The digital space is over saturated with videos. Wait. “Over-Saturated” but we are still consuming all kinds of content, isn’t it! Social media and video platforms have made sure that this endless supply of videos keep flowing through every small and large screen across the world. From informative videos to videos that absolutely make no sense, feeds are populated on the basis of individual profiling that the algorithm does, of every user on a particular platform.
When TikTok was banned in India, Instagram immediately jumped into the short-format video race and Youtube followed. Today as we know, both the platforms are fighting each other over watch time. So what’s exactly happening? Users are spending more and more time on a platform when they discover new stuff. The thumb and index finger are now probably the busiest parts of the human body because they keep scrolling or tapping. With new trends floating on social platforms every now and then, users are glued to their screens. Now THIS is an opportunity.
If you as a business, are solving problems then apart from advertising your business blindly, videos can be a great part of connecting with your consumers. Here you can actually show the problem that you are solving and how you are doing it. No, I am not talking about tutorials. What I am hinting at is, of making a persona for your business. People connect with brands through people. So if your business has a face (and it doesn’t have to be a costly endorsement with an influencer); find out what content your users love or engage with the most. And don’t worry about followers; as per the new Instagram update, having followers doesn’t matter anymore. If your content is good, it will reach more audience, and here, consistency is the key. So, keep posting even if people do not hit that Like button. If you believe your content is good and adds value to your prospective consumer / client; then do not stop.
As they say in Hindi, “apna time ayega” (my time will come) – the magic on social media happens with richness of content, consistency and value. Now you might argue why a cat video goes viral! What’s the value in it? Well, the truth is, when you watch such videos you tend to re-watch it to grab that particular moment where a specific event occured in the video. These videos are looped and it keeps running. Bamm! Watch time increases and the video is recommended to more people. It multiplies over time and eventually drops after reaching a saturation point. As Sydney Sheldon wrote once, “nothing lasts forever”; these videos also get lost in oblivion until someday another teenager finds it and again it resurfaces. So a lot can happen on the internet. The visual treat is real and it works. For the first time in human history, businesses have actually become entertainment. People even watch heavy industrial videos in awe and businesses who thought they would never connect with B2B clients on social media, are finding new avenues and leads on social media. And that’s because – the entire world is on social media!
So hell ya!! Go make some videos. In this context, I am also planning to start a “Shorts” channel on Youtube and publish the videos on Instagram & Facebook. It’s going to be fun.