Before you hit 'Publish Video', here's 10 Rules to Remember

Whether you’re sharing company news, announcing the launch of a new service or taking prospects behind-the-scenes, social video need not be complicated. Here’s our 10-step checklist before you hit the publish button:

1. GO FOR THE PUNCH

Our attention span has dropped from 12 seconds in the last two decades, to 8 seconds today, so make the first few seconds count by including all your essential information upfront. Facebook starts counting views from 3 seconds, so don’t go for a slow build. Does your video tell people why they should care immediately?

2. INCLUDE A CALL TO ACTION

Happy with the beginning of your video? What about the ending – is there a clear call to action that tells your viewers what you want them to do next?

3. TAG IT UP

Whether you’re uploading to Facebook or YouTube, use all the tag options available to ensure that your video has a higher chance of being viewed. Not sure what to title to use for your video? For YouTube, run a keyword search to generate a list of ideas. Simply go to the Search Suggest feature and pop in a word or phrase relating to your video. YouTube will then hand you a number of keywords related to what you typed in – after all these are the terms that people actually type into YouTube.

4. IS YOUR VIDEO LONG (OR SHORT ENOUGH)?

You don’t have long to captivate your audience, so ensure that your video is the optimal length for the platform your’re publishing to. As a general rule of thumb, the best lengths for Instagram is 30 seconds, Twitter is 45 seconds, Facebook is 2 minutes and Twitter is 2 minutes. LinkedIn suggests 15-30 seconds for B2B companies, although you’re able to publish videos of up to 5 minutes on the channel.

5. DOES YOUR VIDEO WORK WITH SOUND OFF?

85% of Facebook video is watched with the sound off. Using a silent video on social media sites allows audiences to view your video content without causing a distraction. If you need to re-think your content, consider telling a story through visuals such as animations or graphics, clearly show logos and products and don’t forget to include captions in an easy-to-read format. After all, your viewers are 39% more likely to finish videos with subtitles.

6. TIMING IS EVERYTHING

If you missed our post on the best times to post on social media, take the steps to schedule your video to go out during optimal times during the day. Mid-week mid-morning generally works best across social platforms.

7. OPTIMISE, OPTIMISE, OPTIMISE

As brands rely on video content more than ever, it’s important to use the right social media specs and video sizes. We recommend Sprout Social’s guide for every social network.

8. NATIVE OR VIDEO-HOSTING?

To auto-play or to not auto-play? Uploading your video directly to a social network allows you to target the video to your intended audience. Facebook optimises video content more than any other type of post, so you’re more likely to get views – and your video will auto-play too. With Twitter and Linkedin, videos are highly shareable and can be really engaging.

9. DON’T FORGET SUPPORTING COPY

Complement your video with text copy – make sure you make the most out of relevant hashtags and @ mention companies linked to the video. Don’t forget to include a final link to drive visits to your website or an accompanying blog post.

10. HOW’S THAT FOR YOU?

Once you’ve hit the publish button, hopefully the views will start to add up. But do you have a plan in place for measuring your video ROI? What counts more – videos views, engagement, shares or click-throughs to a website? How do these align with your business objectives? The clearer this is, the easier it is to measure the effectiveness of your video so you can tweak along the way.

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