These days, most people know that you can buy almost anything online. Groceries can be easily purchased with organizations like Instacart, popular clothing retailers heavily promote their online marketplaces, and Amazon can be used for almost everything in between! Plus, despite where consumers eventually choose to buy from, nearly 63% of all sales start online. What does this mean? Well, even if consumers are not making their final purchase on the Internet, they’re using what is online to guide their in-person purchases.

No matter if you post for clients or for yourself, one of the surface-level goals of social media has historically been to gain as many followers as possible. This makes sense, doesn’t it? The higher your follower count, the more people see your content on a regular basis, and the more people get to know you or your brand personally. Plus, we look up to people with high follower counts. Celebrities, news outlets, and other organizations all are far more likely to have follower counts in the millions. To most people, it’s an easy way to measure success. 

The placement of advertising content has changed dramatically over the last few years. Print, radio, and television used to rule the marketing world, but there are multiple new players on the field, all with their own advantages. Television especially has seen dramatic changes, most people now opting for a streaming service or smart TV instead of basic cable. While interest in traditional cable television has been slowly declining, streaming services and digital media players only continue to rise in popularity. In order to find the best strategy for your video advertising, we’ll break down the difference between two new giants: OTT and CTV.

It’s no secret that short-form video content is everywhere on social media nowadays. TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook have all been taking advantage of the affinity their audiences show for this type of content. When it comes to growing your following, these short and entertaining videos have proved to be able to grab audience attention, and hold onto it. One of the more recent additions to the short-form video game, Reels, have especially exploded in popularity since their introduction on Instagram and Facebook. As Instagram’s fastest-growing feature, let’s take a look at strategic approaches to maximize them for your audience. 

Vertical videos have been all the rage in the last few years. With the rise of TikTok and Instagram Reels, does anyone even care about the traditional, tried-and-true format? Of course they do! Despite the popularity of the vertical format, utilizing horizontal videos in your social media strategy is still a great way to attract and retain audience attention, you just need to find your niche. Let strategy guide your decision. Where are you planning to post your content? What is your goal? What kind of footage are you anticipating to get? Knowing your goal is a surefire way to guide your production process, and get the conversions you are after. With your goal in mind, let’s get into the benefits of each type of video on social media. 

In the last five years, the popularity of video-sharing platform TikTok has consumed the Internet. Originally written off as an unserious dancing app fad, now nearly one-third of the United States is active on TikTok, and it only continues to grow in power and prominence. As the general public took notice and interest in the app, so did marketers. Now, scrolling through endless videos without seeing some sort of promoted or sponsored post is nearly impossible. As advertising professionals, it’s important to take note of what works on TikTok, and what doesn’t. Trends change in the blink of an eye, and having a jumping-off point will ensure you’re able to focus on what’s working, without all the extra frills. 

When it comes to Google, you may not know any more than searching your deepest, darkest questions for the internet, and that’s okay! From display to video to shopping ad options, utilizing Google for your business can seem complex and daunting for beginners. However, there are nearly 99,000 searches on Google every second, adding up to a crazy 8.5 billion searches per day. Every single one of these searches is an opportunity for your business to be put front and center into the lap of your target audience, so let’s get into the basics of Google Ads. 

When it comes to marketing and the digital landscape, web and SEO (search engine optimization) may be the hardest for the average person to grasp. Social media and television are relatively easy to understand at a base level: creators make content, audiences are shown content, and audiences consume it if the content speaks to them, whether on a deep or superficial level. Despite the complexity, the same can be said for website marketing. Whether you’re a business owner, a marketing strategist, or just curious, let’s break it down in the most basic terms. 

Especially in the last ten years of the Internet, video content has blown up across all of social media. From dedicated video-only platforms like YouTube and TikTok, to more photo-centric ones like Instagram, video has proven to attract and maintain audience attention. As many of these platforms shift to being primarily vertical video content, you may find yourself, your business, or your social managers struggling to adapt. Best practices for video content on social media used to be relatively similar, but have since dramatically changed from platform to platform. If you’re feeling lost, let AdVentures Media Solutions show you the way to optimize your content!

By now you have likely heard of Instagram Reels, if not used them yourself. When Instagram launched their new video format in August of 2020, their answer to TikTok’s massive rise in popularity, users were able to upload up to fifteen seconds of primarily vertical videos that they could edit, add music to, and share in-app. While much has changed since then, there’s no doubt that short-form video content has become increasingly popular on social media and the Internet as a whole in recent years, starting with the now defunct Vine app. And now, vertical video content is only becoming more prevalent. 

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In the modern age of media, video content has proven time and time again to catch the attention of consumers. Visual content stimulates consumers and piques our inherent curiosity, plus it has a much higher likelihood of getting shared than all-text content, nearly 40 times more! Videos allow your audience to consume more entertaining, laid-back content rather than having to comb through all your social posts or dig through walls of text on your website. Nearly all of us are guilty of mindlessly scrolling through TikTok or watching a YouTube video instead of reading up about a topic, so tap into that market! With effective production and promotion, uploading videos can increase conversion rates, brand association, and audience engagement for your business. What’s not to love? Knowing and understanding the difference between short form videos vs. long form videos is key.

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When it comes to national and international brands, many are instantly recognizable. Nike is known for their telltale ‘swoosh’, as well as high-energy and inspirational videography. Pepsi proudly displays their red, white, and blue theme on a clean background with curved lines. These minor stylistic details matter, and allow consumers to notice them across different platforms. Brand colors, logos, fonts, and attitudes are not as they are without reason, they serve a crucial purpose in being distinguished from the sea of competition. However, the same goes for local brands. Although local brands often do not have the same resources as multi-million dollar companies, many of the same tactics they use can be implemented effectively to brand your business with social media platforms. 

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Ever since Snapchat Stories hit the scene in October of 2013, short-form, temporary content has taken social media by storm. Nearly every social platform now has their own version of Stories, or has at least experimented with the idea. Despite having the same premise and function, they find their own unique place on their respective platforms. Especially on Instagram they seem to be a stark difference from the norm of highly-edited and highly-aestheticized photos and videos. As a business owner or social manager, you may find yourself asking how they got so popular, and if you should be integrating them in your social strategy. Get the scoop on Stories below from AdVentures Media Solutions!

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Especially on Instagram, hashtagging and mentioning is a great way to connect people with brands, products, accounts, and communities. Creating a physical link on your social accounts will help create a link in the minds of your consumers, and keep you on their mind longer. Especially on Instagram, using tags, mentions, and hashtags is a great way to boost engagement and spread your content. However no social platform is the same, and these tools may leave professionals confused on how to use them effectively, or how to use them at all. Using mentions and hashtags in your social strategy is a must.

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Just like us, the social media accounts for your business can hit a rough patch. Especially on Facebook, your performance and engagement can go from great to not so great. It’s not always easy to pick up on either. There’s a chance that performance drops in a period of a day or two, but more often than not, a slow downward trend will take weeks to notice. You may be quick to blame the algorithm or your audience, but we have just as much to do with posting as the platform itself. If your Facebook is seeing fatigue, it’s likely that your social media managers are as well. Sit down, form a plan, and beat posting fatigue as soon as possible!

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