Writing for Social Media

Session Outline

• How to write effectively for social video
• Discussion
• Video creation tools overview
• Sprints: Content creation for Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube
• Reflection & QA

Cisco estimates that online videos will make up more than 80% of all consumer internet traffic.

Additional Stats

• Hubspot found that 45% of people watch Facebook or YouTube videos for an hour or more each week.
• 82% of Twitter users watch video content on Twitter.
• Buffer reports that companies that market with video have a 27% higher click-through rates and 34% higher conversion rates than those that don't.

Social Video Marketing

Social Video Marketing

• Any video content you create or share through social networks
• Can be included in regular posts, ads, Stories, cover videos, profile videos, or comments on social posts
• Goal: engage and build recall

Common Types of Social Videos

• About Us
• Demonstration/How-To
• Promotions/Sales
• Testimonials
• Events
• Lists
• Q&A
• Behind the Scenes

Writing for Social Video

Writing for Social Video

• Know your audience.
• Run tests.
• Fit videos to the platform.
• Top 3 features: straight-forward messaging, eye-catching imagery, a compelling story
• Grab attention in the first 3-5 seconds.

VIDEO Elements

• Target: Identify the audience
• Hook: What will I get out of it? (put this up front)
• Content: Show & tell
• Call to Action: What to do next

Tools for Video Creation

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Video Creation Tools

• Refer to the list in Brightspace:
• Canva
• InShot
• Quik
• Promo
• Wave
• Adobe Spark
• Animoto

Best Practices for Platforms

Facebook

• Users tend to look for new info & updates
• Share what's new or is fun/leisurely
• Episodic videos (1-3 minutes good, 3+ minutes best)
• Shorter videos - less than 1 minute; 15 second max for Stories
• Think mobile-first

Facebook

• Design for sound off: 85% of Facebook videos are played without sound.
• Square videos tend to outperform landscape videos in terms of average engagement & views.
• Avoid engagement bait

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Twitter

• Users tend to look for news and trends
• Share what's happening now
• Shorter is usually better - showcase the message in the 1st 3 seconds
• Feature strong visuals
• Video doesn't need to be polished to be effective

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YouTube

• Users looking to learn
• Share educational content and demonstrations
• Optimize the video to get views with descriptions, titles, and captions that are information rich
• Research topic ideas: Pinterest, Google Trends, other suggested YouTube content

YouTube

• Closest platform to traditional media
• Supports livestreaming, long-form and short-form content
• Optimize the video to get views with descriptions, titles, and captions that are information rich
• Research topic ideas: Pinterest, Google Trends, other suggested YouTube content

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Instagram

• Users tend to look for inspiration
• Share something interesting
• Dominating Stories: Brands post 2.5 Stories/week + 1/3 of the most viewed Stories are from businesses
• Share user generated content (UGC)
• Video posts: 3-60 seconds (square, portrait, or landscape)

Instagram

• Use bright, contrasting colors in fonts and overlays
• Include a person or someone's face to make an emotional connection
• Take advantage of features: Boomerang, Quizzes/Yes & No, Ask Anything, etc.

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Snapchat

• Users looking for connection
• Share something personalized to the audience (e.g. test content in PMs)
• Advertising codes & promos work well on this channel
• Users primarily 16-34
• Create urgency
• Leverage features/stickers/filters

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Tiktok

• Users looking for entertainment
• Share something entertaining
• Users primarily 13-24
• Developing platform

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Discussion:

• What is the most intimidating thing about making a video for social media?
• Have you ever made a video for social media? What was your experience?
• What are some brands that do video well? What do they do?
• What types of video content do you enjoy watching? Why?

Scripts

• Make sure to identify the purpose of the video, settings, and characters
• Plan for no more than 125-150 words of dialogue per minute
• Write how you speak
• Read it out loud
• Speak directly to the audience

SCRIPTS

SPRINT 1: The Explainer Video

• Educational video
• Demonstrate how to do something, explain how your product works, or introduce what your brand does
• Be brief and direct
• Show, don't tell

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Sprint #1: Explainer Video

• Write a 30-second script for an explainer video on how to apply to Marywood.
• In addition to the words you'd show or dialogue you'd include, be sure to note visuals you would use.

Sprint #2: Stories

• 15 seconds or less
• Uses strong visuals, large type, or abstract/solid backgrounds
• Designed to support engagement
• Topics and types are endless!

Sprint #2: Stories

• Brainstorm 5 story ideas (15 seconds or less) for Dairy Queen
• Must include visuals (e.g. video, animation, photo) and captions
• Goal: increase engagement on Facebook and Instagram
• Create 5 completed scripts (captions + visuals) that match the story ideas

SToryboards

Storyboards

• Visual outlines for videos using thumbnail images
• Tells a story in each frame - like a comic strip
• Include captions or text that may be shown on screen

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Sprint #3: Storyboard

• Create a storyboard for a social media video of your choice
• Topic: Preventing the spread of COVID-1
• Use any storyboarding tool of your choice

Q&A

REflection