Lights, camera, action! Videos from the beverage industry on social media
When planning a marketing mix, no one can afford to skip the video portion these days. The popularity of videos stems in large part from the ever-growing use of mobile devices. Even online user behavior is changing as people log on more frequently, but for shorter amounts of time. Continuous consumption requires concise and easily digestible content. Videos on social media can deliver precisely that and therefore offer huge potential benefit to the beverage industry.
“Video First”: Users prefer videos these days. According to a study conducted by HubSpot, demand, primarily on social networks, is growing and shows no sign of slowing down. Media consumption has drastically morphed in recent years. Many users are going online more frequently for shorter periods of time and focusing more than ever on social media sites. It seems that the greater the sensory overload, the shorter their attention span. Videos are popular if they are entertaining, quick and easy to digest. They’re like little morsels to snack on now and then. Another plus point: their dual audiovisual aspect. This enables companies and brands to convey their intended emotions and create emotional connections with their customers. People also tend to find it easier to remember videos than text or images. The format makes it easier to understand and convey complex themes. It’s extremely important for companies to get their essential information across quickly. Users, on the other hand, want to be entertained with a story and impressive images that they will remember from the second they start watching. Choosing the right soundtrack is a crucial step, but it is also advisable to produce the content in such a way that it can still work without sound, for example with subtitles, as users can’t or don’t always want to have the sound on.
Social media users really love their videos
Social media sites, such as Instagram and Facebook, are now heavily geared toward videos and are making it increasingly easy to publish them on their platforms. In 2016, Instagram launched its hugely popular Stories feature. Stories are often, especially among younger generations, the first thing that users look at in the morning and the last thing they pull up at night. In November 2017, a staggering approx. 300 million daily active users were recorded worldwide. When they’re not creating their own content, they’re accessing content uploaded by their friends, influencers and even companies. Stories is an effective format for brands and corporate content. By creating Instagram Stories, the beverage industry has many options at its fingertips. And Instagram fortunately hasn’t tired of coming up with new features that are well-suited to marketing activities. In fact, it’s actually actively pushing them.
Videos are also an attractive option for B2B activities
Other social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and the like, are also focusing on the incorporation of videos. And even search engines are promoting videos. Content containing a video has a better chance of improving its ranking. The range of potential uses for the beverage industry is enormous: Company websites, social media sites, trade fairs and presentations can be used to play trailers, live videos, product videos and even explainer videos. One example of a company excelling at this practice is Coca-Cola. As part of its content marketing strategy, the company focuses heavily on multimedia content and social platforms in order to further stimulate its own brand. And videos are an equally attractive option for B2B activities as for B2C activities. Business content must never be dry though. Even companies and business customers appreciate entertainment and variety. In general, the use of videos is of huge potential benefit to the beverage industry. Incidentally, videos are now easier and more affordable to produce than ever, which means that they can be deployed even with the smallest of marketing budgets.