The power of video marketing [PLUS free Instagram Reels challenge download]
Video is a powerful marketing opportunity that isn’t going away anytime soon. The Head of Instagram recently shared that Instagram is no longer a photo-sharing app and that the company is looking to “embrace video more broadly”. Let’s be honest, we should have seen this coming. It’s time to get out of our comfort zone, and get comfy on video. By Emma Nolan.
Social media never fails to surprise. Just when you think you’ve nailed the latest algorithm, and one platform has managed to monopolize the space, another emerges almost out of nowhere, shifting the entire landscape for the fifth(?) sixth(?) time this year. Who knows. Personally, I’ve lost count.
We’ve seen this before; with YouTube, Vine and TikTok. One thing I know for sure is that people love a meme. Soon *much to your friends and partners disgust* you catch yourself quoting soundbites you don’t even know the origin of to bring those memes to life. And social media platforms have cleverly tapped into this trend, tailoring to the increasingly shorter attention spans of our generation.
Studies that prove video content outperforms static content. According to one source, “about 5.5% of your followers on IG are shown your organic static feed posts. If you have a massive company with lots of followers, the percentage is even smaller. But then, you add video to a post, and all of a sudden, it’s being seen by 12-15% or higher." This is mainly because the algorithm favours whatever individual user interacts with the most, and across the board that tends to be short attention-grabbing videos.
You’re probably wondering, well what do I do now? Let’s get into it.
Ensure you are talking to your audience on Stories.
The easiest way to incorporate video into your social strategy is by showing face on Instagram Stories. Personally, after the announcement of Insty going video-first, I jumped onto my stories for the first time (naughty, I know) and boy was I a sweaty mess. No one likes the sound of their voice on camera, especially when you are talking about yourself. But, I am here to tell you that I lived to see another day. Just open up a dialogue between you and your audience. Finish with a relevant question feature, or maybe even a poll to include them. Heck, my first stories involved a cactus balloon [now named Diego] who hasn’t deflated in over 4-weels – pinky swear. My advice? Film. Post. And then DISTRACT. I headed straight to the gym so I couldn’t dare rewatch (or consider deleting them).
Start to drip feed more video into your feed.
Don’t fret, video doesn’t necessarily mean you need to show your face every day. But, it does mean it’s time to start getting creative with the content you are producing. Don’t feel like getting your face camera-ready today? That’s fine, why not capture a boomerang of one of your products to post on your feed? Are you a service-based business like myself, why not film your computer screen while working? Timelapse? Into reading? Take a photo of a book, stack another onto, photo, book, photo, book (you get the drift) and then turn those into a GIF. Include a video behind a feature quote with pexels: your new background video bestie. The options are endless, I’m sure you can come up with something fun with that noggin of yours.
Embrace ALL of the latest video features.
In recent years, Instagram has launched Stories, IGTV and now, Reels—which is worth trying out. For any human adult who’s aged approximately between “millennial” to “boomer,” this notion can seem daunting but I am here to tell you it’s not that bad. When incorporating Reels into your content strategy you open your profile to hundreds if not thousands of new eyeballs vs. stories that only your followers see.
Not sure where to start? Well you my friend, are in luck. Our fearless (and cute as a button) leader, Haley, has pulled together 30 prompts to inspire our reels creation game *Scroll down to grab it for FREE*. Are you up for the challenge?!
Set a new content ratio.
For the next few months, I am going to be trialling a new breakdown of creative. For every 5 pieces of creative posted onto my channel 3 of the 5 will be video-based. The aim is to post at least 1 Reel, 1 Story, 1 Video to my Feed, 1 Single Post and 1 Carousel each week and track my engagement. The standard rule of thumb to track your engagement rate is [# of likes + comment/followers x100]. Although don’t forget to look into metrics like saves and shares they are just as important too. This will tell you exactly what content your audience wants more of. Simples. Now go forth and hack that algorithm. Oh, and try not to spend too long scrolling through Reels (it’s a damn big rabbit hole).
Don’t worry it doesn’t mean photos are dead.
..it just means you may need to work harder to ensure they are seen. We’ve known for a while that sharing your content in different forms helps you reach a wider range of people. Not to mention, it’s a great way to repurpose your content for dual usage. While not everyone will read your full caption on a single image, they may swipe through a carousel on your feed, or watch you explain it through video. At the end of the day, it’s all about figuring out how your audience wants to consume the information you’ve got to share. Show don’t worry too much about what everyone else is doing and focus on how you can best serve your audience.
Sign Up for our Free Reel Talks Series Below
We are going to show up on Reels together! To help us boost our confidence, we have got three amazing humans to drop into Cool Wow this month for some Reel Talks.
Click here to find out more!
Find the inspiration for your own Reels creations with our 30 free prompts. You’ll also find 10 bonus tips to help you create with confidence *the short of it…have fun and be yourself*. If you do use these prompts we’d love to see them! Tag @coolwowcollective and we’ll send you a virtual high five (and maybe even a reshare) for showing up and fearlessly doing it!!
Written by Emma Nolan
A highly curious person by nature. Hates wearing shoes. Sometimes pens words on topics that spark passion, including the environment, self-development, and creative living. May or may not have an emotional attachment to her browser tabs. Connect @creativ.em.