How to Choose The Best Social Media Channel for Your Video

It seems that almost every other week there is a new social media platform being launched. The obvious thing to do might be to open an account for each one. More platforms equals more reach, right?

Unfortunately, this is not the case. Think about your own social media use, for example. You’re unlikely to be on more than a handful of different platforms. But you will have your favourites nonetheless, where you and others like you will follow certain brands and enjoy consuming particular types of content.

As a business owner, there is no need to post on every single channel. Instead, try a more targeted approach. Here are a few questions to determine the best social channel for your video content, and why they are important questions to ask.

What is your company, brand or product persona?

Effective video marketing begins with understanding who you are and what you stand for. Without this information, it will be difficult to form a coherent story or develop consistent marketing across different channels.

When you try to stand for everything, you end up standing for nothing, as they say. Develop a solid video marketing strategy so that you don’t spread yourself too thin across too many channels.

Pick a few social media platforms to tell your story and tell it well. To spread your message across 10 or 20 platforms would be a waste of time, energy and money, because your customers won’t be using all of them.

By developing a product persona, you are in effect humanising your product.

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What does it stand for?

What are its values and how might it interact with your dream client?

Defining these attributes enables your video marketing to be more targeted, allowing your product to really speak to the people it is attempting to attract.

What is the demographic of your target audience?

Once you have determined your brand and product persona, you can then go about determining the demographic of your audience.

You might have a good idea about your target demographic already, particularly if your company is also a bricks-and-mortar business or sells a product targeted toward a single demographic.

Nevertheless, seek clarity on the type of people you want to sell to. If you’re selling golf clubs, your demographic might be men over the age of 60 with lots of disposable income. If video games are your speciality, video marketing might resonate most with the younger millennial crowd. Each, of course, will hang out in different places online.

From the broader demographic, you can create a much more detailed ideal customer. Specifically, you need to determine their pain points. What are they most frustrated about and what content might they consume in order to alleviate this pain?

Which social media is the best for which demographic group?

Fortunately, data on where certain types of people hang out is relatively easy to find. A quick Google search will reveal accurate and up-to date stats in what is a rapidly changing industry. Use it to your advantage.

Facebook, for example, has over 2 billion monthly active users, so most companies will find an audience there. Having said that, over 65s and teenagers are under-represented there, with the younger crowd finding more value in Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok.

Indeed, Instagram is much more slanted toward younger users, with 35% of Australian teens rating it their favourite social media network. It has a greater proportion of female users and, compared to Facebook, has a greater proportion of low to middle-income earners.

YouTube is of course where you want to be as a video marketer. Most businesses and brands can find an audience there. Almost 75% of adults use YouTube in Australia, with many logging in several times a day. Approximately 87% of those aged 18-49 use the platform, with most living in cities and urban areas. As a result, YouTube is used by many higher-income earners.

LinkedIn does not enjoy the same viewership as some of bigger social media channels, but it is more targeted as a result.

LinkedIn is for professionals or aspiring professionals who are likely to be educated, middle-aged and city-dwellers. Video capability is not as advanced as some other platforms, but the landscape is quickly changing in its favour.

Which video types are for which social media channels?

Each social media channel has different formatting requirements for video content.

YouTube offers the most flexibility with video quality and aspect ratio. It’s also owned by Google, so your content is more likely to appear in organic search engine results.

Facebook and Instagram mute videos by default, so captions are a very good idea. Their respective story functions are great for brands who only need a few seconds to get their message across or who have highly visual product offerings.

The best video type for your chosen social media channel will also depend on your target audience. Young to middle aged users who prefer using mobile phones will prefer square videos and those who regularly use a desktop will be accustomed to horizontal videos – regardless of the platform in question.

Conclusion

The best social media channels for your video marketing content will largely be determined by how well you know your brand, product and target audience.

From this information, you can build a detailed picture of the needs, motivations and desires of a single individual that you hope to serve. In other words, your ideal customer.

Once you have this critical (but often overlooked) information, you will have a good idea of where this person likes to hang out and what sort of content they like to consume.

By focusing your efforts on a handful of different platforms, you marketing efforts are more targeted, more efficient and thus better for your bottom line.