The first part of this article focuses on how Facebook video marketing has grown in 2018. If you don’t know, it’s the most lucrative form of advertising available, and some would still argue that it’s grossly under priced.
The second part of this article will teach you how to leverage this technology appropriately to get the highest ROI without the rigorous pains of trial and error.
The ability you have to target a specific audience that you know will buy what you sell is amazing in comparison to other ad platforms. The sophistication makes traditional methods like print, television and radio look like visiting a fortune teller.
On a micro-level, Facebook video marketing may or may not be right for your business. It’s difficult to say, but with Facebook Audience Insights (a free Facebook tool to pinpoint your exact target audience) you can do a good job of predicting success without spending a dime.
All of these things account for the success of the ad platform, but with the option of adding video to your ads, you can expect a huge boost like many other marketers have in 2018 already.
Video Trumps All Other Content Bar None
We all know that the push to cater to mobile content is because of video. “On average, videos on Facebook get 135% more organic reach than photos” according to Big Fish Results.
If you read one of our articles from last month on why visual content is superior to images and written text, you’ll know exactly why your business needs to adopt Facebook video marketing right now. If you’re studying what works and what doesn’t, you’d know that video ads simply work better. That means they get more engagement, build trust, and inspire purchases more often because they offer visual proof.
In short, it’s human nature to look for things that engage more senses than just our eyes. That’s why the best ads contain video and written content, and if marketers could figure out a way to smell online ads they would. Don’t you still get perfume samples in magazines?
Facebook Ads Are More Important than Ever with Algorithm Changes
According to Mark Zuckerberg, “you’ll see less public content like posts from businesses, brands, and media” in favor of “meaningful conversations.” This, as you know, means less ability to share your business’ message without paying for it.
Will this change mark the beginning of the end of Facebook advertising? Absolutely not. Facebook still has over 2 billion daily active users. That means 2 billion people are available for you every single day to sell your product. With Facebook Audience Insights you can easily narrow down the reach of your ad to fit your perfect audience and sell them with targeted high-quality video ads.
Now is the time to ante-up when it comes to Facebook video marketing. If you are a novice at Facebook marketing read this article to find out how to win with all kinds of video, not just on Facebook.
Keep Your Customers on Facebook
I know that part of your sales funnel is to get your customers to pull their credit cards out and have them buy your products on an impulse. It seems counterintuitive, right?
In general business sense, it doesn’t make sense, but Facebook is very clear that they want to keep the traffic on Facebook as much as possible. This is why when you join more prominent groups, they want you to give summaries the of articles or videos you watch. Each link tells Facebook that you’re encouraging traffic away from the platform, which causes a derailing in your post and the group itself.
Here’s what Facebook wants you to do…
Make your normal posts more aligned with their algorithm. That means use Facebook video marketing plus a less than 1,500 word description. It’s simple, but if you already have a large following it can be tempting to just put a link in one of your free posts to make a quick buck. Do not give in to this temptation at all costs.
Comments are the Key
Unlocking the key to the Facebook’s video marketing algorithm is all about using the features of the platform. That’s means when using a video is allowed, you should use it.
It’s all the little things that make posts more visible than others and the biggest “little thing” is how many comments you’re getting per post. Likes are great but not as important as comments.
Think about it. If Facebook wants people to spend more time on Facebook, then what takes more time, writing a comment or a post?
That’s what Facebook wants, because commenting puts the social element in to your posts.
Here are some tips to get more engagement…
1. Use video to make a more of a human connection.
2. Ask questions.
3. Give useful and easily implementable tips.
4. Follow up with all questions promptly.
5. Stick to creating non-obvious posts.
Don’t Waste Your Viewers Time with Fluffy Video Ads
If you do plan on putting links outside of Facebook in your posts, then make sure you boost them or put them in an ad. Unfortunately, this is the only way to guarantee your business ads will be seen.
If you do decide to use this method, which I recommend you do, then you should do it with Facebook video marketing. It will maximize your ability to get engagement, simply because video isn’t a trend, it’s human instinct.
Despite what you might have heard, the costs are still reasonable in comparison to other ad platforms. The other advantage is if you understand who your audience is the costs can be in the pennies. The Facebook video marketing platform rewards those that market directly to their customers.
In other words, don’t waste your viewers time and only put out ads will get clicks.
Keys to Success With Facebook Video Marketing
Whether you decide to succeed with Facebook video marketing using paid ads or without, you must follow the same general guidelines to increase ROI (there will be more on this in Part 2).
These guidelines are basic video marketing principles that can be used across all platforms.
Number #1: Create Videos that Enhance the Knowledge of Your Audience
You should always think about what your audience needs to hear to take the next step. That next step could be to take action in their own business or to take out their credit card and make a purchase. The easiest way to undertsand this is through Facebook Audience Insights.
Number #2: Save Your Video Sales Pitches for Your Paid Ads
Content should stay content and ads should lead to more ads and a purchase. That means when you run a video sales ad you should lead your customers to a long form video sales letter and then a purchase. There will of course be some educational content in the sales letter and some in the ad, but all the information should enhance the pitch to inspire a purchase.
Your regular posts without a link should educate, entertain, and enlighten. That will make the readers want to know what you’re all about. It will create curiousity to check out more.
Number #3: Be Honest
The last principle you should entrench into your content marketing strategy is honesty (also, known as brand authenticity). I’m not talking about the quality of your product or service. That should be top notch.
Facebook video marketing needs you to show off your successes as well as your failures in your normal posts. Your paid ads should highlight all the good things of course, but all other posts should try to build trust with the viewer. That trust will lead to more sales than you’ll ever imagine because people buy with their hearts and not with their minds.
Odds are your product has competitors, and beating them with features is tough so the only way to get more customers is to appeal to their emotions. Their emotions are the keys to your success and video marketing makes it easy.
Number #4: Consistency
Don’t let writers or “video creator’s block” get in the way of you talking to your clients. A lack of content will make your brand inconsequencial.
Consistency is a standard that you set. If you say you’re going to make a video every day then make a video every day. The more quality content you create the easier it will be to make your clients trust you. Breaking your trend will break their trust in you, so set a schedule and stick to it.
Number #5: Customer Service
You have to make your videos about them, because if it’s just about promoting your products you’ll fail to make the connection you need. It’s all about your clients and the sooner you realize this the more engagement and interest you’ll receive.
Make an effort to read about your industry as much as you can. Subscribe to blogs, join groups, learn about your customers individually and truely understand their needs. They will give you insight into products and services they want.
You might find that you’re product is just the beginning of your company. Apple started as a computer company, but after realizing that people want more than just a computer they created the iPod and then the iPhone. By listening, they understood that people want more in their devices than the ability to do business.
Preview for Part 2: Facebook Video Monetization
Every company wants to know how to monentize their Facebook video marketing. If you understand what your customers need and give them a solution to the need, then social monetization will be easier than you think. The problem arises when people think their customers need or want something more than they really do.
There are three keys to monetizing your Facebook video marketing. We will go into depth about this in the next blog. They are solving a problem, being cool, and expanding on a product marketing strategy that is already selling. If you get two of three of these that’s great, but if you get all three of going at the same time your product will hit it’s potential and possibly go viral.
