Society is watching a huge amount of video content on social media each day. If you’re not using video on social media at your business then you are missing out on a huge opportunity to reach potential customers.
NB: This is an article by Little Hotelier
This form of marketing is very accessible because small businesses don’t need to hire a production company, all they need to create great social content is a mobile device with a camera. Recognising the popularity of social video content and using it effectively in your B&B marketing strategy will ensure a good return.
Social Video Has Helped Airbnb Reach 2.4 Million People On Social Media
We are frighteningly close to 2020; the year when it’s estimated global consumer traffic will constitute for over 80% of internet traffic. Social video is a powerful method of communication because it offers a short and simple way to provide information to these consumers. This is why video is continually picking up speed and has become deeply embedded in the marketing strategies of many big brands.
Consider Airbnb, who have a massive 2.4 million social reach. Jonathan Mildenhall, CMO of Airbnb, says “Real time storytelling is where the world is headed”.
Airbnb has also had great success in building their social video strategy around telling their customers’ story through short clips. You can see this clearly in their “Don’t Go There, Live There” video which has over 13 million views.
Stay Ahead Of The Competition
91% of retail brands are using two or more channels on social media, meaning customers are being presented with a lot of content they will, eventually, just ignore. By using social video you stand out from the crowd in a creative and entertaining way.
Take note that Youtube is the second most popular social network with 1.5 billion users reported in 2017, and in 2016 there were 500 million people watching Facebook video content each day!
Personalize Your Brand
The prevalence of Facebook videos have increased 360% across the newsfeed. In light of this, Facebook recently launched a live streaming platform called Facebook Live, and these ‘live’ videos are watched three times longer than regular videos. This is a great way to tell your stories in a candid and organic way.
These videos are only visible for 24 hours, so you could broadcast how amazing it is so stay at your B&B by filming your staff performing daily tasks to improve guests experience, your amazing breakfast, or happy guests enjoying your facilities.
It is important to note that 85% of all Facebook videos are viewed without sound. This is usually because viewers are in public and being respectful of the people around them. This means brands need to consider creating content that either; a) doesn’t need sound at all, or b) offers captions.
Facebook has also found that using captions on videos increases the watch time by 12%.
Tip: Keep It Short
In the new digital world our attention spans are shortening, especially online. In a recent study by Google, 53% of visitors viewing a website on a mobile device will leave the page if it takes them more than three seconds to view the fully loaded version. Hoteliers need to create interesting content that conveys the desired message quickly.
