Instagram is here to stay, and it’s more than 1 billion monthly active users only confirm this.
Every day 40 million photos are published on the platform and every second more than 8,500 likes and more than 1,000 comments are generated.
With figures like this, you simply can not forget about Instagram when developing your social media strategy because if you do it right you can turn the platform into the best showcase for your business .
But for this it is essential that you understand something:
If you are one of those who thinks that Instagram only serves to publish images and use the famous filters, you are VERY wrong .
There is life beyond images, and there is also money, sales and much, much success .
Instagram knows this and that is why it has opened the door to one of the formats that are causing the most furor in the world of online business: video marketing .
That’s right, uploading videos to Instagram is essential and you should include videos on Instagram within your content marketing strategy from NOW .
Do you want to know why videos on Instagram are so important to be successful in your content strategy and how you can get the most out of them so that your audience falls in love with your brand and you can win more clients for your business? Let’s see it!
Because uploading videos to Instagram is like eating pizza: once you start, you just can’t stop.
Why should you go beyond photos and start uploading videos to Instagram?
Instagram is a very visual social network where its star content has always been imaged. In fact, it was created for that purpose and its logo with its characteristic camera reflects this.
But times change, marketing evolves and companies have two options: renew or die. And Instagram has opted for the former .
It already did so in 2013 when it launched the functionality that allowed uploading videos to Instagram with a maximum of 15 seconds, and it has done it again this 2016 by increasing the duration of the videos to 60 seconds and launching what many know as the Snapchat imitation. , that is Instagram Stories.
The truth is that the users of the platform have loved these two features, and brands are looking for ways to get the most out of it.
And all this only confirms that the present and the future of social networks is to include video marketing in your strategy for social networks.
So if you are wondering …
Is it really necessary to do Instagram video marketing? The answer is absolutely YES.
Because videos like, attract and sell. And because they are attractive and easy to consume. And because they increase the emotional bond with your followers. And because they reproduce automatically which in turn increases the visualizations. And because thanks to them you can become a benchmark in your sector if you do it well. And a lot more.
78% of users consume online videos every week and 55% do it every day.
And not only that but the publications on Instagram generate much more participation than in other networks. Specifically, according to Forrester Research, Inc .:
The posts on Instagram generate an engagement percentage per follower of 4.21%. That’s 58 times more engagement per follower than Facebook and 120 times more engagement per follower than Twitter.
So if, in addition to using the platform to upload images and interact with your audience, you also take advantage of the power of making Instagram videos, your results will be much better than the ones you get today. There are many tools available for creating Instagram videos like FlexClip, Animoto, etc.
That is why we are going to share some tips that will help you get the most out of your video strategy on Instagram.
- Define your goals
Before you start posting videos, ask yourself the following question:
What do you want to achieve when uploading videos to Instagram?
When you have the answer, then you can begin to define your video marketing strategy.
For example, maybe you want to drive more traffic to your website, reach more people, increase the number of followers, improve your brand image or get more views.
Be that as it may, being clear about where you want to go is vital to create visual pieces that guarantee results.
- Be clear about what types of videos fit your strategy
There are many ways to succeed on Instagram but for this you will undoubtedly have to choose the types of videos that really work (and even instead of limiting yourself to one of them you can combine them).
Think that thousands of videos are uploaded every day, so to stand out you will have to be very creative , and in fact the limit of 60 seconds per video will force you to be – at least, if you want to take advantage of every second of broadcast.
- Take care of the appearance of your brand
Instagram is the network of visual content par excellence, and that not only implies that you publish attractive content but that you take care of your appearance so that it corresponds to what you want to transmit. And for this the best thing is to design a style guide with all the parameters to take into account.
For example, prepare a style guide with the editorial line to follow, the aesthetics of the brand, the predominant colors, the theme and everything that helps you create a brand image.
RedBull is one of the companies that does it the best and, as you can see on their Instagram profile, their brand aesthetic is very well defined and their posts follow the same pattern (and as you can see, about a third of their posts are videos ).
- Make specific videos for Instagram
If you want to take full advantage of the power of video marketing, within your social media strategy you should consider videos on YouTube, native videos on Facebook and even through Facebook Live and videos on Twitter.
And you might be thinking, “so why not make the video just once and post it on all the networks at the same time?”. It is not bad reasoning, but it is not the best option either.
The reason is very simple: while you can post long videos on Facebook or Twitter, the 60-second limit for videos on Instagram requires you to create powerful, visually appealing content that grabs the reader from minute zero and adds value. From the beginning.
If you choose to upload videos to Instagram that are specific to the platform, you will achieve better results.
Also, think that on Instagram the videos are played automatically and without sound by default, so take advantage of it to create pieces that make sense even without sound since many users check the network while traveling on public transport or while they are in class, in the work or in another place where the sound cannot be turned on.
Nutella, for example, not only has a very neat image of its Instagram account but also publishes videos specific to the platform (and if you look closely, most of its posts are video tutorials! ).
- Make special campaigns
One of the great advantages of social networks is immediacy, so why not take advantage of a special date to launch campaigns that allow you to gain visibility and increase engagement in order to improve results?
You can take advantage of the day holidays like Christmas, Halloween, or Carnival to make a video related to this subject, or you can take advantage of big events such as a presidential election, holding the Olympics or the World Cup final soccer.
The mall Alto Palermo, in Buenos Aires, has been able to take much advantage of this option, in fact coincide with Women ‘s History Month created a social media campaign called “United Sensations” hand of the agency Young & Rubicam between Other actions included 8 exclusive clips for Instagram with the hashtag #MesDeLaMujer that soon became viral, growing the brand’s followers.
Here you have one of them, and their Instagram page has the rest of the videos complete and with voice (they are very creative!).
- Take advantage of #hashtags
Using hashtags is what will help you get discovered by people, so look for and explore trends and try to use them in your videos as long as they are relevant.
Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags per post, so decide which ones to use and which ones you want to relate to your content topics.
Of course, do not fall into the error of over-using hashtags or else you will tire your audience. Like everything, balance is the key.
Starbucks, for example, always uses hashtags in their videos. This helps you: 1) attract new followers, and 2) connect with your audience.
upload videos to Instagram
- Use Instagram Stories to boost your strategy
Instagram Stories is another of the great novelties of the platform that will help you connect with your audience.
Basically, it consists of uploading several photos or videos that you can edit with text, doodles and drawings that will be shown as a sequence or story.
It is very similar to Snapchat stories, and its main feature is that they are displayed at the top of the app, so your followers will see your stories as soon as they enter Instagram.
Of course, the videos will disappear after 24 hours and during this time you can edit it and even see the statistics of who has viewed your story.
- Measure results and monitor your brand
By uploading videos to Instagram you can see the interaction they have had as well as the number of views or comments. Therefore, when you publish several videos, you can (and should) measure what your audience likes the most and follow that path.
At the same time, measure and analyze the results to know what to improve.
It is also very important that you manage comments, direct messages and @mentions as this will help you increase engagement, build trust and improve your brand image.
As much as we explain you about video marketing on Instagram, there are advantages that you will only be able to appreciate once you take action, so start designing your strategy and get to work. C omo wears, not expensive or complicated.
So now you know: make the leap to videos on Instagram and, above all, do not hesitate to share this article with all the people who you think may be interested in succeeding on the platform.
