuals - and try to use written captions as much as possible to underline (or replace) any audio as needed.
Origin - videos created directly on a social media platform have significantly higher reach than links to videos on YouTube. Social media platforms tend to privilege their own content, so for example, videos uploaded directly to Facebook (or filmed with Facebook Live) have ten times high reach than links to the same videos on YouTube. This just means that if you’re going to upload a video, maybe take the extra couple minutes and upload it right to your social media platform of choice, instead of just posting the link to where the video can be found elsewhere.
And, as video has become such a powerful marketing tool, the Pub-Craft Team has added a brand new service just for authors who want to jump on the video board!
Our Custom Social Media Video package is perfect for authors looking to get more reader engagement with their Facebook and other social media posts! An excellent package to get a fun, suspenseful, or sexy short video clip, either focusing on your backlist, or an upcoming special feature title. This new package includes: - One custom-made short video to help boost social media reach and engagement, featuring either you and your brand as an author, your backlist title, and/or your most recent or upcoming release. - Video features a suitable soundtrack (instrumental background music), and a montage of pictures and/or short video clips strung together for a memorable and sharable social media video! - The package price can include some media purchases (special music, graphics, pictures, etc) to make your video even more special!
Have questions? Comments? Want more information on videos in social media? We want to hear from you! Send us a message through any of our social media channels, at timetowrite@pub-craft.com, or via our contact page.
The stats quoted above, and more, can be found at WordStream.com
