Video killed the radio star, and now it’s coming for the standard, boring social media marketing post. The biggest trend in social media marketing this year is video, and you don’t want to miss out. We’re not talking about scripted, over-produced, buttoned-up corporate videos, either. Today’s audiences want to see real, raw, genuine slice-of-life videos that give a true sense of your company culture. Video is proving to be a far better medium for building customer relationships than posts that only use text or images. Look at some of the ways video helps enhance your relationship with your customers and grow your business.

    1. Videos Are Easy

Spontaneous videos are quick, off-the-cuff, easy to produce, and they get your customers’ attention. Videos allow viewers to put faces with names, get a sense of your company’s personality, and they encourage real-time conversations. Whether you post a quick behind-the-scenes video of daily life or use video to hype a new product, the first-person storytelling aspect of video will keep your audience hooked.

    2. Transparency builds trust

The key to incorporating video into your social media marketing strategy is to create content that is genuine. Your audience won’t respond favorably to a stilted, scripted, corporate video, but they’ll love seeing your employees working together, getting excited about new projects, and creating the products they know and love. Viewers want to feel like they are a part of your company’s growth, and sharing your process, successes and even the occasional failure lets them feel included. Giving customers a genuine sense of who your company really is helps build trust and increase your customer loyalty. People are far more likely to stay loyal to a brand when they feel like they know the people behind it.

    3. Videos encourage communication

Live streaming is a huge part of the social media video trend. It’s awesome because it encourages real-time conversation between you and your customers. In fact, a great way to promote online interaction is to live stream a Q&A or AMA with your CEOs or industry experts. Giving your customers a chance to meet the people that make your business possible and ask questions gets them excited about your products and services.

    4. Video offers opportunities

As your viewer base builds, your opportunities will grow. You can host online conferences to bring people together from anywhere in the world. Think about creating a video series to help customers learn more about your company or services. Once you have a well-established customer base, you can even consider offering paid courses for some of your educational materials.

However you choose to incorporate it, video should definitely be a part of your social media marketing strategy! Let’s talk about how a social media manager can help your business be camera ready.