Your Guide to Facebook Video Strategy
Social media is a marketer’s best friend, especially Facebook with nearly 3 billion monthly users. This makes it a great place to get eyes on your content! Suffice it to say, if you aren’t utilizing Facebook as a demand gen strategy to reach your audience, you are missing out!
So, you have this amazing video that you have invested considerable time and money into… now what? There are a number of strategies that can be used on social media to distribute this content. Here are some high-level items for you to consider.
Post It
This is, of course, the easiest way to share your video on Facebook. Your post will organically reach about 2 percent of the people who like your page (thanks, Facebook algorithms). To start getting engagement on your posts, ask your team to like and share the post. This will show engagement and will (hopefully) entice the Facebook algorithm to distribute your post to a wider audience.
Promote It
Now that we know the Facebook algorithm isn’t doing a good job of promoting your content, it is time to promote it yourself via boosted posts. This is a great way to promote the content that you are sharing on Facebook. This quick and easy process only requires a budget and audience to go live.
Typically, we like to boost posts one hour after posting, which allows time for organic engagement. We also like to test whether the post resonated with the audience by setting a low budget and running it for a 24-hour period. This creates an opportunity to pivot if the post is not performing.
Dial-In your Headlines
There is data that predicts that 80 percent of Facebook users won’t make it past your headline, so make it count. The headline is your best opportunity to attract clicks or views on your content. If your headline fails to catch the user’s attention, they won’t click on your post and you have lost those eyes.
Eye Catching Screen Grab
Social media platforms are visual platforms, so you need to make sure that your screen grab is up to par. Pull an enticing screen grab from your video and make sure that is the static image.
Avoid images of people mid-sentence or that do not properly depict what the user will be watching. This can make or break your engagement success.
Pro tip: Use contrasting colors to get your audience to stop scrolling!
Engaging Copy
This goes without saying, but take every opportunity you have to win that click and those eyes. You caught your audience’s attention with a great image and headline but they still aren’t sold. Sell them! This is your final chance to get that engagement. Don’t squander it with a lackluster video description or accompanying post copy.
- Increase credibility with facts and testimonials
- Capture attention by asking questions
- Have a solution for a common problem? State it
- Don’t hide your CTA, be clear and concise
- Ignite curiosity by engaging people’s emotions
A/B Test
Unsure about the items above? Test! By creating a Facebook A/B test, you are able to test the results of multiple ads and optimize with real world data.
Source: Invesp
Items to test:
- Headline
- Image
- Description text
- Link descriptions
- Target audiences
- Ad placement
Targeting, Targeting, Targeting
This is where the rubber meets the road. If you’re not getting your video in front of people who care… why did you even make a video? There are a number of targeting options available on Facebook:
- Interests
- Location
- Age
- Gender
- Relationship status
- Purchase behavior
- Education
Over time, you will pare down your audience and learn what works (and what doesn’t). Luckily, Facebook allows you to save your audience, so you can use what works in the future and toss the rest!
To sum it up, Facebook is a great place to promote your products, services and marketing collateral through video. Done with intent and correctly, you have the opportunity to place these items on your target audience’s lap. Gaining your organization more eyes, engagement and, hopefully, sales. Don’t sleep on social media — it’s a behemoth that can drive results for you.
