Promote YOUR Brand With Social Media Videos?

After all of the discussion this year about the pros and cons of social media, you may wonder if it is still a useful tool for promoting your brand?

If the viral success of a November 29 police recruitment video featuring Chewbacca is any indication, the right social media video can be an effective and useful tool.

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Less than two weeks after the “Wookie on the Force for the Fort Worth Police Department” video made its Facebook debut, the simple yet well-done recruitment effort had more than two million views and garnered national attention. Who knew that a simple video pairing a police officer with Chewbacca the “Wookie Rookie” would go viral?

As with most successful campaigns, creativity and relevance matter. With the latest installment of the Star Wars movie franchise on the horizon, the Fort Worth Police Department’s recent video was a clever move and served as its own sequel of sorts to an earlier recruitment video featuring “Storm Trooper tries out for police force.”

From police departments to small businesses, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media platforms continue to engage with video and other features. Facebook currently reigns as the world’s largest social media platform with two billion MAUs (monthly active users), with YouTube a close second with 1.5 billion MAUs (as of September 2017, according to statista.com).

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Studies Show That Video Is Gaining Popularity

According to Facebook, from Thanksgiving Day to Cyber Monday, more than 130 million people gave thanks, discovered deals and boasted about bargains through social media videos.

Small Business Saturday also fared well as Facebook stated, “people were inspired to shop local and support small businesses.” Although Black Friday held the most conversation, Small Business Saturday “surprisingly outpaced Cyber Monday,” Facebook noted.

What Does This Mean For You?

Decide how social media fits with your brand and your product. To attract holiday shoppers, for example, Facebook recommends starting earlier and ending later because people start their shopping earlier each year.

In addition, 62 percent of the mobile-first shoppers surveyed will likely continue holiday shopping after the holiday season.

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Use Mobile Video To Attract And Engage Shoppers

Video is the best way to attract potential buyers. Facebook noted that according to a survey, about one in three mobile shoppers in the U.S. said that video is the best medium for discovering new products.

Consider Including Video In Your Marketing Strategy

Use memorable and meaningful content and build feed-first video so that you can achieve more impact.

Video is not limited to stores and shoppers. Other businesses and their clients can also benefit from video. From testimonials to “how to features” to public service announcements, videos can be effective marketing tools.

Related Article: 2018 Social Media Content Marketing Trends?

LinkedIn Now Offers A Video Option

Businesses can now benefit from sharing videos on LinkedIn. According to LinkedIn, its users can share original video in the LinkedIn mobile application and use the site’s resources to learn how to upload and record a video in the mobile app. However, streaming live or recording/uploading on desktop are unavailable at this time.

Know Your Product And Your Audience

Be relevant. Choose the right message, quality visuals and social media platforms that are right for your audience. These are crucial steps to help guide your success.

Guest Authored By Karen Geriner Robertson. Karen is director of public relations and client development at RobMark – Web • Advertising • PR. Follow Karen on Twitter.

Related Article: Creating Successful Social Media Marketing Videos?

“Be relevant.

Choose the right message, quality visuals and social media platforms that are right for your audience.

These are crucial steps to help guide your success.." -KarenGerinerRobertson

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  Authored by:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBr@nd.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, Colorado. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)