The Rise of Video and Takeover of TikTok

Video has taken over. With the internet having cycled through written and then image-based content, it’s videos' time to shine in the spotlight. Mostly, responsible for this recent rise is TikTok, while YouTube and Vine have played their part, TikTok has catapulted video to new heights, being a massive disruptor in the social space with other platforms beginning to favour short-form video. Which is…

Why video is crucial to your digital marketing strategy?

By this, we don’t mean that you should be making TikTok your one and only focus. While TikTok is growing extremely fast and generating a crazy amount of video content and engagement, it’s still relatively small in terms of users when compared to Facebook and YouTube. But TikTok has changed how we interact with content and spend our time online, with other social platforms taking notice. The result? Other platforms have begun to prioritise short-form videos, trying to replicate the engagement and time spent on the platform that TikTok generates, with META especially attempting to emulate TikTok on Instagram.

These shifts are reflected by the ever-evolving algorithm, with it not just pushing video content, but the content it sees as engaging. So the more engaging your content, the more traction you’ll see. The Instagram algorithm, in particular, judges content it thinks people will watch to the end and encourages clicks to the reels page to be engaging. With the emphasis on video, a video-only approach could be an option if you’re strapped for time and resources - posting less frequently but of higher quality. 

Not just for social either! Hosting video content on your website improves your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Search engines have also begun to prioritise web pages containing video, with videos appearing in 55% of Google keyword searches. 

How to make your video content effective?

So, we’ve established that video is important - and if we haven’t, it is. The next step to implementing a video strategy is to get creating. Now, video content can be seen as a bit of a drain on time and effort, but we can assure you that this doesn't need to be the case! You can make creating content as complicated or as simple as you like, but to help make the process simpler for you, here are a few tips.

• Rough and ready: Consumers prefer low-quality and more authentic videos over high-quality videos that can come off as artificial and inauthentic. So there’s no need to hire expensive equipment or an external team - unless you want to go this route of course! Instead, use your phone camera.
• Short is sweet: One of Instagram’s markers for engaging content is whether people watch all the way through, so by that logic, the shorter, the better, right? Creating watchable content is the name of the game. So your content doesn’t need to drag on - hit the high notes and wrap it up! If you’re unsure whether it’s engaging, put yourself in your customers' shoes to see if you would watch all the way through - or get an honest (but kind!) friend or whānau member to give it a watch. 
• Map it out: While winging it is an option, having a plan or loose structure will speed up the process and make sure you get everything you need in one hit and save you going back for reshoots. This will also help with engagement, as you can identify where people stop watching and let you know how to improve the content or length of your video.

What should you be posting?

This is entirely up to you and what your business does. But our tip is to use the resources you have available to you. A couple of bright ideas from the team at Yellow are:

• Behind-the-scenes videos: These are a great way to show off your brilliant team and the hard mahi that goes on behind the scenes. 
• A day in the life: Similar to behind-the-scenes, this is an opportunity to showcase the different services or products on offer. For product-oriented businesses, you could feature packing up orders, what you sold that day or customer favourites. For service-oriented businesses, you could film jobs like cleaning, pressure washing or pool cleaning as a before or timelapse.
• Follow the trends on your platform: Each platform will have different trends going on, whether this is a style of video or specific audio - identify ones that could be relevant to you and incorporate them into your videos to gain more traction. 
• Check out your competition: Have a nosy and see what your competition's viewers are asking for, and then do it better!
• Product Review/Showcase/How to: Let your products or services do the speaking and reshare testimonials from customers. Or show videos of what your services can be or how to use certain products. 
• Brand Story/Company story: Build a connection with future and present customers and let them know about you as a company, who you are and what makes you tick. 

With video predicted to have a big year now that users and social platforms are turning their gaze to video, you need to be where they’re looking. Find the time, line up the shot, and hit record!