Is Social Video Marketing Right for Your Business?

In a word, YES. With astonishingly few exceptions. Whether your business is online or offline, whether your target audience is consumers, business owners, or academics, whether your audience is limited to one city, one country or is international, you can use social video marketing to increase your sales, your reach, your brand awareness, and your profits.

It doesn’t matter if your annual sales are five, six, seven figures, or more. It doesn’t matter if you have one employee or one thousand employees. If you are selling to a customer, you can use the viral power of social video to enhance your business.

The keys to making an effective video marketing campaign are to grab the interest of the viewer, hold on to that interest until your message is delivered, and strive to make the video interesting or quirky enough that they feel compelled to share it. You don’t need to have Hollywood-style production values to make a successful video. Many of the most successful marketing videos are simply a person talking in front of a whiteboard. If you are shy and don’t want to appear in your video, you can have animated whiteboard videos made for you; these are proven effective in engaging the viewer and retaining their interest.

Now, from all these examples, it may seem as though social video can do anything. Well, almost. Even as magical as social video can be, it does have its limitations. You can’t really send out samples through video, nor can you have potential customers smell or taste anything. But with well-chosen video and carefully crafted copy, you can get around these limitations to deliver a knockout punch of a sales message through video. And the customer interaction doesn’t necessarily stop when the video ends, either. As the above example, you could include a strong Call To Action to nudge them in the direction of requesting a sample, or other appropriate action.

Video even works for local offline businesses – think restaurants or landscaping companies. A restaurant can show their best dishes, and the ambiance of the dinner service; possibly mini-interviews with satisfied diners. Anything that a television commercial (remember those?) can do, social video can do and probably better, with the specific targeting available on most ad platforms.

The new wave of marketing is social video-video that not only sells, informs, and educates, but begs to be shared and shown to friends, family and acquaintances.

Social media marketing is a good way to get the word out about your business, products and/or services. But, there are times when you have to be cognizant of the fact that social media marketing has the potential to draw you in and become a major time sucker. If you want to ensure that social media is not controlling you, follow these tips.

* Have a Plan of Action – Don’t do anything without a plan. You need a GPS to get to your destination; you also need a plan to ensure that social media marketing will work well for your business.

* Create a Social Media Publication Calendar – Plan ahead according to the products and services you want to promote to craft posts and updates that have a purpose. If you have a calendar with pre-written posts, you can easily schedule them to work with your product launches.

* Avoid Time-Sucking Activities – You know it is simple to get sucked into yet another personality quiz or discussions about that delicious plate of pasta your friend just made, not to mention all the games – but don’t do it. It’s fine to have fun, but do it after your work is complete.

* Outsource Scheduling – Once you create a publication calendar that matches your promotions you can give the list of updates to someone else to schedule and monitor. However, don’t make that an excuse not to engage personally.

* Take Time to Comment and Engage – Even if you outsource parts of your social media marketing, be sure to personally comment and engage your followers so that they know you are a real person to trust and know.

* Do More of What Works – If you do something that works, do more of it and less of what doesn’t. Monitor the metrics of everything that you do so that you are positive about what is working and what is not working.

* Each Post Needs a Reason for Being – Don’t post something without a purpose. If you don’t know why you are posting it, don’t bother.

* Don’t Forget Your Call to Action – Everything you do should have a CTA. Whether it is to share, follow, or click, ensure clarity about what you want your audience members to do. If they know what you want them to do, they’re more likely to do it.

Using social media correctly to market your business is an essential element today in the world of advertising and marketing. Social media marketing can be very effective and inexpensive if you are careful not to waste time and effort on messing around and doing things that have no purpose.

Social media marketing is an excellent way to increase your following and make more money. However, there are many common mistakes that people make when engaging in social media marketing. If you are making any of these mistakes, don’t worry; it’s never too late to correct your social media marketing and make it better.

* Not Engaging with Your Followers – When your followers make a comment on something, share or ask a question, don’t wait too long to respond. If you have someone monitoring your social media, have them inform you of ongoing conversations and potential areas of engagement.

* Not Filling Out Your Profile Completely – Incomplete profiles make your business look either sloppy, or fake. If you want to be taken seriously, fill out a complete profile with a good profile picture, your company logo/banner and information so that you can be contacted outside of the network.

* Not Focusing on Follower Quality – Some people make the mistake of focusing on the quantity of followers rather than the quality. You want to concern yourself with finding followers who are potential customers.

* Not Posting Regular, Relevant Updates – If you aren’t active on social media posting things that resonate with your audience, then you’re not going to get any traction. If you plan to be successful with social media marketing it takes perseverance and patience, not one-hit wonders.

* Not Choosing Your Channels Wisely – You don’t need to be on every single social media channel. Be on the channels that your audience love and that will work out fine.

* Not Automating Some Actions – There are a lot of things, such as scheduled updates, that you can automate on social media. Be sure to use scheduling when possible as long as it doesn’t make you look robotic.

* Not Interacting Personally – Every chance you get, it’s important to make spur-of-the-moment updates that are relevant to your business and your goals. This will make you look more real in the eyes of your followers.

* Not Personalizing Messages for the Channel – Sending out a mass message, using software, to all of your social media networks that you’ve connected with, is a big mistake. Most of the time, you’ll have leads who are on more than one account. If you do this they’ll quickly feel bored or worse, spammed.

Using social media to market your business is a proven technique to get more customers, make more sales, and increase your bottom line, but only if you avoid these mistakes. Take one at a time and make the improvements needed to get on the right track so that you make your social media marketing profitable for your business.

Your online presence is one of the most important ways to market your business to the world. It honestly doesn’t matter whether you have a strictly online business or a bricks and mortar business; using social media is a great way to get the word out about your business and to establish your identity online.

Ensure that Your Brand Matches Throughout

While each social media network has its own personally, your brand is always your brand. You should keep your brand the same, but adjust it slightly to fit in with the personality of the platform. But don’t change it too much because you want your audience to recognize you and interact with you.

Keep Your Profile Updated and Complete

Social media networks are always changing so a complete profile today will be incomplete tomorrow. Keep it up-to-date by checking it often, updating the things you have changed, and adding in information as the platform creates new ways for you to share.

Be Consistent with Your Posts

One of the keys to making social media work for you to build your online presence, is putting up regular posts and updates. You want to do it more than once a day on social media such as LinkedIn or Twitter. For example, if you have a blog post you want to share, set it up to share twice in the day instead of only once.

Become an Expert on One or Two Platforms

You can’t be everyplace and do it well, so choose one or two platforms where your audience likes to hang out, and become an expert at those systems. You’ll do yourself a huge favor. If you can afford to outsource to every social network, it will be fine, but if it’s just you, take it easy and become an expert of one or two.

Develop Content Specific for Each Platform

You don’t want to rehash the exact same content in the exact same words on each social media network. For example, when you share a blog post you wrote promoting your widget, you want to share it with a special blurb for each different network.

Engage with Others

Don’t forget to talk to people on each network. Answer questions, share your knowledge, and interact and engage with them. Social media is supposed to be social. Automation is fine, but you do need to answer people and talk to people in real time, too.

Share Other People’s Updates

When someone shares something important that your audience will find interesting, share it. The people you share and congratulate and interact with will do the same for you. Plus, it’s another form of content that can help establish expertise.

Join Groups

Most social media networks right now have some forms of groups that you can join. Even Pinterest has group pin boards that you can join. Joining these, then interacting with the people, is a great way to network and get known better.

Social media is an excellent way to build your online presence along with your website and blog. Use the social media to promote what you put on your website, as well as to stimulate sales of your products and services.

Promoting videos on social media is a sure-fire way to get more views and find more of your audience. But, when using social media to promote your videos you want to be sure that you do it in such a way as to get more views and more action, rather than bore your followers.

Spruce Up Your Facebook Posts

When you share something on Facebook, you have a lot more control than you may think over the title of the piece and the image. You can learn how to edit the Facebook post so that it’s not just the same image or the same title as every other Facebook share.

Make Your Pinterest Posts Interesting

When you want to promote a video on Pinterest, create a theme pinboard that includes the video you want to promote along with other images, quotes and information you want to share. Creating a themed pinboard will do a lot more for your sharing efforts than just random shares.

Share More than Once on Twitter

There are some people who will say that you should share something every hour on Twitter, although that might be overkill. But, it is true that you should share the same thing more than once on Twitter. Don’t do it all in the same way, though. Share three or more times but use different words each time for your link to attract different portions of your audience.

Use Your Blog

You may not realize it, but your blog is a type of social media too. This is especially true if you open up your blog posts to comments. When you create a new video, you should definitely promote it via your blog by writing a post about the video and then embedding the video into the blog.

As a Comment

If your video is not too promotional but rather a good resource or answer to someone’s question on another person’s video, social media post, forum, or blog post, then you can post a link to the video with a comment about why this video will help them.

Make It Different

Each time you make a post about your video, make the blurb a little different so that it will not appear to be unthoughtful or hurried. You want to attract your ideal audience to view the videos, and that audience might be slightly different on each social media network. They’ll respond to different prompts.

Use Images

Images are more likely to be shared on social media. Pick a good thumbnail for your video and use that to share on social media as an image to go with your video. The image will get the attention of your audience better than any words you can use.

Be Consistent

Never give up promoting your videos. Sometimes, it can seem like everything is so slow going and you’re not getting anywhere in more views for your videos. But, when you keep doing a little bit each and every single day, you will break through and see success.

Using social media to promote your videos is an important way to get the word out about your videos to your audience. In fact, if you want anyone to view your videos, the best way to do so is via social media marketing.

Social media is here to stay. It offers individuals and business owners alike a great deal of ability to get the word out about any event or happening. Most people use social media of some kind – and what’s more, they keep it close to them with their mobile devices at the ready. People share everything on social media, from their baby’s first steps to more mundane things like what they’re eating for dinner tonight.

Being online and using social media to promote your business offer many benefits.

* Brand Recognition – If you want people to recognize your brand, it’s important to develop a branded appearance that you use across all social media networks. Use the same logos, in different sizes, and stay true to your brand at all times.

* Slow Marketing Converts – When you provide information over a long period of time, your audience becomes accustomed to your message. Over time they develop trust, and after being exposed to you a few times they are more likely to place an order.

* Improves Authority – When you often post a lot of accurate and helpful information, people start viewing you as an authority on the topic. Once you’re viewed as an authority, you will start making even more money because people will be waiting to hire you or buy your products.

* Increases Brand Loyalty – The more people see your brand out there, the more loyal they will become toward what you offer. Your offerings should represent what your brand stands for and you’ll find that people become more loyal to you as you stick to what you know and believe in.

* Increases Traffic to Your Website – Use social media to share and promote your blog posts, and new offerings will increase the traffic to your website exponentially. One of the best ways to rank higher on search results is to be active on social media.

* Is Inexpensive – Social media is not an expensive form of marketing. It can also be fun. Guard yourself from getting sidetracked, but always be interactive and engaging with your followers. Remember, time is money. Automate what is not direct communication so that you can get more done in less time.

* Allows for Useful Consumer Engagement – Social media can let you engage with users in a very beneficial way. You can have deep conversations about many topics. Just remember to keep it professional and handle controversy carefully.

* Works with Mobile Devices – Better than most websites and email, social media works effortlessly on mobile devices. Social media and mobile really go hand-in-hand. People take their devices on dates, and to bed – you’ve never been closer to your audience than now.

If you’re not participating on social media then you need to change that right now. You don’t have to be everywhere; just find out where your audience hangs out and go there. Then, use that social network to your fullest ability.

Using social media to promote your business can be lucrative if you know what to do to make the most of it. You have to remember that social media is not a short-term game. It takes time and commitment as well as a specific goal in mind.

* Complete Your Profiles – Fill out your profiles completely, using keywords that your audience as well as search engines would use to find you. Show your personality, link to your online real estate, and make sure people can connect with you easily.

* Post Quality Content – When you post anything on social media, take the time to consider whether the content is relevant, has quality components and will give your audience a reason to want to keep following you.

* Play the Long Game – Social media marketing results don’t happen overnight. It can take months of consistent and focused activity to get the outcomes that you want. Don’t expect it to happen straight away.

* Engage Influencers – Use the search function on all social media networks to find movers and shakers within your industry so that you can engage with them. Getting their attention in a good way will help increase your influence too.

* Avoid Time Wasters – When you get on social media it’s very tempting to start looking at memes, talk to your friends and family, play Farmville, and pretend you’re working.

* Do Unto Others – If you want people to comment and share your information, be sure that you do the same for other people. The best course of action is if someone markets to your same audience but is not direct competition. Work together to promote each other.

* Pay for Promotion – When you are trying to get a more likes, followers or newsletter sign-ups, it’s a good idea to pay for promotion. On Facebook you can pay to promote particular posts, or run a pay-per-click ad relatively inexpensively.

* Add Value – Don’t just like and tweet things without adding something to the conversation that is important. The more value you can add to social media discussions, the more people will want to get to know you and follow, friend and like you.

Using social media to promote your business is a great way to get more visitors to your website and make more sales. But, you have to be willing to be committed to taking the time to do what it takes to reach your goals. Avoid pretending to “work” on social media while you’re really just socializing. Set specific goals, develop tactics to reach the goals, and you will be successful.

One thing to do on social media is to write posts. Posts are what keep your social media active and your audience engaged. However, it’s imperative that you have a strategy so that you can get the most out of your social media interactions. For the most part, your social media strategy should involve building your email list or sending them to your website so that they can become customers.

* Understand Your Customers – You need to know who your target audience is so that you can recognize what type of posts will get more traction with them. For example, some audience members will be insulted by certain types of comedy. Others will respond very well to it. Know who they are so that your posts can be targeted.

* Watch Your Competition – It’s always a good idea to check out what your competition is doing in regard to social media posts. Don’t just copy what they are doing. Instead, observe whether or not the competition is getting a result or not from their actions, and note how you can do it better or differently.

* Know the Goal of the Post – What action do you want your customers to take when they read the post? Do you want them to click through to read more? Do you want them to like, follow and share? You need to be clear about what you want them to do in order to get action.

* Add a Relevant Image – People respond best to relevant images on social media. You can make memes and infographic using free software like Canva.com for your social media posts. A nice image, watermarked with a relevant quote will do wonders.

* Write a Blurb that Gets Attention – When you share a meme or a blog post or other type of post on social media write a blurb about it, and what you want your readers to do about it.

* Link to the Rest of the Story – Don’t just post most of your updates without linking to the rest of the blog post, more information about the meme, a newsletter sign up, or your website.

* Ask Your Audience to Share – Never forget to ask your audience to share your posts. You can also invite them to take memes and infographics off your website to share. Just set up a new page that lists all the watermarked images that your audience can share.

* Respond to Comments – Don’t just ignore the interaction that is happening on your social media pages. Always respond, and add comments to the discussion. Answer questions, and be kind. Even if someone is rude, don’t respond rudely. If you have to, delete the rude comment and let it go.

Writing social media posts that get a discussion going and inspire people to share and interact is an art. You’ll need to try different tactics to see what works with your particular audience. But, be sure to always have a call to action on the post so that your audience knows what to do. Remember that your goal is to get them on your email list so that you can market to them on an ongoing basis.

No matter what industry you’re part of, there is a social site that is made for it. You’ve likely heard the saying that “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” That’s why networking on industry-specific social sites is so important. In addition, it will help you keep up with, and even stay ahead of, fads within your industry. To take advantage of industry-specific social sites, it’s important to consider the following.

1. Follow the Rules – Each social site will have its own rules and they are important to follow. You don’t want to go into any social site, no matter where it is hosted, and immediately start promoting yourself and posting links. Read the rules, follow the rules and you’ll soon find that you’re an accepted member.

2. Craft an Outstanding Profile – If you are able to create a specific profile for the social site, make it great. You want your profile to be like a mini, toned-down sales page so that when someone clicks to read, they want to click through to your website too.

3. Upload a Professional Headshot – Today people are quite informal online but when you are part of a professional industry, get a headshot that fits. Some industries are more casual than others. Fit the image that the industry has, but also allow your personality to show through. Most of all, be tasteful.

4. Take Time to Observe Members – Before jumping in, observe how the members interact. There are some cases where you’ll realize you don’t want to be part of the group due to something that is going on. Other times you’ll realize you’ve hit the jackpot of informed industry leaders and experts that you can engage with. The idea is to get to know who the movers and shakers are in the group.

5. Get to Know Members – As you start identifying members that you want to get to know, reach out and do an introduction post. Start commenting on the movers’ and shakers’ posts and activities. Ask questions and attend meetings. Participate in as much as you can. The more you get to know the members of the group, the more you can help each other.

6. Engage High Ranking Members – High ranking members get a lot of comments on any posts they make, and they participate more than other people. With some casual observations you’ll be able to see who is a leader in a group or even who runs the group. When you do figure out who they are, make it a point to engage with them.

7. Freely Give Advice in Your Area of Expertise – Eventually, you can start offering your own advice when people ask questions. If the industry social site offers webinars, Google Hangouts or other “live” events, volunteer to be an expert and share as much as you can with the others about what you know.

8. Get Content Ideas – A really excellent way to take advantage of industry-specific social sites is to use the questions, articles, and other information as ideas for content that you will write or have written for your website.

9. Share, Like, and Congratulate Others – Be sure to take part in activities that don’t involve self-promotion but involves the promotion of others. When you are selfless, people will return the favor when they have something to share too.

10. Become the Go-To Expert – It may take a while, but with enough professional answers and participation on your part, the people in the social site will start to see you as an industry expert and will want to come directly to you for answers. They will also send their friends and family to you.

Participating in industry-specific social sites is something you should take advantage of if you want to grow your business, become known as an expert, and stay ahead of the rest. Differentiating yourself among your peers will help you get more customers as well as help keep you educated and informed.