Skot Waldron

Skot Waldron

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What $30,000 in Social Media Video Spend Taught the Team at Animoto

By Skot Waldron about Marketing Strategy, Video

Want to learn what $30,000 in social media video spend taught the team at Animoto? They ran several tests in order to help understand what works and what doesn’t.

I was in a session listening to Jason Hsiao (Twitter or Linkedin) from Animoto. He was definitely one of the better presenters I heard at the Inbound Conference this year. Super genuine, authentic, and data-driven. He wasn’t trying to sell anything, just stuck to education and information. Ok, yes, he showed a quick screen grab of his product at the end, but that’s ok with me.

 

What were they testing?

  • Do different social platforms differ when showing the same video?
  • B2b vs b2c performance
  • Social video = Only good for awareness?
  • Emotional vs Informational

Let’s dive in.

 

Do different social platforms differ when showing the same video?

Answer: Tailor your strategy for different platforms.

 

How does video viewing behavior differ across different social media platforms?

 

  1. Facebook is good for telling people what’s new. Why?
      • People look at Facebook while they are on-the-go.
      • They have little time
      • They aren’t watching with audio
      • They are scrolling quickly
  2. Instagram is good for what’s interesting. Why?
      • People are hanging out more.
      • They are killing time
      • They sometimes listen with audio
      • They are scrolling through, reading captions, and swiping
  3. Twitter is good for what’s happening now. Why?
      • People are on-the-go.
      • They have no time.
      • They don’t listen with audio.
      • They are scrolling through.
      • There is a big network of quick-reads.
      • There are lots of sources.
  4. YouTube is good for education. Why?
      • People are usually taking their time and more engaged.
      • They are ready to watch longer videos.
      • They are watching with audio.
      • They are searching for specific information.

 

Are social videos better for B2B or B2C?

Answer: It depends.

 

Facebook ads versus LinkedIn ads performance

 

  1. Organic content does well surprisingly well on LinkedIn although it’s a B2B audience.
  2. There is definitely a place for both, but understand that as more platforms mess with their algorithm, it will become more pay-to-play with all networks. Also, engagement metrics (likes, shares, comments) will have a big impact on visibility.
  3. As far as cost-per-view (CPV), Facebook performed 55% better than LinkedIn.
  4. With cost-per-click (CPC) Facebook performed 75% better than LinkedIn.
  5. With cost-per-impression (CPI), Facebook performed 65% better than LinkedIn.
  6. For paid, FB is still the king.

 

Is social video only good for awareness?

Answer: Yes, but...

Here are which videos fit which stage in the buyer’s journey.

Stranger

  • Thought leadership
  • Blog teaser
  • Event recaps

Visitor

  • Interviews / Q&As
  • Backstories
  • Editorials

Lead

  • Company overview
  • How-to’s
  • Announcements

Customer

  • Product Demos
  • Explainer
  • Testimonials

At each stage of the funnel, social video ads all performed better than paid search and banner ads. Check out the slide from the presentation below to see the numbers.

 

Should you be using emotional videos or informational videos?

There are many people that will say to make your audience laugh or cry with every video. If you don’t, it’s not effective. Both things are super difficult to accomplish. Instead, do what’s right for your audience and for your brand. He put up another slide based on their research and the effectiveness of each type of video during the buyer’s journey.

Should I use emotional videos or informative videos?

Think about the left brain (analytical) vs right brain (creative).

  1. Emotional videos for the top of the funnel audiences.
  2. Informative videos are for lower funnel audiences.
  3. Loyalist is split between emotional and informational.

What types of videos should I use for different stages of the sales funnel?

 

Here are a Social video advertising few best practices:

  1. Create for mobile - Use caption text and plan for on the go.
  2. Use square videos - For most platforms, square videos will take up more of the space in the feed and therefore stand out more.
  3. Save the best for first - Get to the punch quickly. Create thumb stopping video that catches the viewers attention. Think about how fast you scroll through your feed. What’s going to make people stop and watch your video?
  4. Authenticity is more important than hilarity - If people like you they’ll listen, if they trust you, they’ll buy from you.
  5. Reinforce your brand - PLEASE! Understand what you’re about and stay true to that. I’m not saying don’t experiment, but work on defining your brand as quickly as you can.

Oh! And make sure you check out Animoto. It's pretty awesome! Create videos using your own footage or stock using their drag and drop editor. And, it's super affordable.

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