Top tips for social video success
Posted by Diarmaid Mac Mathúna - Director of Agency on 29 Jan, 2018
Top Four Tips to Creating Successful Social Media Videos
With the consumption of video on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and even LinkedIn exploding (not to mention YouTube holding its own), the opportunities around video on social media are huge. But it’s also becoming harder to get people’s attention. Social media feeds are overflowing with different types of video content. Some doesn’t even look like paid content! At indiepics we have identified what we call the ZEUS principles of social video that help ensure the videos we create are successful online.
These ZEUS principles are the four key principles at the core of many videos that perform best on social media. Here’s a quick overview of these top four tips in a little more detail:
- Zeitgeist: It’s much easier to join a conversation online than to try to start a new one. Videos that tap into issues that are already being talked about often get traction really quickly. These zeitgeist topics can be big themes that affect society (such as climate change and gender equality). Or they can simply be tapping into the latest trends in what people are watching most online (such as quick recipe videos and even unboxing videos).
- Emotion: We all respond to video content that stirs our emotions. Happy and sad are the obvious ones, but when we’re coming up with the creative concept for a video it’s important to remember that there’s a whole spectrum of emotions available. Humour can work well, as can awe-inspiring footage, but it’s worth noting that content that makes people angry gets shared the most (which is one of the reasons fake news is such a big thing).
- Useful: “How To” videos seem to have taken over many of our news feeds these days, and that’s because they’re, well, useful. From short life hacks, to (apparently) quick & easy recipes as well as more in-depth explainer videos, modern life is so complicated that many of us are actively searching for videos that will help us. And we look great to our friends and colleagues when we share the best ones.
- Stories: We all love to hear great stories. Videos that tell compelling stories draw us in, making us want to watch to the end. Authentic stories that feature real people are particularly powerful. But even simply making sure that videos have an attention-grabbing opening, an informative middle section and a clear call to action at the end can work wonders in terms of keeping people engaged.
Not every popular social media video has to do all four of these things. But by making sure videos do at least one of the ZEUS principles well, they will deliver more meaningful engagement with audiences on social. When planning your video campaign, remember the power of tapping into social Zeitgeists; capturing hearts and minds with Emotion; encouraging engagement by being Useful; and telling a compelling Story. Next time a friend shares a video with you, think of the ZEUS principles – I bet it’ll have at least one of these features.
