This guest-post is courtesy of our partners at Sparkhouse.
There was a time in the relatively recent past when the only way to watch video content online was to wait for it to download or buffer on your desktop computer. It was a long, frustrating process that made video marketing an ineffective strategy to the masses until the introduction of high-speed internet connections.
Mobile technology and the accessibility of smartphones and other mobile devices allowed for the convenience of instant access to live streaming and video content that could be viewed from a screen in the palm of your hand.
Video is a powerful marketing tool that shows impressive retention rates compared to reading text to looking at photos. With so many people watching videos from their smartphones and other mobile devices, customizing digital marketing plans to include Facebook videos will help to expand your consumer reach and grow your business.
Facebook is a driving force in the popularity of online video consumption, fueled by a mobile app that allows users to watch videos and interact in the community on the go. Once an online meeting place for college students, Facebook is now the largest digital community in the world. With the combination of widespread mobile connectivity and smartphones and other devices able to access the app, Facebook experiences over 8 billion video views worldwide every day.
Facebook will continue to grow and be a significant part of the lives of millions of users across the world. As user trends change and technology allow for more advanced features and functionality, digital marketers will need to adapt strategies and techniques to meet consumer demands and viewing habits.
While still used as a way to keep in touch with friends and family, Facebook is also a valuable marketing resource with unprecedented access to mass audiences of interested consumers. Facebook offers two main ways of using video marketing to reach large groups of consumers.
Facebook Business Page: Businesses pages are free to set up and run. Videos can be posted with scheduling features that offer flexibility and consistency. Facebook business pages are used to build up brand loyalty and extend your marketing reach.
Paid Facebook Ads: Affordable paid advertising opportunities on Facebook ads allow you to target consumers based on specific demographic markers such as age, location, income, and buying habits. These are pay-per-click ads, meaning you only pay when a user clicks on your video ad.
Posting Facebook marketing videos is a great way to reach unprecedented numbers of potential customers and presents a wide range of additional benefits to your overall marketing plans, including:
One of the major changes in the way video is consumed online is watching content with the volume down or off. There are even some areas of Facebook's video platform where the silent function is the default. So, why would Facebook users watch videos without the sound?
People are adapting to a new way of life where their phone is practically another appendage that becomes an integral part of everything they do. Facebook videos are watched while pumping gas, waiting in line at the grocery store, and other circumstances when it is inconvenient or impolite to have the sound on. Putting in as delicately as possible, there must be countless hours of videos being consumed while users are using bathroom facilities.
People also watch Facebook videos at times when they are supposed to be doing other things, like working, studying, paying attention in class, or when on a Zoom conference call. It is much easier to sneak a peek at the latest viral video if you can watch it with the sound off. While we are stopping short of endorsing this type of conduct, Facebook users worldwide do it every day, and marketers are taking advantage of it by producing video content for social media that is as effective without the sound as it is with it up to full volume.
Silent Facebook videos are produced in much the same way as videos with audio components, with a few exceptions to compensate for the lack of sound cues, voiceovers, and dialogue. Creative production professionals make the most of the visuals having to carry the load by producing entertaining and eye-catching videos that are visually appealing and engaging.
The following are some tips to create Facebook video content that will engage viewers and compel them to act even when viewing with the sound down or completely off.
Assume the viewer is watching your video on the small screen of a mobile phone or tablet with the sound off. Small text and subtleties in movement will be lost on those viewers watching on a smartphone without the sound. Include multiple calls to action large enough to be absorbed by a viewer from a small cell phone screen.
Because there is no sound, the visual elements of your Facebook video need to stand out and carry the day. Ensure the content speaks for itself and the visuals deliver your message without the need for audio explanations or clarification. Silent Facebook videos need to be
self-contained and self-explanatory within the visual elements of the video production.
Because so many Facebook videos are viewed on small smartphone screens, video content needs to make the best use of the space given. Visuals should be large, bold, and full of color and motion to draw viewers in and make it easy to view on a small screen without the sound. Large movements and clear actions will attract viewers and make the information more digestible for those watching the video on the go.
When dialogue and voiceovers are necessary, captions or subtitles will help silent viewers keep up. Captioning programs will automatically create captions for all dialogue and voiceover audio. This is an easy way to convert older videos into formats that will be more easily consumed by today's silent video consumers while retaining the creative and entertainment value.
Motion creates emotion, and the use of motion graphics and animated text techniques catch online video viewers' eyes and draw them into the content. Control focus and critical flashpoints with graphics that emphasize topics and instructions. Whiteboard animation is a mesmerizing way of delivering text information in a silent video format.
Animation videos are a great way to get noticed on Facebook. Creating and developing characters, themes, and settings is an entertaining way to generate interest and showcase your products and services without using sound. Animation technology has advanced to give talented animators the ability to create the most realistic and lifelike imagery that captures viewers' attention and imagination.
Time is a high commodity when it comes to video viewership, always searching for the next video to watch. With consumer attention span at an all-time low, it is essential to get viewers' attention and keep the video short of increasing the chances they will stay until the end.
Checking their Facebook timelines is the first thing millions of users worldwide do when they wake up and the last thing they do before going to bed. In between, they spend hours watching all kinds of video content throughout the day, much of it viewed with the sound down or off. The key for digital marketers is to create video marketing content that delivers your marketing messages to Facebook users in engaging ways while keeping the viewer's interest without sound.
Torrey Tayenaka
Torrey Tayenaka is the co-founder and CEO at Sparkhouse, an Orange County-based video production agency. He is often asked to contribute expertise in publications like Entrepreneur, Single Grain, and Forbes. Sparkhouse is known for transforming video marketing and advertising into real conversations. Rather than hitting the consumer over the head with blatant ads, Sparkhouse creates interesting, entertaining, and useful videos that enrich the lives of his clients' customers. In addition to Sparkhouse, Torrey has also founded the companies Eva Smart Shower, Litehouse & Forge54.
The future of technology is AI and the future of AI is mobile. The latest data shows that the market size of artificial intelligence was valued at $27.23 billion in 2019, this figure is projected to reach $266.92 billion by 2027 (Fortune Business Insights, 2020).
This guest-post is courtesy of our partners at Input Logic.
Today nobody can imagine life without smartphones. They connect us with our friends and family, and provide entertainment and access to social media. That is why mobile phones have become an integral part of everyday life.