By now, you know you need to be integrating video with your social media. Users and clients alike respond well to them. More than 50 percent of customers say they want to see videos, and a whopping 93 percent of marketers say that they’ve landed a customer as a result of their video marketing experts.
Do you have a strategy that’s working for you? If not, it’s time to get one.
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There are a ton of different social media platforms, but we’ve decided to focus on a few of the sites that are most important for home builders: Instagram, Facebook, and of course, YouTube.
With this knowledge, you’ll be able to create videos that speak to your customers.
Start with Your Goals
Why do you want to have videos with your social media? Don’t say, “Because I heard you need it.”
Yes, we keep talking about how important it is to have a video marketing strategy. But if you’re uploading video just to say you have some video, you’re doing it wrong.
Think carefully about what you want your videos to do...
- Are you trying to bring in new customers?
- Let people know about an upcoming promotion?
- Show off some of your new styles?
There are a lot of different reasons why home builders want to create and share videos, but you need to start with your end goal in mind.
Some overall video tips for you:
- Be consistent; this applies to both posting and branding.
- Feature real people and animations in your videos, not just b-roll, images and text
- Choose a thumbnail for each video that represents that specific video’s content
- Include CTA’s when you can
Additionally, note that different types of videos work better on different platforms. Don’t worry, though. We’ll get into all that.
Instagram Tips
With over 400 million Instagram users, this social media platform is absolutely essential. Here, it’s all about visual appeal, and you only have 60 seconds to make a good impression.
Something to keep in mind - you can’t share a link within a post on Instagram. You can mention it and refer people to it, but there won’t be a clickable link in the post. This means every video you post needs to be self-contained.
This would be a good place to create a video that shows the design elements of your homes. Try doing a 60-second tour of your latest home or a quick highlight of flooring options. Other ideas could include:
- A weekly hashtag series: post a specific type of video each week on the same day. Maybe #TuesdayTips and a useful clip on new home maintenance.
- Fun holidays: don’t ignore the big ones, but add in some of the lesser knowns! National Coffee Day, Dog Day, and so on.
- Boomerang: this feature gives you the opportunity to shoot an engaging video quickly. You can post it as a stand alone or use it in a longer video.
- Instructional videos: these are great for engagement! If your team can film and post some instructional videos, you’ll be reinforcing your position as a helpful and knowledgeable resource.
Remember, most people access Instagram through their phone, so you need to create videos that are going to look good on small screens. You have the option of creating videos in a square, landscape, or vertical shape, and the maximum file size is 4GB.
Facebook Tips
Facebook offers a wide variety of options for businesses that want to integrate video into their social media.
People use Facebook to connect with friends and family, but they also actively follow businesses to get updates on the latest information. Entertaining videos typically get a lot of shares, but businesses can do well with informational videos, such as “How to Choose a Floor Plan” or “Finding a Neighbourhood that Fits Your Style”. Users will often tag their friends in the comments section when the video is helpful.
When using Facebook video, you want to upload it directly to their site instead of sharing a link whenever possible. This will start the auto-play feature, which means it will start playing when someone scrolls by. This tends to increase engagement.
Of course, don’t forget about the Facebook live feature! This type of video is amazing for engagement and is a perfect way to do specific types of video content, like an announcement or a Q&A session with an expert.
Now, Facebook videos can be up to 120 minutes, so you have a good opportunity to upload a very in-depth and informative video. People can always save it to watch later. However, just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Your video length should be dependent on the content. Short videos do well on Facebook too!
Square and landscape orientation tend to perform a little better on Facebook, although portrait isn’t bad. It’s just not as easy to see everything. Captions/subtitles are extremely important - many people don’t want the sound on when scrolling Facebook. A bonus here is the text can help grab their attention right away.
YouTube Tips
The video king! Really, when you think of video, YouTube is the first thing that pops into 99% of the population’s head. And with 2 billion logged-in users each month, it’s easy to understand why.
Now, YouTube is not just a social media video platform, it’s also the second largest search engine after Google. This means SEO plays a big role. Make sure you’re optimizing your title, description, tags, and the category of your videos. Also consider your thumbnail, SRT files (subtitles and closed captioning), cards and endscreens (used to be annotations).
Once you get some videos loaded, take a look and see if you can create playlists for your subscribers. Videos that fall under a common theme - maintenance, walk-throughs, showhomes, for example - can be grouped together into a playlist for anyone viewing your channel.
So what kind of videos can you create? The sky’s the limit! Within your market, of course.
- Testimonials
- Demonstrations
- Tutorial and Instructional
- Walkthroughs
- Showhome tours
- Events
Also, take a look at the content you currently have on your site. Blogs and long-form content can easily be transformed into a video since you already have the “script” written!
Double Dip When You Can
Making videos takes time and energy. There’s no reason you shouldn’t recycle some of the content in your videos.
For instance, you might spend a week shooting footage of your homes and communities for upcoming features. You can re-use that footage in various informational (what does this community have?) or promotional (take a look at our brand new showhome!) videos.
Some styles of videos work well on a variety of platforms. Don’t be afraid to upload them to each one. You’re likely to attract different viewers on different platforms.
At Marketing Ninjas, we know how to create videos that will convert. Schedule a time to talk with us to see how our videos can help your business thrive.
Originally published Aug 25, 2020
