Videos Are "Killing It" On Facebook

Author: Jordan Finger

Just like "Video Killed The Radio Star" ushered in the MTV era in the early 80's, video is "killing it" on Facebook, Instagram and SnapChat. With the major social media platforms vying for the attention of their core audience of millennials, video is the current killer content application that every digital marketer and brand must use to stay relevant in today's every competitive and evolving marketplace. 

In the not so distant past of 2015, if you were a brand buying  social ads with visual content your only real options were well produced professional photography or user generated content photos usually shot on their Iphone. With the right photo and a compelling offer, a brand marketer was able to get clicks on their Facebook ads at a Cost Per Click (CPC) low enough to allow them to back into their effective Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) to achieve their acquisition goals. But with Facebook click costs increasing by double-digits in 2015 and with Facebook's implementation of the ad relevancy score, it is not enough to just have a pretty picture for a brand marketers Facebook ads or content. 

To get the audience reach and engagement on Facebook in 2016, the brand marketer must create a video content marketing strategy.  Here is 5 reasons why video content is "killing it" on Facebook: 

1) To stay relevant and competitive, Facebook is favoring video content over non-video content. In 2016, I have seen on average 15-25% organic growth (free exposure) on Facebook engagement with video content versus less then 1% with non-video content. For paid ads, Facebook is rewarding video ads with a higher relevancy score which means Facebook will allow the marketer to reach a larger percentage of the audience they are targeting as well as rewarding the marketer with a lower CPC. 

2) The other cool benefit of video content is the chance for the video to go viral on Facebook, reaching millions overnight without spending any money. That is a hug win for digital marketers that are very ROI driven and are always looking for opportunities to blend down their CPA.  This allows a brand to reach an audience much larger then their typical core followers helping increase the brand awareness and garnering a new audience to speak to again with future video content on Facebook. 

3) With a short 15 second video it gives a marketer the opportunity to better explain their brand story. on Facebook a video will auto-play which means not 100% of the audience truly clicked to engage with the video. However, by creating short 15 second videos, the marketer has ample time to communicate a full brand message that evokes an emotion and connection with the audience.  Thus, giving the marketer a new way to  expand their potential customer reach and engagement. 

4) With the the growing demand for video on Facebook, brands have an opportunity to curate video content from channel partners. If you are working with a limited budget, reaching out to video content channels and asking for permission and giving the channel provider social credit for the content you post on your Facebook page is a win-win for both the marketer and the video content provider.  If you do have the budget to create original video content, then you can reach out to other video content channels to ask for them to publish your content on their channels which will introduce your brand to a highly engaged new audience. 

5) 65% of Facebook video views occur on mobile devices (DMR Stats) and only growing. With smartphones being ubiquitous in our everyday lives, it only makes sense that more and more of us are consuming our content on mobile devices. Video content for Facebook mobile allows you to reach your potential audience any time of the day or night. We wake up to the alarm on our smartphones, read our emails and check our Facebook or other social media apps before we even get out of bed. Before turning in for the night who can't resist doing one last check of what their friends did that day through their social media feeds. Grab the attention of your audience when they are consuming their daily content and make a big brand impact with video. 

Now that you know the importance of video for your brand and marketing on social media, go create your own video content so you to can "Kill It" on Facebook video.