Best Practices to Optimize Videos for Social Media Channels

1. Best Practices to Optimize Videos for Social Media Channels Videos are good marketing tools to increase your online visibility and drive consumers to your website. A medical SEO service can optimize your videos. With digital evolution of consumer services, patients now look online for new hospitals or physicians or treatment, and majority of them do not look past the first three pages. Therefore medical SEO or optimizing medical websites for search engines is an important criterion for physicians, medical practices, hospitals and other healthcare entities. It is a process of increasing a medical website’s search engine ranking so that it becomes visible online and potential patients can find them easily. Marketing techniques have advanced and the modern approach to marketing is using videos. Videos can better deliver information to the target audience and has better reach when compared to other media. Using videos in ad campaigns can increase the reach when compared to other conventional marketing tools. Videos are used on social media also for marketing purposes, as you can provide a lot of information in just a few minutes. You can use videos to connect with and understand your audience. Each social media has different video content strategies and it is important to ensure that your content is delivered well and your healthcare brand is shown in the best possible way on all social media platforms. So here are some tips to optimize your video for social media, according to a martechseries.com article.

2. •Vertical video: Vertical videos work better on social media platforms. This is because most of the users use mobiles and smartphones to access social media channels. In 2019,51.7% of social media users accessed their favourite networks via mobile and it is expected to increase to 54.2% by 2021 and the major social platforms display solely in portrait. Square video with a ratio of 1:1 or a vertical video are the best for social media platforms because these fit the screen better on a mobile newsfeed than widescreen. These also provide 30-50 percent of greater view rate and 80-100 percent of increased engagement. •Native videos: Videos can be created and uploaded on YouTube or Vimeo channels. But social media algorithms prefer upload of Video directly to the platform. It is best to upload the video once and share so that it embeds in a post. Facebook’s algorithm is the most advanced. It favors native videos. If you’re looking for your video to be played in autoplay through organic or sponsored impressions then you have to upload it directly. Linked video won’t play in autoplay. Similar is the case with Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Snapchat. •Use subtitles: Almost 85 percent of videos played on social feeds are without sound and this suggests two things -- one, think visually rather than verbosely and secondly include subtitles for voice over or dialogue content. This concept is similar to old school silent movies. Silent movies told a story through visual action expressing necessary plot points that couldn’t be shown visually through simple dialogue. Video content for social media marketing should attract the audience with striking visual images. •Grab user attention in 3 seconds: Grabbing the attention of users is always difficult, especially with smartphones. Earlier, TV ads had five minutes and radios had one minute to grab the attention of the user. But today with the Internet and small screens the attention span is just 3 seconds. Facebook found that 47 percent of the value of any social media marketing campaign comes from the first three seconds and these three seconds are crucial because most of your users access your website through mobile. Since the time is too short, it is better to use native video so that it will autoplay, and as the users scroll through their feed, three seconds are likely to be all they see. Optimize your video with tight edit and avoid things like slow fades, a three second text card, too much chat, and lingering on your logo. •You have only 60 seconds to engage: Every social media platform has its own maximum duration for native clips. The maximum length of a video on each platform is: ✓Facebook – up to two hours (but the optimum duration is two minutes or less) ✓Instagram – 60 seconds ✓Snapchat – 10 seconds

3. ✓Twitter – 140 seconds Capturing the attention of your user in just 60 seconds is difficult. Here are some tips to convey a complete story in just 60 seconds: APP: APP which means Agree, Promise, Preview i.e. you agree with the statement that the users are likely to agree with, promise that you have the answers, and finally preview the content of what they have read about. Begin your video with a short statement that represents the APP style. 3 Act structure: This includes 3 Act form of storytelling: ➢Act one where a problem of the world is established along with the protagonist’s objective. ➢Act two is where the objectives of the protagonist are achieved and then he/she realizes that it didn’t solve the Problem of the World which makes the protagonist very depressed. ➢Act Three is where the Problem of the World is solved. Narrate the story with the help of visuals. Reach out to the influencers: Understand your target audience and make videos according to your audience and social media platform. Check out some of the YouTube and Instagram influencers in your field. Some influencers focus on lighting, sound, and camera work to make it look more professional whereas others use hard cuts, sound and vision from a smartphone which is less scripted. But what matters is the number of videos. Observe the influencers of your field, if influencers in your area are making professional videos then stick to professional videos and if the videos are rough then the best way to optimize your video is making the videos rough. •Choose your thumbnail wisely: Once your video is ready, optimize your thumbnail. Make sure that it infers a Call to Action. Include text, and consider creating a specific image rather than using a single frame from your clip. Thumbnail accompanied by the title of the content is also a good idea because title is an essential driver to engagement. Key video tips •Choose your background: Choose your background carefully. A busy office environment might add energy, but it can be distracting. So consider a single-colored backdrop. Avoid white. A warm colour or a green screen is the best choice.

4. •Sound issues: If you’re recording in a busy environment such as an office, a station, or the street, use a clip mic or a good directional microphone to ensure clarity of sound. Bad sound ruins the entire video. •Use studio lights: Light is important for a video and bad lighting creates poor picture quality. So invest in some adaptable studio lighting for better visual quality. •Use a tripod: You can shoot your videos on a smartphone, which is sufficient for internet broadcast. However, using a tripod is a simple way to raise production value. •Avoid digital zoom: If you’re shooting on a smartphone, never use digital zoom as it can corrupt the quality of the image. Standard framing is the best. •Have a script: A script will stop your presenter from rambling. For 60-second videos, any voiceover or speech needs sharp focus. Ensure the script is tight and precise. To add more excitement to videos, you can take advantage of live streaming on social media. Facebook Live, YouTube Live, and Instagram TV are great tools for live streaming an event or interview. The above-mentioned tips would help healthcare businesses optimize video content for social media. Optimizing video for each social platform ensures that it has the best possible chances of being seen and shared by the target audience. Videos can be viewed by a vast number of online users and they help attract more people to the website. Creating a great video is an effective marketing strategy that increases your online visibility and drives potential consumers to your website. An experienced medical SEO company can help optimize your video content and prove to be an excellent business partner. (800) 941-5527