04 Feb Make Video a Central Part of Your 2014 Social Media Campaigns
What a year 2013 was for social media marketing, particularly for video. Both Vine and Instagram are clearly here to stay, bringing on new and original ways that companies are using visual-oriented platforms to get word out about their brands. Video is becoming more important to marketing strategies overall, and social media channels have matched that enthusiasm and output.
Because video is coming so fast and furious, it’s a challenge to us all to rethink how we’re going to revolutionize our feeds in 2014 to get noticed. Even if you’re already using video, you can probably be using it better. Here are some suggestions of how video can inform your 2014 initiatives:
Hook onto Pop Culture
No matter what platform you’re working with, unless you have millions of loyal followers behind you, it’s going to be hard to get anything to really pop. That’s part of why last year’s Thinkmodo viral “Carrie” prank was so amazing — it was something we’d never seen before, coming from a source many people weren’t altogether familiar with.
You can increase your chances of striking gold by paying attention first to what’s happening in the world of pop culture and building a framework for your idea around what’s already grabbing attention. In that case, it was a popular horror remake that was bound to be a topic of conversation.
Shutterstock did something similar around the same time, hooking onto “The Hunger Games” fandom with a special Instagram campaign. They already knew that the franchise was huge and found a way to make that movie relevant to their video collection. If you’re after viral views, this is the smartest and savviest method to get into the conversation. Join an existing one that makes sense for your brand.
Stay Ahead of the Curve
What comes next? Once you hit it big with a viral video, you need to start thinking about how you’re going to do it again. With the “Devil Baby” prank that was the first viral campaign of the new year, Thinkmodo reached right back into their bag of tricks and struck again. Not every company is going to have the budget to go for the glory, but they can emulate the techniques that have been proven to work in this video marketing landscape. There are a variety of ways to build video into your plans. What’s clear, though, from Thinkmodo’s success is that sometimes it’s best to work closely with the proven experts if you’re looking to make a long and lasting mark.
Bonus Read: How to Budget High-Quality Vine Videos
About the Author
Danny Groner is the manager of blogger partnerships and outreach for Shutterstock.
