THIS WEEK ON THE MORNING MARK:
How to Get Your Social Media Video Watched
Videos are awesome to watch, but they take time to make. If we go through all this effort, we want to make sure they’ll be watched. There’s one rule you can follow that’s more important than all others – the 3-second rule. That is making sure the first 3 seconds of your video captures the viewer’s attention. If not, they’re likely to quit watching and continue scrolling through their feed.
STEP ONE
Have a draft of a plan.
It doesn’t have to be detailed or formal, but you should have a general plan for your video and how you will execute it. Try to get in the mindset of your audience and consider what might make your brand come alive to them.
STEP TWO
Does it get one of your brand messages across?
Video is great, but it can become “noise” in your feed if it’s not used purposefully. Like anything you post on social media, it should communicate one of your main brand messages. Make your video work for you or rework it a bit if you have a clever idea but no real connection with your messages.
STEP THREE
Review your plan with the 3-second rule in mind.
After you write the plan, review it to see how to make the first 3 seconds of video captivating. If the beginning is less than stellar, the first place to look is to see if footage you planned for later in the film might be used at the start as a teaser. You can show it briefly, then go back to your regular plan.
See below for an example from Tasty Treats Desserts. This is their 8 Desserts in One Tray Video. If they went with their first draft of a plan, we would have seen this as the first screen.
They found this image from later in the footage, and used a few seconds of it to begin. You can imagine what a huge difference in results this simple change makes.
Takeaway
Now watch the final complete Tasty Treat video for inspiration. Try using the 3-second rule next time you shoot a video and watch the number of views soar. Keep adding video to your social feed regularly and watch your overall results soar.
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