How to Incorporate Social Video and Audio in Your Marketing Mix

"Videos attract 300% more traffic and help to nurture leads."Now that you know the why behind social video and audio, it’s time to get into the how.

Social video and audio should be used as an extension of your current marketing mix, offering more ways to engage your audience. Your strategy for social video and audio should align with your overall business strategy, marketing goals, and objectives.

“Social video generates 1200% more shares than text and image content combined.” – G2 Crowd

In any digital space, your content must be both compelling and human. Consider sharing these content types:

  • Storytelling
  • Testimonials
  • Explainers
  • How-tos and demos
  • Behind the scenes
  • News and product announcements
  • About (information about your business)
  • Interviews (team members, subject matter experts, etc.)
  • Cross-promotional content (shorter teasers that link to longer-form content on other platforms)
  • Discussions
  • Education/courses
  • And so much more

DIY or Leave it to the Experts? Producing Your Video and Audio Content

First impressions are important. If you’re looking to make a standout first impression, you want your brand to be at its best.

In the B2B context, first impressions typically happen on your website. Video or audio production here requires skill and comes with a considerable price tag. Even if it looks simple – it’s not.

In this case, hiring a professional can be more cost-effective than having an employee who is somewhat skilled but would require more time for production and whose time is better spent focusing on other work.

A DIY approach still has its place in the business context – it’s great for many applications of social media quality video or audio, like behind-the-scenes clips and more. When deciding how you’ll produce video and audio, think about your budget, brand, the value of authenticity, and your timeline.

Thankfully, there are a growing number of easy-to-use in-app tools for DIYers offered by platforms like Canva and Facebook to help bring your content to life.

Where Should Social Audio and Video Content be Shared?

Creating a content hub is the best way to store and share all the audio and video content you develop for social media.

Content can be shared to your website and other content repository platforms like YouTube. Wherever you share or store your content, implement best practices when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO) and lead generation to get the best “bang” for your content “buck.”

When developing live or real-time content, often it can be recorded, archived, or downloaded from wherever it is being hosted so that it can be shared elsewhere. For example, if you’re recording a real-time session on Facebook Live,

Measuring Success

And lastly – how can you tell whether your social audio and video efforts are working?

Measurement should always tie back to your business and marketing objectives.

Stay away from “vanity metrics” – it’s not about the size of your audience, but the quality of your followers and how likely they are to respond to your calls to action.

Some important metrics to consider as part of your social video and audio strategy include:

  • Leads, purchase intent, inquiries (typically the most important)
  • Video views/shares/engagement/follows
  • Audio listens/downloads/shares/follows
  • Event attendees (i.e., webinars, Clubhouse and other real-time broadcasts)
  • Ranking on podcasts (i.e., iTunes, Spotify, etc.)

The world of social media is always evolving, and so are the channels we use to connect and build community. This guide will help you determine what channels are best for your business and how you can use them to your advantage.

Remember to download your social media cheat sheet to get the most out of your social media footprint!

Line drawn peony from Spodek & Co Digital marketing site