How Brands Should Use Video on Social Media

Video use on social media is proving to be the most powerful business asset for gaining new followers, growing your brand and driving sales. But as with many things, how do you know which type of video to use for your brand? This is where our friends at Gusto.film step in with our next guest blog to guide you through how brands should use video on social media.

How Brands Should Use Video on Social Media

Video. It’s the little bit of gold dust tucked in a brands’ pocket. If you’ve ever tried to market a business on social media, you’ll know that it’s algorithms favour the biggest conversationalists. The share receivers, like getters and debate starters. The posts that garner the biggest share of the engagement pie are catapulted to the top of the timeline. And it makes sense: video has the unique ability to compact sound, image and bucketloads of info into one appealingly snack-sized chunk. There’s now a whole multitude of creative formats that a brand can cherrypick from to pin a post to the feed, like reels, stories and IGTV. And what’s more scroll stopping than the moving image?

We may be bias, but at Gusto.flim, we think video is the best way to spark kinship between brand and audience. On Instagram, video posts perform better – hands down – than any other format at generating engagement. And you’ll see the same stats from all the big social media players. Let your video content lead with a strong story, and the rest will follow. Here’s our (non-extensive) list of some of the key video formats to adopt to help your brand make a statement on socials.

Animated Explainers

Animated explainers are oodles of fun. Best suited for short-form, in-feed videos that last between 30-90 seconds, they work excellently to concisely impart information in an easy to digest visual format. Want to explain your hadron collider business to a bunch of tech-haters? Animated explainer. Perhaps you want to visually illustrate the lifecycle of a piece of spaghetti? Animated explainer. The best animated explainers are story-led and bursting with exciting visuals that explain your business’ product or service (so perfect for B2C and B2B marketing). Particularly handy for those intangible offerings that even the top execs might be struggling to put into words.

Plus, no need for cast and crew with these. Animated explainers can be produced entirely remotely and Covid-safely. Just make sure you pick a good video agency.

Example Of An Animated Explainer Video

Product Adverts

Hubspot report that 72% of customers would rather learn about a product or service by way of video. We know what it’s like to pour your all into sculpting the perfect product. And we definitely understand the importance of showing it off. Gorgeously lit product adverts are perfect for paid social campaigns as they stand proud in feed, in stories and in explore pages. Just make sure that your video content is repurposed to the correct aspect ratio depending on where it’s going: square, vertical and horizontal. And make it efficient! Multiple, short-form social cuts can be made from one long-form video from your landing page to make sure it fits within social media’s time limits.

Moving Banners

Look. Nowadays, trying to spot a brand within an overcrowded newsfeed can be a bit like a game of where’s wally. But by switching up your static ad for a moving banner, you can catch some side eye and increase those CTR’s. In comparison to other types of ad, moving banners are a bit smaller, so make sure to utilise them to their fullest potential by using animation or live-action with clear branding or a strong call to action. Shout about it!

Behind The Scenes Content

What’s the best way to build consumer trust in your brand? Let them see what’s going on beneath the surface! BTS content can rage from candid iPhone videos through to sleekly edited shorts with high production value. Take your audience through the keyhole.

Live Video

Last year, Facebook reported that Instagram Live’s viewership skyrocketed by a humungous 70%. It’s not a new phenomenon, but, my god, is it growing, and it’s really upping those R.O.I’s. 45% of consumers say they’re now even willing to go so far as to drop cash to become live V.I.P’s and get access to exclusive content. Remember: live content is temporary, and that makes it really exciting. Create some quality live video streams by bringing in a video production company and make sure that F.O.M.O. is too tempting to ignore.

You don’t need us to tell you how valuable social media video content is for your brand. But if you really want us to, we will. Talk video with us and say hello@gusto.film.