Are you uncertain about whether you should incorporate video into your social media strategy? Here’s a couple of statistic to help you make a decision in that direction: Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it on video, compared to 10% when reading it in a text.  And, social media videos are shared 1200% more times than any other type of social post.

Even with those amazing stats, I am aware of some of the reasons for holding back. I hear that many business owners aren’t sure what to record in their videos. I also hear that they simply don’t have enough time. So, here is a list of four different video ideas and ways to incorporate them into your own social media strategy that are quick to create.

Video Blog

Creating video blogs can sometimes be more time-efficient than writing them, and they can be much more fun too. If you choose to give this a try though, don’t improvise. Video needs to be structured, or they lose their audience quickly. Even the videos that look like they are off the cuff need structure. Here’s a tip; write out the most common questions you get from your customers and create one video for each question. Keep your video short and always to the point. Don’t stray from the subject at hand. Just answer that question and nothing more.

Make sure to have a business YouTube channel and upload all your video blogs onto that channel, always with customized thumbnails. Ensure to include a headline, a detailed description and tagged keywords. This will your audience find your videos much more easily.

This type of video is often a good video to post on Facebook and LinkedIn, as well. If you post your video directly to these two sites, remember this; the video will auto-play without sound. So, you might want to consider adding subtitles or captions to your videos. It seems that a lot of people are watching Facebook and LinkedIn videos from their smartphones with the sound off.

Instagram & TikTok Stories

These two social sites allow you to share brief videos that work wonderfully for showing off moments throughout your day and, in fact, can be done with both video and photos. Don’t brush off these social sites. They are powerful and should be taken advantage of, before other businesses beat you to it and it starts to get to crowded for you to get noticed. Put your creative hat on and have fun adding video snippets and/or photos to your existing story throughout the day. As a business owner, this is a great opportunity to showcase your brand in action. Show us the daily workings of what makes your company so great. One tip to include thought: Make sure to add text inside your videos and photos for these sites. Otherwise it’s an image/video who’s message may be misinterpreted.

LinkedIn

This is a perfect site for B2B companies and consultants. The best videos to post here are Expert videos. Maybe there is a new trend that your clients need to know of. Or a new technology that you, as an expert, can advise your followers on. Don’t type out your knowledge. Record a quick video on the topic and post it directly onto LinkedIn, from your LinkedIn business page. Remember to include a call to action for all your video posts.

Remember to post these videos on your YouTube channel as well. You YouTube followers will love these kinds of videos.

Something that grabs attention

This requires a little more thinking and strategizing but the results are worth it: Get your team together and brainstorm ways you can showcase your business in an original or even entertaining way. You don’t have to be funny. Just be playful, let your hair down. I have a client who sends out birthday wishes videos to her clients. It’s brilliant. It can be as simple as that and it will grab the attention of your followers.

Maybe you and your staff have a great time at Christmas or Halloween. Shoot that great time and post it. There are all kinds of ideas that you could enjoy turning into a social media video for your business. Have fun creating those ideas.

I’m not suggesting that all your social posts should be video. Mix it up as you work through your social strategy. Start small and slowly include other video options as you start to get the hang of it.

By incorporating video, you will see an increase in click-through rates, shares and comments. And if you need a little help learning how to use your smartphone camera for these fun social videos, I have just the workshop for you – give me a shout to learn more and…IMAGINE what you can say!