What Works Versus What Doesn’t on Social Media
Time for a reality check!
Far too often, we’re all sucked into those types of videos that tell us that this *ONE* hack will change the game for our social media & help us grow over 500,000 followers overnight… Time for a reality check! Keep reading to find out what works versus what doesn’t work.
THINGS THAT DON’T WORK
PSA — when we say these things don’t work, we don’t mean they don’t HELP. There is a difference. These things can help push out your video & help optimise it so the people that are seeing it, are seeing top-quality content. They are…
Keywords
Length of your video
Hashtags
Length of caption
Alt text
Posting time
Engagement strategies
We still do ALL of these things, but they are merely a best practice and definitely not something that will influence the performance of the post significantly.
THINGS THAT ACTUALLY WORK
These are things we deem to determine the vitality of your post.
The Contents of the Content
The Value
How You Talk
The Editing
The Quality
This is what actually determines the overall performance of the post, and we’re going through each one of them in this blog.
THE CONTENTs OF THE CONTENT
Think of it like this — your product has to be a GOOD & NEEDED product in order to sell. The same way that the contents of your posts have to be GOOD. So what does “good” mean? A good product or a good piece of content, is something that your audience needs and something that fills in the gap in the market. The most important thing ask yourself before creating a piece of content, is this: “how can I add to this to bring more value to my industry & audience?” - the key words being “more value”, meaning, adding to the conversation that’s already happening. That way, you avoid being another voice, repeating the same things that are already being said by other creators in your industry. This is all about standing out, thinking outside of the box & being unique.
THE VALUE
If you’re doing the step listed above, you’re most likely giving value. Your audience are here to get something out of your content, whether it’s being educated or entertained, they are here to get something from your piece of content. The problem is, that you’re not making it clear to your audience that this will being them value. Your posts sound generic, because even though you might be adding to the conversation in your industry, you’re not letting them know that “hey, this is new & life-changing information!” And you do that with the hook. Here’s how you do it; if your post is in video format, this would be within the first 3-5 seconds of your video and if your post is in graphics format, this would be in the title (the first thing they see).
HOW YOU TALK
As you probably know, Video is Queen, so it’s important to learn how to package & deliver information through video. Here are some tips to keep note of when filming talking-style videos;
Get to the point: write down the points you want to make in this post & make them - keep the small talk at a minimum.
Don’t talk too fast & don’t talk too slow: we see both too often, find your perfect middle.
If you have a naturally quiet voice, get yourself some wired earphones & talk in them - Miriam does it all the time, which you can see here!
You don’t have to change your personality: some are louder & more extroverted when talking & some are not and that’s okay! We can all co-exist as good speakers and one is not better than the other.
Use hand gestures & props to help you convey your point, plus the bonus is that it makes you feel more comfortable (another reason why Miriam holds her earphones… shh don’t tell)
THE EDITING
Again, because Video is Queen, learning how to effectively edit your videos is another very important skillset when it comes to social media, as it is another way to deliver information to your audience. Here are some tips…
Short & snappy is key: don’t fixate on one thing for too long - remember, people’s attention spans are short.
Text on Screen: using text increases the engagement of the video, as it helps watchers identify what exactly to focus on & allows you to enhance pieces of information that you want them to focus on.
Speech to Text: another fun tool to increase engagement & to grasp watcher’s attention, because now they have this robotic-like voice telling them exactly what to focus on.
Edit to the Music: if you’re using a song to your video, try to edit it on the beat (wherever relevant)!
Keep It Simple: no need for fancy filters and all - keep it simple & UGC style (user-generated-style), this generates more trust between you and the watcher.
the QUALITY
We were hesitant about adding this one in, because there are a lot of low quality videos that perform well across both TikTok & IG; however, those are generally ‘funny’-type content that are appealing to everyone & anyone (i.e. the recipe for virality). If you’re a niche, which most likely you are since you’re a business, it’s important to prioritise QUALITY. This is optimising the content so when your watchers consume it, it’s EASY for them to consume. Again, you’re helping them focus on what you want them to focus on - which is your content! Here are some tips for enhancing video-quality…
iPhone Camera: this is the best quality for UGC style videos - film in your camera & then edit & upload accordingly.
Natural Light: you’ve heard this one before, we’re sure, but it’s true — when the sun comes out, make sure to film during that time!
White Backgrounds: enhances the natural light
Cars: reflects light off of you & really helps with quality! If you don’t have a space to film in your home/ office, get in a car & film!
NEED SOME MORE HELP?
Need help implementing these? We’re booking clients for February 2023, enquire here.
