Deck the halls and your marketing campaigns with scroll-stopping visuals. But what are you supposed to be posting and how can you make sure you are drawing in your audience? We’ve got you covered. Here are 4 examples of what you should be decorating your social media pages (and websites) with and 3 ways that your videos can get more views instead of getting lost in the scroll.
4 Best Images and Videos to Post
Not knowing what to post to your social media accounts can leave you staring at a “write post” screen for an unhealthy amount of time or even just ignore those accounts (and potential leads) altogether. Not anymore! Use this cheat sheet for great ways to boost engagement to your social media accounts (you may want to shell out a few marketing dollars to boost your posts for more reach if you’ve been in a slump).
Behind the Scenes
Help your audience get to know you and understand that you’re more than just some faceless business that wants their money. Offering a look behind the scenes helps you form a relationship with your followers and brings some personality to your page. This is especially great during the holidays where there can be several opportunities to spread cheer.
Try:
- Staff Photos
- Office decorations
- Process photos and video of a service or the making of a product
- Events or unusual happenings of the day
- Staff pets
Helpful Tips
Creating how to videos or graphics with quick tips is a great way to provide value to your potential customers. This also helps situate you as an expert in your industry and gets the message across that you know what you’re doing. If your tip has helped a potential lead with a problem they were having, they are more likely to come to you for help with the big problem that your product or service solves.
Try:
- FAQS
- A short guide for something related to your industry
- Answers to questions you wish customers would ask
- Debunking myths
User Generated Content
Do you have an opportunity to get your customers involved in your marketing? Wonderful. This won’t apply to every business- but encouraging customers to send you pics (via email or even just posting to social media with a unique hashtag or with a tag to your business) can give you a file of photos you can use with their permission. This acts as social proof for potential customers who have been on the fence!
Try
- Shots of products in action
- Before and after a service
- Other “results” oriented shots
- Fun photos like pets, etc if relevant
- Event photos
The Occasional Joke
This one is pretty dependent on your brand’s voice. If your brand is not the type to use humor, then skip this section. For example, a court or funeral home needs to be posting with a different tone. However, once you have a great idea of your brand persona, you should know what kind of humor gets them chuckling (and hopefully hitting that share button).
A good example of this is the wild video ads that Vite Ramen runs on Facebook. Warning: Silliness ahead.
Vite used humor to teach their audience about their brand, but you can also post:
- A tasteful meme
- A pun
- A visual gag
3 Unforgettable Video Techniques
Disrupt the scroll by giving your video these great qualities that capture your audience’s attention.
An Explosive Start
A jarring (but not uncomfortable start) to your video will grab attention by causing a pattern interrupt that pulls them out of mindless scrolling. This can be a transition at the beginning of the video like a swipe, woosh, or other effect. It can also be large text animation, or body movement like jumping into frame. Waving your arms like you’re trying to flag someone down was a popular one for a while but is a little dated. Get creative for new visual ticks that make your audience go “whoa what?”
What you Say Matters
The beginning of your video is your make-or-break moment, so you’d better be impressive or interesting. Hook your audience in with a strong “title” or opening statement, just like you would with a blog post. Challenge a widely held opinion (careful not to venture into controversial topics here) with something like “10 reasons puppies are the worst” or “Social media marketing doesn’t matter”.
You can also follow the marketing trends that TikTok has picked up by outright saying “stop scrolling!” or “watch until the end for XYZ”.
It’s a good idea to make sure that you have captions or other text over your video—many people have their sound turned down. It won’t matter what you’re saying if they literally can’t hear it.
Vibe Check
Your energy should match the tone of your video, but it should also bring your audience in. Charisma is hugely important, even if you’re not on camera and only providing a voice over. (If you also hate doing the VO work, you can hire a professional to keep the energy high for you.) Here are some tips for making a great impression:
- Dance or wiggle your nerves out before you film
- Stay moving, not fidgeting
- Use your hands as you speak
- Smile (when appropriate)
- Do something to laugh or energize yourself beforehand
Most importantly, let your creativity and your business’ personality shine through all of your content. Be approachable and informative. Remember- the content you make is about providing value to the consumer, not about landing that sale. Focus on being educational, entertaining, or inspiring and you’ll put yourself on the right track every single time.
Digital Marketing Done Right for the Holidays
Now that your decorations are in order, check out the rest of our holiday guide by reading our 2022 Digital Marketing Holiday Gift Guide and The Perfect Recipe for a Sales Funnel for offers under $500.
The holidays can be stressful enough without having to worry about how to increase your leads and sales in 2023. Schedule a free strategy session with us and we’ll take you past the tinsel and into a full-fledged marketing campaign to get the results that you’ve been putting on your letters to Santa.
