• In 2020, 2.1 billion users watched at least one video on YouTube. TikTok boasts over 1 billion users spanning across 150 counties, and Instagram reels are now available in 50 countries (as of August 2020). These figures alone are enough to prove just how popular video content has become. 

  
  

  Video marketing gives a whole new lease of life to businesses when it comes to your audience - you can target a whole new audience for free, or at a minimal cost however there is one drawback, you need to be creative with your content to stand out.

  
  

  We appreciate many SMEs simply do not have the budget to produce exceptionally high-quality videos with celebrity endorsements like the big brands. This can make it harder to stand out, but you need to step outside of your comfort zone and try to create a personal touch with the content you do produce, so why not try with a video?

  
  

  Important social media video stats*

  
  

  These statistics show, that you will:

• Lose about 33% of viewers 30 seconds into your video. 
• 45% of viewers leave by the 1-minute mark, and 
• Nearly 60% of viewers leave before your 2 minutes in. 

So, no matter how long the video is it’s therefore paramount that your first 30 seconds are captivating and meaningful, to keep your audience interested, and whether your entire video is 30 seconds or 5 minutes long, make sure your viewers don’t leave confused.

Instagram reels are capped at 30 seconds. So, my advice to anyone is, make the first 30 seconds count on its own. If your video is 1 minute in length, pause slightly around the 29-second mark and make the first 29 seconds impactful. Then carry on with further information without waffling and leave on a high!

Then if you upload the video onto Instagram as a reel when it cuts off at 30 seconds it looks like it was planned and then uses the full-length video again on other platforms no forgetting IGTV.

With social media as popular as it is in today’s society, every platform you use does have a video option, whether it be Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn and even Twitter. Not only does this create a wider potential audience.

If you are wanting to create a video with a short life span, then a story is ideal as they disappear after 24 hours. However, you will only be able to find this option on the mobile app version of the particular platform.  The stories show as circles normally at the top of the feed when you are in the app. The people or brands that have a live story to be viewed will have a double circle around their photo/logo.

Because of the above stats*  I would start creating videos between 30 seconds and 1 minute in length then decide which platform you want to show your videos on and see what restraints each platform has regarding the video. They will all have a minimum and maximum length of time and maximum upload size.

For example, on Facebook you have three video options:

1. 1. Dropping a native (MP4) video into a post
2. 2. Doing a Facebook 360 video
3. 3. Having a Facebook video story



All three vary in length restrictions and max upload sizes, see below.

1. 1. A native (MP4) video can be between 1 minute – 241 minutes and a maximum size of 4GB.
2. 2. A Facebook 360 video is a maximum of 30 minutes and 10GB and a
3. 3. Facebook video story is shorter with a maximum length of 2 minutes and 4GB in size. 

So, plan ahead as to which platform and preferred video style first, work out the length preferred, make sure your most important message is in the first 30 seconds and go for it! 

So now I have an idea of the platform and preferred video length, WHAT do I video?

We suggest testing the water a bit and seeing what your audience enjoy. 

Perhaps you could: 

• * create an Instagram story with a poll – asking your audience what video content they would like to see. 
• * pick a blog or post that you know has previously resonated with your audience, and go back and create it in video form.
• * see what other people are doing in your industry, try and get a mix of educational, how-to videos and ones that are more fun.

It’s worth remembering that while bigger businesses often have thousands of pounds worth of budget for video content, it is free to post on social media and a lot of the time, free to create the content. All you need is your mobile phone, make sure you’re set up to film vertically, hit ‘record’ the edit to your heart's content. Audiences LOVE a personal touch, so include yourself in the video (if you can) to really reach out to viewers.

One last thing, design for sound off!

Facebook found that people watch mobile videos everywhere — home, at work, during their commute, etc. and often they wouldn’t want the sound (and perhaps that’s why mobile videos are designed to play without sound).

According to Digiday, 85% of Facebook videos are played without sound so make sure you add captions to tell your story visually. You can add subtitles relatively easily by using any editing software, from iMovie to Adobe’s Premiere Pro.

Once you’ve finished filming, edit it (you might want to crop the beginning and end, added subtitles and then chose your preferred audience/platform and publish. 

Once posted, save as the native MP4 file on a USB stick (to save your desktop/mobile running out of space) and also download as an Unlisted or Private video in a YouTube account, until you decide what to do with it. 

Happy filming!