Native video on Twitter is barely a year old, but it's received a lot of attention - and given recent statistics published for U.S. users, that attention is no surprise:
- 82% of Twitter users watch video content on Twitter
- 90% of Twitter video views are on mobile
- Twitter users are 1.9x more likely to have uploaded a video online than the average US internet user
- Native video on Twitter drives more engagement than 3rd party players by the following rates:
- 2.5x more replies
- 2.8x more retweets
- 1.9x favorites
Source: Twitter Blog
However, your brand might be struggling to produce results that align with these statistics, so what are you doing wrong? Here are some things to avoid:
Not Promoting
Twitter's "Home Timeline" (which is what they call their news feed) is ordered chronologically, and there's currently no algorithm that will boost your video, a-la Facebook. In order to have more eyes see your tweeted video, try placing ad spend behind it. This will make it appear as a promoted tweet, which will surely produce more views and engagements.
Not Optimizing for Mobile
You may have noticed above that 90% of videos on Twitter are viewed on mobile devices. That statistic is huge and definitely something to consider when producing your video. Think about how people view content as they scroll through Twitter and what else may be competing with your video in the feed. Also consider that users on mobile will likely consume video in smaller sessions compared to those on computers.
Forgetting That Videos are Initially Muted
This is something brands easily forget for Facebook video, and it's no different for Twitter. If your video content is heavily reliant on a voice-over, people won't watch.
Think of other ways to get your point across. Consider adding captions, using eye-grabbing animated typography or finding a way to tell a story visually without sound.
Making it Too Long
If you upload and promote a video through Twitter Ads, the 30-second maximum length no longer applies. This may be great if your video runs long, but as they say, "attention is a currency."
Think about how a video starts playing on Twitter - it autoplays. Use those first few seconds to stand out from the noise, and then wrap it up as quickly as you can.
Not Telling Fans What To Do
Every brand has different goals for video. You may be looking for video views, engagements, leads, etc. You may garner attention with a visually compelling clip, but what's the point if you don't reach your KPIs?
If your video's goal is to tell people to check out a webpage, then tell them. Don't forget, you also have written tweet copy that appears with the video.
Being Boring
If your video's entertaining, then people viewing will forget they're watching an ad. Try to establish an emotional connection or response, or teach your fans something they didn't know. As Twitter's research shows, sounding human, telling a story, and "entertaining to engage" are all proven ways to drive success.
Not Scheduling Video
You're busy, we get it, and waiting for a video to fully upload and process is definitely time consuming. But now Buffer lets you schedule video for Twitter. Problem solved.
Following and Not Leading
Social media evolves and changes at a rapid pace, so you'll want to keep ahead of the curve. The Wall Street Journal recently reported on the possibility of pre-roll video ads coming to Twitter, so start thinking ahead.
This article was originally published on Likeable Media's blog.