Over the past 18 months I have been trying to wrap my head around bridging the gap between the unrealistic expectations that managers have for video and the potential realistic outcomes.
Most marketers cringe at the idea that they have to "make a video go viral" because it's just not that simple. There's no single trick that is going to make a brand's content spread like wildfire. There's planning, filming, editing, distribution...and most importantly money that go into most (but not all) of the "viral" plays you may see posted by a brand in the digital world.
While many brands are trying to make their content "go viral," they can end up ignoring what their audience is craving. Brands should focus more on what's right for them and the sexy numbers like 1 million will soon follow.
How do I know? Let's take Steiner Sports as an example. With Facebook being a platform that is increasingly more video-centric, here's a look at performance for 2017:
See that? Over 1.8 million organic Facebook video views on Steiner Sports' Facebook page in 2017 alone. Where an emphasis was put on link and video posts in previous years, video is now the #1 post type in terms of average reach and 10 of the 15 highest-performing posts on the page in this calendar year are videos. Of the 73 live and recorded videos posted by the page during this calendar year, only one has a view count higher than 100,000. The average isn't even 25,000.
The types of videos posted are live product feature flash sales, interviews with athletes, Q&A sessions, funny clips from previous events and more. Each video, regardless of type, is focused on Steiner Sports' core principle of bringing sports fans closers to the games and athletes they love.
Along with the quality of content (from a technical angle), this boils down to one message: consistency is key. Take away the highest performing video Steiner Sports has had this year and there's still nearly 1.6 million views; 1.6 million opportunities to reach a fan and for a fan to engage with the brand. 1 view is better than no views.
As Gary Vaynerchuk noted in a recent blog post:
The concept around one is better than zero is simply a call to action to do. It’s understanding that one view is better than zero and that humility and patience is the foundation for success.
If they have not already, marketers should embrace the tools that are available to make an impact for your company with video. It can be done in a matter of seconds.
Here's one of my favorite videos:
