7 Best Types of Social Media Videos

Surprisingly, 82% of digital traffic is attributed to videos. This means, that before we bid goodbye to this year, we must budget for 2024 social media videos. However, how do you decide what kinds of videos can grab your audience’s attention? Can you make relevant videos, that are of interest to them? And how can you use them to complement your content strategy?

This is what this article is all about. We share how and why video on social media is an absolute game-changer for your brand, why it simply has no competition with other types of content – and why you should be prioritizing it. We also share some extra tips for you to get started!

Let’s delve in without further ado!

Why use video for social media?

The numbers speak for themselves. In fact, on average, about 66% of people watch videos to learn more about a product or service, and 95% retain more information through videos than through text.

Here are three benefits of using video over other content formats for your social media.

It improves engagement

Video is dynamic- with music, images, and seamless transitions, a good video is a treat to watch. So, if you’re looking to deliver promotional, entertaining, or educational content through video, chances are if it's well-made, it will improve your brand engagement. After all, video on social media generates 1200% more shares than text and image combined!

It boosts sales

Video, being a thoroughly visual medium, allows you to showcase product benefits, provide in-depth product demonstrations, and feature customer testimonials. So, if you want to win your audience to action, video is your best friend. It’s no surprise that 50% of marketers say that video has helped them boost brand sales by getting more customers.

It is cost-effective

54% of marketers claim that video is the most helpful content type to attain social media marketing goals. The exciting part is that you do not need a hefty budget to start with it. 40% of marketers spend only between $0 to $500 on average on video production. You can easily leverage video creation platforms like PlayPlay to captivate your audience with engaging visuals and captivating stories. Get to enjoy customizable templates, add music, subtitles, branding, and more! Plus, it's free to start, and you can easily export your videos in HD for high-quality viewing.

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7 types of video for Social Media

Videos for social media can take many forms. Your choice will primarily stem from your marketing goals, audience reception, and response rate. 

Let’s look at 7 types of videos you can produce for your social media.

1. Tutorials and How-to Videos

Suppose you have a complex product, and you want your audience to understand its various use cases fully. In that case, tutorials and how-to videos can be an excellent means to exhibit your offerings. They not only allow you to demonstrate your product in action but also to share its strengths and what sets it apart from its competitors. 

Additional benefit- you get to enjoy increased engagement with learned customers.

Mailchimp demonstrates this well through its impeccable tutorial videos. See, in particular, this video in which users are taught to design and style their email campaigns.

Not only is the tutorial content thoroughly well-planned and concise, preventing boredom, but the conversational style of the presenter makes it easier to learn- you are learning from a real person with a real voice, making it more accessible and enjoyable.

2. Interview and Q&A Videos

Post a combo of interview and Q&A-style videos on your social media. While they help relay expert insights on topics relevant to your brand and audience, if curated well, they are super engaging. They can lead to a deeper appreciation of differing viewpoints, allowing you to boost your credibility and trustworthiness.

Nordic Fintech Magazine posts lots of expert-led interviews and discussions across its website and YouTube space. There’s no beating about the bush since they are crisp in content and super relevant to the Fintech space. See in particular this interview from them in which they sit down with Normative’s Head of Science Sustainability and Climate Research to understand how the sustainability targets in financial services have quadrupled in recent years and the reasons for this seismic shift.

3. Storytelling Videos

If you want to create memorable content that elicits empathy, inspires, and entertains yet leaves a lasting impact on your followers, then storytelling videos are the way to go. A bonus for their ability to simplify complex concepts and make them more approachable to a broader audience.

Ikea does storytelling videos wonderfully well. See how they challenge the modern concept of busyness and self-induced burnout, reminding us to breathe amidst our busy work lives.

We shouldn’t be living to work like automated robots. There should be a well-defined balance so that we can consciously enjoy our time at home with our loved ones since this is the only thing that matters and grants true happiness. 

4. Behind the Scenes Videos

Give an insider scoop to your followers in the form of Behind the Scenes videos. Not only do they humanize your brand by showing exactly what goes behind your seamless product launches, but they also help your followers connect with you, hence building brand trust.

Take Dove’s brand campaigns as an example. Its collaboration with Girlgaze and Getty Images for its “Project#ShowUs” was super popular and showcased a diverse collection of over 5,000 stock images to feature real women from differing backgrounds. These photographs, without digital alterations, sought to promote a more inclusive representation of beauty in the media and advertising industry. Dove takes us Behind the Scenes to meet the remarkable women behind this project and shares their perspectives.

5. Event Videos

Have an upcoming event that you want to sell, like hotcakes? Then, utilize event videos and enjoy a perfect opportunity to captivate your audience and explain why they shouldn’t pass it up. Build their excitement, highlight offerings, and showcase the value they can expect to experience.

Sephora posts many event videos on its socials to garner audience interest and loop them in on the latest happenings in the beauty world. See how they built up the hype on their Sephora beauty festival- which offered a unique opportunity for beauty enthusiasts to connect with industry influencers, discover the latest trends in beauty, and bag free goodies from their favorite beauty brands.

6. User Generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) is created by people who share their opinions and experiences with your products or services. Recently, it has gained immense traction, especially in the B2C space- think travel blogs, food tastings, unboxing videos, beauty tutorials, and more.  Featuring UGC content on your social media adds authenticity and validates your brand since you choose to share what people think and have to say about your brand. It reinforces credibility and trustworthiness in the eyes of your audience by being interactive and, hence, fosters deeper connections.

See how Once Upon A Farm uses UGC on their Instagram account. They regularly feature customer videos to share how their cold-pressed fruit pouches with no added sugar and artificial ingredients make for a nutritious and organic meal accompaniment for picky eaters. They are a stress buster for busy moms who want to offer farm-fresh nutrition to their kids while introducing them to new tastes and textures.

7. Live Videos

Incorporating live videos on your social feed is no longer a novelty. In fact, 28% of marketers are allocating more resources to live streaming today. It’s changing how brands interact with their audiences since it offers an immediate, unedited, and authentic means of engaging your viewers that other social media formats do not.

See how Buzzfeed hosted its “Dance Craze Battle: Live,” an interactive competition that required the audience to vote on their favorite performances and submit suggestions for dance moves.

3 tips for creating videos for social media

With the number of digital video viewers expected to reach a whopping 3.5 billion, it is essential to learn how to create videos for social media effectively. Follow our tips to make your brand shine like never before.

1. Commence with a strategy

Actively brainstorm and strategize what you aim to attain through videos on social media. Set clear, measurable goals to give you a sense of direction, or you may miss your mark to make the most of your marketing budget. Consider whether you want to boost engagement, improve brand awareness, build a community, or scale product sales.

Don’t produce videos simply because everyone else is doing so; evaluate if it is the best choice for reaching your marketing objectives.

2. If there’s dialogue, include captions

Did you know that 75% of all videos are played on mobile phones, and about 92% of consumers watch videos with the sound off? This means that including captions in your videos is indispensable. Not only do they help reinforce the dialogue in the video, but they also reach a broader multilingual audience. Also, captions provide additional text that search engines can index, meaning they can improve your brand’s discoverability and SEO!

3. Partner with a video creation platform

If you are pumping videos on your socials that are pixelated, have a grainy appearance, and are laden with audio distortions, it's better to produce nothing at all. We say so because 62% of consumers are prone to view your brand negatively if you publish a poor-quality video.

The solution? Partner with a video creation platform to create inspiring, on-brand videos! And leverage videos on social media to attract your audience, not repel them!

Conclusion

Getting your brand in front of your audience has never been this easy. Pick any of the social media video formats of your choice, produce a compelling video, and hook your audience. Humanization and authentication of your brand through the use of videos create a connection and drive engagement as well as sales.

The best part?

Creating great videos is something that does not require you to be tech-savvy. Just select your desired format, collaborate with a user-friendly video creation software, and you will have a stunning brand video ready within minutes.