There’s a new pressure on social media teams to not only make more videos, but to also star in them. Some social practitioners are all about it. But it’s not for everyone.

If you can feel your leadership team about to pop “the question,” don’t worry—you can remain behind the lens while still featuring human beings on your channels. The trick? Recruiting others to step in front of the camera for you.

In this article, we’re going to dive into how you can get others involved in social video, and why it matters.

Ring lights, camera (or, phone), action.

But first: Why you should get others involved in social video

Content formats are ever-changing. In Sprout’s 2023 Content Benchmarks report, over half of marketers cite this as a challenge when planning and scheduling posts.

But while formats may shift, video is here to stay. As Sprout’s Senior Social Media Strategist Olivia Jepson tells us, “If YouTube has shown us anything over the last 10+ years, it’s that video isn’t going anywhere—no matter the format. Video is 100% worth continuing to invest your time in.”

…video isn’t going anywhere—no matter the format. Video is 100% worth continuing to invest your time in.

Olivia Jepson
Senior Social Media Strategist at Sprout Social

With more video content creation on your plate, diversifying your talent—both on screen and behind the camera—is your lifeline.

Let’s get into some of the core benefits of involving others in social videos.

Lightens the workload

It may come as no surprise that bandwidth is the number one struggle for social media teams, according to the Sprout Social Index™.

Lean on your team for content creation. You can film them yourself, outsource the whole filming process to them or do a mix of both (like we do at Sprout).

One person making 10 videos solo is hard. 10 people each making or starring in one video is much easier.

Humanizes your brand

There’s a reason why 42% of marketers hire creators for unboxing or reveal content.

Thanks to the rise of the creator economy and TikTok, having a “main character” for brand social channels is becoming a norm. This has its benefits—a familiar face humanizes your brand, and it can help appeal to younger viewers.

But besides putting added pressure on social teams, think about the gap left when the face of your brand leaves—a departure that’s even led to fan backlash.

Finally, it’s limiting. After all, your brand is composed of many unique individuals, expertise areas and stories. Involving others in your social video content—from employees to customers—brings more of these stories to life.

Videos have become easier to make

In our hybrid work world, you’re not always able to go up to someone’s desk and ask, “Want to be in a TikTok?”

Luckily, video production has become a much easier task. Which means asking others to create a video for you is more realistic.

According to Wyzowl, 41% of marketers who used video as a marketing tool for the first time in 2022 did so because creating video in-house has gotten easier.

As long as someone has a phone (and interest), they can film. Tap team members to do some remote video production at home.

Highlights different areas of expertise

You don’t need to be an expert in every area of your brand. Tap team members with different areas of expertise to answer FAQs, peek behind the scenes and educate your audience.

Auntie Anne’s brings the brand experience to life on TikTok with experimental recipes, close-ups on how the sausage (or, pretzel) gets made and more. And that takes collaboration with the pretzel-making pros.

As Bari Rosenstein, the social media manager for Auntie Anne’s and Jamba, tells us: “With the nature of our brand, having people make the pretzels is almost a need when it comes to shooting video, so we can show people’s hands making the product.”

Tapping internal experts can also get you access to new areas of your company. For example, when I managed social media at Shedd Aquarium, the animal caretakers could get much closer to certain animals than I could. So I leaned on them to send me content, like this video with over three million views.

Who to recruit for your social video program

So, you’re ready to ask more people to appear in your video content.

You may even have some content ideas in mind.

Let’s get into who you can feature in your social media videos, plus a few content ideas to get you started.

Your colleagues

Tapping colleagues both on and outside of your team is an easy way to feature internal experts.

This is especially helpful if your company has multiple locations and experiences to highlight. Think: a gym franchise with hundreds of locations, classes, trainers and members to feature, like Orangetheory Fitness.

As Orangetheory’s Associate Director of Social Media Anthony Yepez tells us, “We really like to feature stories that are relatable, and can truly connect with others in our community and outside of it.”

At Shedd Aquarium, I was not an animal health or care expert. But Shedd’s vets and caretakers are. So I leaned on them to host educational Facebook Lives.

Ideas to tap your teams for:

• Behind-the-scenes videos and tours
• How-tos and educational content
• Providing answers to common FAQs
• Employee spotlights

Your company leadership

Your executives are a powerful source for thought leadership. Plus, they can humanize your brand—70% of consumers feel more connected to brands whose CEOs are active on social.

Tap them to create videos for your brand channels, or their own. Or, reuse existing video from relevant speaking engagements and events.

It’s a win-win for you and your leaders: High value content for your channels, and a stronger personal brand for your executives.

The best part? Filming video content tends to be an easier ask for busy leaders.

Ideas to tap your leadership for:

• Thought leadership
• Career development tips
• Q&As
• Business updates
• Quarterly earnings recaps

Customers and brand advocates

People trust real people on social. According to the Sprout Social Index™, 39% of consumers say they like to see customer testimonials or demos posted by brands they follow.

Take Chewy, for example. Much of their content is creator-driven or user-generated, and features customers (pets and humans) with their products—or packaging.

Work with your marketing and sales teams to find happy customers and user-generated content. Just always ask for permission before reposting.

Ideas to tap your customers and brand advocates for:

• Unboxing content
• Reviews
• Demos or how-tos
• Unique ways of using your products (see: the Chewy box a customer turned into a game)
• Shopping hauls
• Visits to your storefront or location

Wildcard: a dedicated “social media personality”

You might not jump for joy about being the “face” of your brand’s social channels. But you can hire someone who would.

A “social media personality” job posting isn’t far-fetched. In fact, it’s already happening. Take Nerf’s official Chief TikTok Officer, for example.

Depending on how important having one creator is to your team, consider hiring someone specifically for this job.

How to set you and your talent roster up for success

You have the “why.” You have the “who.” Now let’s talk about how you can make this collaboration come to life.

You and your social team are probably comfortable creating video content. But your newly-recruited talent may not have that same level of comfort…or skill.

Here are six ways to set your talent, and your team, up for success.

1. Create video briefs

When you involve multiple people in video creation, maintaining a cohesive look, feel and quality is crucial. Especially when you’re handing the camera to a newbie.

This is where a creative brief comes in. Use this document to outline the following details of your video:

• Goals: What and who is this video for? What do you want to achieve with this piece of content? Is this part of a larger campaign? A trend? Educational?
• Content structure: How long should this video be? Should it be horizontal or vertical?
• Key talking points: What key messages should the talent cover?
• Deadlines: When do you need this content wrapped?
• References: What examples can you include to express how you want to bring your creative vision to life?

If you’re not doing a Q&A video, a script outline is helpful. Guiding your talent by telling them to include an introduction, hook, key takeaways and an outro is more helpful than simply saying, “Write a script.”

2. Educate your talent

A little extra work upfront goes a long way—create a resource with tips, tools or a training session for your talent. This way, you have one document, presentation or recording to share as you expand your talent pool.

As Olivia describes it, “We built out a deck to provide tips for how to hold your phone, how to set up your space and more. We also share sample prompting questions to get people in the filming zone, like asking them their name, pronouns and role. Then we’ll get into the topic.”

This is helpful for teams filming at home, like our content team does…

…or for Q&A-style videos, like this one featuring Emily, our Market Strategy Lead.

When it comes to actually capturing footage, more is more. As Olivia says, “We always share more questions than what we’ll use in the end video.”

Provide guidance to your team around these topics:

• How to film: Should your talent create selfie videos with a front-facing camera? Would you prefer they continuously film all of their takes or record several shorter segments?
• Audio: If your talent is creating a voice-over, what should be on screen? What background noise should they be wary of?
• Length: Your talent can over-film, but providing an ideal time limit will help them plan their video
• Logistics: How should they prop up their camera? If they prefer to hold it, how can they limit shakiness?
• Video settings: Setting an iPhone to its highest settings (4K or 1080p), and a newer iphone should be set at 30 fps and nothing higher
• Lighting: We’ve all seen videos ruined by bad lighting. Tell your talent how to light themselves. For example: face a window but avoid direct sunlight, avoid overhead interior lighting and avoid standing in front of a window so you’re not backlit.
• Framing: For example, centering yourself, leaving some headroom and framing yourself from the chest up are great guidelines to start with
• Set up a practice run: This is more applicable to live videos. It’s always helpful to have a practice session to identify any tech issues, answer questions and feel ready on the day-of.

3. Create an outreach process

Creating an outreach process is instrumental in sourcing talent, and clearly communicating with them.

Here are two steps to consider:

1: Outreach to gauge interest

This is how you’ll see who in your company is interested in getting involved with social videos.

Start testing the waters with your team—chime them in Slack, send out a survey or ask in a meeting. Then, expand this to other teams across your organization.

Pro tip: Inform team leaders ahead of time just so they know the ask is coming. They might also be able to provide you names of their team content aficionados.

2: A communication strategy to gather content

When it’s time to ask someone to create a video, consider your process. How will you reach out to kick off the project, and how will you share resources to empower your talent?

Anthony Yepez let us into his team’s outreach strategy: “We typically reach out via direct message. If they’re interested, we’ll go over the brief via email or phone. We either have them film with our direction provided or, if they’re local to our headquarters or near our remote team members, we film the content ourselves.”

4. Establish a team of “internal influencers”

As you start working with more talent, identify who you can go to to create quality, reliable content.

For example, at Shedd Aquarium I had a go-to list of “in-house influencers” I knew I could tap for quick, stellar content.

And know where you can go to regularly create content. Bari, of Auntie Anne’s and Jamba, has a unique method of getting reliable content: “A lot of our content is shot in our test kitchen during training days. Franchisees train at our headquarters where they pretend to be working at a store—a perfect time for me to film.”

Just always ensure people you’re filming know who you are, and that they’re on camera. As Bari says, “They usually get excited that they’ll be on TikTok. Or if I’m at the mall and I start to film at one of our stores, I introduce myself and mention that I’d like to take videos—since I don’t film faces and often focus on hands, they’re usually OK with it.”

5. Create a suggestion box

Elephant in the room: It might not always be possible to feature other faces on social media.

But you can still get others involved in video ideation.

Create an open forum for coworkers and even fans to submit video ideas. Internally, this might mean a weekly brainstorming chat, shared document or even a physical box for people to drop ideas into.

Externally, this could be as simple as asking your audience, “What do you want to see from us?”

6. When in doubt, you don’t need to show a face

Let’s face it (no pun intended): Not everyone will want to have their face on social media.

If someone is uncomfortable on camera, you can still showcase their expertise while maintaining anonymity. The same goes for the social media team.

As Bari puts it, “You don’t need a face. You can use filters to personify the subject without even showing your face like we do at Jamba. Having a face does help when hopping on audio trends, since a lot of them are based on lip syncing. But you can pair audio with footage of pretzels being pulled out of the oven and it works.”

Get ready to feature fresh faces in your video content

How much you choose to mix up the stars of your social content is up to you. You can take the lead in some videos, and feature coworkers or customers in others. You can stay off-camera forever and lean on your teams. There is no right or wrong way to go about it.

But getting others involved in social video—both starring in and producing them—is a sure-fire way to help fill your content calendar without filling your schedule.

If you’re ready to dive in, we’ve got your next step covered. Read our guide on how to create a culture of content to build a high-impact—but low-lift—video strategy. Happy filming.

The post How to recruit more talent for your social video content appeared first on Sprout Social.

And that’s why live streaming is becoming more common in B2B marketing. Enter LinkedIn Live, a native streaming platform for creators to broadcast in real-time.

From webinars to interviews and beyond, Live is a prime way to educate your B2B audience. We get it, many B2B marketers are totally new to the streaming world and what it entails.

That’s exactly why we put together this quick guide to getting started with LinkedIn Live.

Table of contents

• How to go live on LinkedIn step-by-step
• LinkedIn Live vs. LinkedIn Events
• Which types of presentations are best for LinkedIn Live?
• LinkedIn Live best practices and tips

How to go live on LinkedIn step-by-step

Let’s kick things off with the key steps of setting up your first LinkedIn stream.

Thankfully, the platform makes the process pretty quick and painless. You don’t need a bunch of technical know-how or equipment to get started.

1. Make sure you meet LinkedIn Live’s access criteria

If you’re not sure to apply to LinkedIn Live, don’t sweat it. No applications here.

LinkedIn Live is available to all creators and Pages. Granted you meet the platform’s broadcasting criteria, anyway. You simply need to tick the following boxes:

• A minimum of 150 followers/connections following for your account or Page
• Be located in a region approved for LinkedIn Live (aka not in mainland China)
• Have an account that’s in good standing with the platform (hint: no bans or violations)

Keep in mind that you can go live as either an individual (Creator) or as an individual on behalf of a Page. Individuals can’t stream to a Page and Pages can’t stream to individual profiles.

Simple enough, right?

2. Use the proper live stream equipment

If you can successfully host a Zoom meeting, you likely have the tools to go live on LinkedIn.

A dedicated webcam, microphone and reliable Internet connection are all standards for streaming. Depending on your hardware, onboard cameras and mics are sometimes subpar.

LinkedIn Live presentations don’t have to be pristine and polished. That said, try to maintain a sense of professionalism. We recommend testing your broadcast quality before trying LinkedIn Live. You can use a free, open-source tool like OBS to preview your streaming setup in action.

3. Pick your LinkedIn Live streaming service

Important: you cannot stream through LinkedIn Live events directly.

This is different from Instagram or TikTok where going live all happens in-app.

Don’t panic, though. LinkedIn does a lot of handholding to make it easy for creators to go live. You have two options:

1. Use one of LinkedIn’s preferred streaming partners to host your broadcast. This includes Restream, Socialive, StreamYard, SwitcherStudio or Vimeo.
2. Use LinkedIn Live’s video encoder tool to host your stream from an external platform. These platforms include Zoom, WebEx or OBS.

Deciding which method is “best” really depends on your tech stack and how-to. If you’re already comfortable with a tool like Zoom or OBS, start there. Generating a stream URL and key to connect your LinkedIn broadcast can be done in a matter of seconds.

4. Create a LinkedIn Event to attach your stream to

Many broadcasters choose to stream from LinkedIn Events versus Pages. That’s because Events makes it simple to schedule broadcasts and gather registrants.

Creating LinkedIn Live Event is a straightforward process. You’ll be prompted to fill out basic information about your broadcast. This includes the broadcast date, registration options and who’s presenting.

Once your event is created, you’ll be provided a custom URL to promote your presentation.

LinkedIn Live vs. LinkedIn Events

At a glance, Live and Events might seem identical. They’re not the same, though.

LinkedIn actually has a one-page breakdown to clear up the confusion. Here’s a summary:

• Live broadcasts can be streamed solely to Page followers or to private Event attendees
• Page streams are public and are heard more toward audience discussions and Q&As
• Events can only be accessed by attendees and are more “official”

In short, Pages are more community-focused. Live Events are ideal for more in-depth, formal presentations. Which you choose really depends on the types of streams you host.

Which types of presentations are best for LinkedIn Live?

LinkedIn Live is still growing as brands and creators experiment with new videos. Right now, creators are prioritizing:

• Webinars (traditional presentations, in-depth breakdowns of topics and trends)
• Panels and interviews
• Q&A sessions between communities

For example, interviews are popular among individual creators on LinkedIn Live. One-on-ones provide plenty of opportunities for unique discussions and perspectives. As an added bonus, going back and forth with someone means less time for silence.

Panels and workshops are likewise popping off on LinkedIn Live at the moment. Trends, tactics and strategy tips are always a safe bet for live presentations.

Educational webinars are likewise a safe bet. Niching down on topics is a smart move to attract relevant attendees.

LinkedIn Live best practices and tips

Recent video marketing statistics illustrate the demand for live video for consumers and brands.

That said, views on your LinkedIn Live presentation aren’t guaranteed by default. This is true even if you do have an established audience. Below are a few best practices to stick to.

Come up with a clear agenda for your stream

No surprises here, live streaming is not a place to freestyle.

Make a conscious effort to create some sort of skeleton or outline for your presentation.

If you’re totally new to video, consider a practice run-through and time yourself. You’d be surprised at how easy it is to rush through a presentation. The “one slide, one-minute” rule of thumb doesn’t always hold true.

On that note, make sure there’s enough meat in your presentation to hold viewers’ attention. LinkedIn Live is not the place for short-form streams. LinkedIn recommends a 10-minute streaming minimum for the sake of maximizing your audience. Most presentations are anywhere between 30 minutes and an hour.

Also, consider that having a clear agenda helps with promoting your stream. Establishing what topics you’ll cover beforehand make it easier to highlight the value you’ll provide to viewers.

Get your audience involved in the presentation

The beauty of live streaming is that it turns passive viewers into active participants.

The chat function in LinkedIn Live is perfect for getting your audience involved. You can pose questions to them, respond to comments or conclude your video with a full-blown Q&A.

Remember: live video is compelling because of interactions like these.

Another way to engage your audience is to field questions before filming your video. For example, you might ask followers on your Page if there’s anything they want you to cover.

Give your Live presentation an engaging title

Similar to YouTube, titles and thumbnails are crucial for earning viewers and attendees.

A title like “The Standout, Must-Need Skills for Digital Marketers” is a great example. The title works because it’s specific, value-packed and intriguing by design.

We naturally want to know what those skills are, right? Well, we’ll have to tune in to find out.

Food for thought: when you go live, attendees (and some followers) will automatically get a notification. With a compelling title, people will be more likely to tune in.

Actively promote your LinkedIn Live presence

Hosting a live stream can be a ton of work. Anything you can do to maximize viewers is a plus.

Getting the most mileage possible out of your presentation comes down to how you promote it. For starters, try to get as many people (attendees, employees, colleagues) to shout out your Live Event as possible. Rather than restrict your reach to a single Page or account, don’t be shy about spreading the word.

Also, LinkedIn features like topics and hashtags can earn your presentation more reach. Posting about your Live stream multiple times is fair game leading up to the big day. If you have the budget for them, you can also run Live clips as LinkedIn ads.

Speaking of which, make a point to give viewers ample time to plan and register. LinkedIn does some of the legwork for you by offering notifications and calendar slots for Live Events. If you have an email list, be sure to promote your presence there as well.

Once your broadcast is over, LinkedIn lets you share it on your Page or edit clips to promote in your feed. This highlights how LinkedIn Lives can be repurposed and treated as evergreen content.

Look at your LinkedIn analytics over time related to your Live videos over time. Then, you can determine whether your presentations resonate with your target audience. Note that in-depth analytics data is available for broadcasts to Page followers.

Are you ready to go live on LinkedIn?

Whether you’re a B2B brand or creator, LinkedIn Live is worth exploring if your goal is to educate your audience.

Using video content to cement your status as an industry expert is a smart move. This is especially true as many brands are still only experimenting with live streams.

Looking for fresh ways to level up on LinkedIn? Check out our comprehensive LinkedIn marketing guide if you haven’t already.

The post The ultimate guide to LinkedIn Live and how to use it appeared first on Sprout Social.

We gathered 30 statistics to help you understand YouTube’s place in your video marketing strategy. Whether you’re looking for user insights, YouTube search trends or historical facts and figures, we’ve got you covered.

• YouTube data and channel statistics
• YouTube users
• Advertising on YouTube
• YouTube organic search statistics
• YouTube usage statistics
• YouTube growth
• YouTube marketing statistics

YouTube data and channel statistics

Before getting into general YouTube stats, let’s get personal. If you currently manage a presence on the platform, you can check your channel statistics using YouTube analytics. (Also, if you don’t have a brand account on YouTube, now’s a great time to create a channel.)

Access the YouTube analytics tool by going to studio.youtube.com or by clicking your profile icon and selecting “YouTube Studio.”

Once you’re in YouTube Studio, you can click on “Analytics” in the left hand panel to access your YouTube performance analytics. There are several reports available but if you’re just looking for a general overview of channel performance, check out the Channel Overview Report.

The Channel Overview Report will provide you with a graph measuring how your views, watch time and subscriber count are trending over time. On social media, consistency is key. If you’re updating your channel at a regular cadence, you should see gains in channel growth over time.

If you’re noticing a dip, check out these creative approaches to promoting your YouTube channel.

YouTube users

When launching a video marketing strategy, you need to know if the platform’s demographics match your target audience. Let’s cover some of YouTube’s main demographics.

1. YouTube has over 2 billion monthly active users

YouTube is visited by nearly a quarter of the world’s population, boasting two billion monthly active users. It’s fair to assume that YouTube has a diverse user base and your business can likely connect to your target audiences.

2. India has the largest YouTube audience, followed by the United States and Brazil

There are approximately 467 million active YouTube users in India, making it the network’s largest audience by country.

High-speed internet became widely available in India in 2016, and internet usage has flourished there ever since. This speedy adoption has contributed to the rise of Indian YouTube stars like T-Series, who is one of the most subscribed YouTubers on the platform.

3. English and Spanish are amongst the most popular languages used on YouTube

More than half (66%) of the content from YouTube’s top 250 channels is produced in English, followed by Spanish (15%) and Portuguese (7%).

4. The largest age group using YouTube is between ages 15-35

About 77% of internet users between ages 15-35 are on YouTube, along with 73% of users aged 36-45, 70% of users aged 46-55 and 67% of users aged 56+.

YouTube’s popularity with Gen Z makes sense; they came of age alongside the network and its top creators, like Emma Chamberlain and David Dobrik.  Aside from entertainment, research shows that Gen Z also turns to YouTube as an educational tool.

5. YouTube users skew male

Roughly 53.9% of YouTube users are men and 46.1% are women. (There’s no data on other genders available at this time.)

6. YouTube users are more likely to have a college education

A Google-commissioned Nielsen study found that YouTube users are more likely to be college educated compared to the general population.

Advertising on YouTube

YouTube ad campaigns pack a visual punch that generate responses from consumers of all ages. If you’re wondering whether they’re worth the investment, let’s dig into some YouTube ad stats.

7. YouTube generated $7.9 billion in ad revenue in Q4 2021

YouTube is a promising advertising platform for brands, generating over $7.9 billion in advertising revenue in the fourth quarter of 2022 alone.

8. Consumers find YouTube ads to be more relevant than linear TV advertising

YouTube ad targeting capabilities create a highly tailored experience for the end user. According to a 2022 study, 59% of respondents agree that YouTube ads are more relevant than ads on linear TV or other streaming apps.

9. Vertical video can increase conversions per dollar

Vertical video—meaning video filmed and viewed in portrait mode, rather than landscape—has exploded in popularity on the platform since the launch of YouTube Shorts. People have been watching YouTube on a variety of screen sizes for quite some time. Now, marketers have the tools they need to optimize for mobile viewing.

Tailoring YouTube ads to adhere to content consumption preferences can drive a noticeable lift in ROI. Vertical creative assets delivered 10% to 20% more conversions per dollar on YouTube Shorts when compared to landscape assets.

10. The most viewed ad of 2022 is a promotion for Amazon’s Alexa home speaker

The minute-long Big Game ad features SNL star Colin Jost and actress Scarlett Johansson.

YouTube organic search statistics

YouTube has its own algorithm and search engine optimization rules to get your content seen. Let’s get into a few stats related to YouTube search.

11. YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world

Alphabet, Inc. has cornered the market on search. YouTube follows Google as the second-largest search engine in the world, generating more search queries than Bing, Yahoo, AOL and Ask combined.

This shows how important YouTube SEO is because the platform is also a video and information search tool.

12. 35% of the top global YouTube searches in 2022 are TV related

Turkish television hit Duy Beni nabbed the third highest spot on a 2022 list of top global YouTube searches, making it the most searched for TV show of the year on the platform.

13. The top 5 global searches on YouTube

The top five global YouTube searches of all time are “minecraft”, “TikTok”, “comedy”, “tik tok” and “ASMR.” Two out of these five searches are related to the short-form video giant, TikTok.

14. Gen Z turns to YouTube to dive deeper into their favorite TV shows

According to an Ipsos survey, 60% of Gen Z viewers use YouTube to find content related to TV shows and movies they recently watched.

YouTube usage statistics

Understanding how the platform is being used will inform incorporating YouTube into your marketing strategy.

15. YouTube Shorts earn more than 30 billion daily views

Since its launch in 2021, YouTube Shorts has become a vertical video staple. It’s home to 1.5 billion monthly active users, earning more than 30 billion daily views.

16. TV is YouTube’s fastest-growing screen size

Thanks to connected smart home devices, viewers are enjoying YouTube content beyond the confines of a laptop. Viewers watch more than 700 million hours of YouTube content on TV daily, making it the fastest-growing screen size for content consumption.

17. People watch over 1 billion hours of YouTube video content each day

Not only does YouTube have a large user base, but they also have a highly engaged one with over 1 billion hours of video content being viewed each day.

With the right video content strategy and optimizations like YouTube descriptions, any brand can find an audience for their videos.

18. The most popular YouTube channel has over 200 million subscribers

The most popular YouTube channel is T-Series, with over 230 million subscribers. The next most popular YouTube channels are YouTube Movies, Cocomelon – Nursery Rhymes, SET India and Music.

19. The most viewed YouTube video of all time is “Baby Shark Dance”

Parents, this one is probably more than familiar. The viral hit took off in 2016 and shot to the top of the list of most viewed YouTube videos of all time. The video has more than 12 billion views, as of February 2023.

YouTube growth

YouTube has grown quickly since its inception in 2005. Considering the video platform was initially meant to be a niche dating site, its wide appeal use as a video juggernaut is nothing short of remarkable. Let’s look at a few stats to see just how much growth it’s achieved over the past 17 years.

19. The first YouTube video was uploaded on April 23, 2005

YouTube founder Jawed Karim uploaded the very first video to the platform. It was called “Me at the zoo,” and was a 19-second video that has now generated over 221 million views.

20. In 2006, Google bought YouTube for $1.65 billion

Just a year and a half after the youtube.com domain was bought, Google acquired the video-sharing platform for $1.65 billion. At the time, Google believed they overpaid to acquire the platform. But considering YouTube ad revenue was $8.6 billion in just the last quarter, we know now that Google got a steal.

21. YouTube rolled out video ads in August 2007

YouTube ads have been around almost the entire lifespan of the company. Ads rolled out in August 2007, just 10 months after Google’s acquisition.

22. YouTube is the second most visited website in the world

YouTube is the second most visited website in the world, behind only Google. This means that audiences are frequently referencing YouTube for everything from entertainment to how-to videos.

23. YouTube is available in over 100 countries and 80 languages

Another great statistic showcasing the wide range of users is that YouTube’s video platform is available in over 100 countries and is localized into 80 different languages.

You can reach a wide variety of demographics and even publish video content in various languages to bolster an international marketing strategy.

24. Over 500 hours of video content are uploaded to YouTube every minute

Don’t get lost in the noise. Over 500 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, so you need a strategy to ensure your video gets seen.

Plan a focus keyword, strategically craft your video title and description and don’t forget about search optimization. You can even incorporate hashtags into your YouTube video content to signal what topics your video is related to.

25. There are more than 51 million YouTube channels

Over 51 million YouTube channels have been created, growing 36% in the last year.

Out of those 51 million+ channels, 306,000 YouTube channels have more than 100,000 subscribers, 29,000 YouTube channels have more than 1 million subscribers and 700 YouTube channels have more than 10 million subscribers.

YouTube marketing statistics

Let’s take a look at how marketers view YouTube. Knowing how other companies are positioning their strategies can help decide your team’s next steps.

26. There’s a prioritization disconnect between marketers and consumers

According to The Sprout Social Index™ 2022, half of consumers (51%) plan on spending more time on YouTube over the next 12 months. In terms of popularity, it’s second only to Facebook.

On the other hand, only 35% of marketers anticipate leveraging the platform over the next year. This disconnect creates a clear opportunity for savvy brands looking to gain a competitive advantage.

27. 22% of marketers are using YouTube Stories

YouTube Stories, the platform’s answer to ephemeral content, came out in November 2017. As of now, 22% of marketers have incorporated YouTube Stories into their strategy.

Unlike Instagram or Facebook Stories, YouTube Stories expire after seven days, as opposed to 24 hours. If you want to test out the feature, we recommend using them as a promotional tool for recently added content. Give your followers a peek at what to expect from your latest video so they can decide whether they’d like to see more.

28. Influencer follower count impacts engagement rate

YouTube influencers with between 100,000 and 1,000,000 followers had the highest engagement rates, amounting to just over 4%. YouTubers with between 1,000 and 5,000 followers had the lowest engagement rate on average, at 2.05%.

These averages are good to keep in mind, but they shouldn’t be the end all and be all of your YouTube influencer marketing strategy. Remember: Micro-influencers can speak more effectively to a niche target audience than some of the biggest names on the platform.

29. YouTube is the first stop in the social shopping journey

YouTube has some serious sway when it comes to social commerce. According to research from Google and Ipsos, 80% of shoppers who watched a video related to a planned purchase said they watched it at the beginning of their shopping process.

YouTube is home to several content formats that allow consumers to research interests alongside their favorite creators. Whether it’s a haul video, a “shop with me” vlog or something else entirely, these videos provide consumers with a more authentic look at the value they can get from a purchase.

30. There are penalties for over-tagging

According to Google’s Help Center, if a YouTube video or playlist has more than 60 tags, all of the hashtags on that content will be ignored.

A little bit goes a long way when it comes to YouTube hashtags. We recommend using one to two hashtags in your video title and three to five hashtags in your description. Anything more can appear spammy, turning away potential viewers.

Ramp up your YouTube marketing strategy

Demographic data and usage trends are the foundation of any network-specific social media marketing strategy. Combine these YouTube stats with your channel-specific metrics to create a blueprint for success in 2023.

Keep building on your strategy with our complete guide to YouTube marketing. It’ll give you all the strategic tips you need to take full advantage of this social media powerhouse.

The post 30 YouTube statistics to power your marketing strategy in 2023 appeared first on Sprout Social.

When creating your TikTok marketing strategy, it’s a good idea to use a mixture of popular TikTok trends as well as some staples that can count as evergreen content. This will help your channel stay relevant and timely.

But in order to keep up with the latest trends, you need to know what they are.

We’ve compiled a list of the top eight TikTok trends we expect to see this year (and beyond). With each example, we dive in and share how you can use these trends in your own TikTok strategy.

Top TikTok trends to influence your 2023 TikTok strategy

1. Dance challenges

Dance challenges remain a popular trend on TikTok—the only thing that’s changed is the song and the dance. However, given that TikTok morphed from the lip sync app Musical.ly, it’s no surprise that it still hangs onto its roots. Plus, some of the most famous TikTokers grew their following by creating and performing dance challenges.

Brands that have mascots get a bit of an advantage when it comes to this. While organizations can always have their team members join in on a dance challenge, there’s something about a company mascot dancing along that just stands out.

Mascots can either join in on an existing dance challenge or consider creating their own, like Charmin and their new “Charmin Slide” remix.

The brand even got some famous TikTokers to publish their own rendition of the “Charmin Slide” as a fun promotional technique.

Think of ways that your brand can also jump on various dance challenges. If you scroll through TikTok videos for a bit each week, you should be able to compile a consistent list of dances for your brand mascot to join in on.

2. Pack an order with me

Many small businesses have taken to TikTok to build a community, and one great way to do that is by packing orders on camera. This has become so popular for certain businesses that they will receive comments from customers requesting that their order is packaged on camera.

These videos often tend to take on an ASMR-vibe (more on that in the next trend), making them a double whammy. By making your stockpile visually appealing, you can create an engaging video that showcases how you package orders and builds trust by proving to customers that the products they’re buying are kept safe and sound.

Here’s an example of what this type of video might look like from a small jewelry business.

If you want to start creating your own “Pack an order with me” videos, you’ll want to first focus on your order packaging setup. Create a space where all of your merchandise is housed so that you can easily grab each item for the order and put it together with the shipping materials.

3. ASMR/Satisfying videos

We mentioned ASMR videos briefly in the last point, but we’re going to touch on these a bit more. ASMR stands for autonomous sensory meridian response and it refers to the tingling sensation one might feel down their back sometimes triggered by hearing a certain type of sound.

These ASMR videos focus exclusively on sound, like grabbing items to put into an order, restocking items (another popular video type on TikTok) or filling jars with your product. like we have in this example from DTE Beauty.

ASMR is deemed a type of satisfying video, but there are a number of types of “oddly satisfying” videos that relate more to the visual satisfaction the viewer gets, like this professional baker decorate cookies.

How can you make your product or service visually or auditorily satisfying? Brainstorm some ideas then start filming.

4. Green screen

You’ve heard of a green screen in filming before—it’s used in TV and film to help add digital effects seamlessly. Essentially, it’s a green backdrop that makes it easy for editors to superimpose other images behind the actors. It’s also what is used by meteorologists when sharing maps of the weather.

TikTok also has its own version of a green screen that creators can use in their videos. There are a few different ways you can have your video record overtop the background (the green screen, if you will), each of which can be accessed in the “Effects” tab when recording your video.

Here’s an example of a standard green screen where Chipotle has recorded someone talking over an image of the menu, sharing information about some of their new offerings.

There are so many different ways you can take advantage of the green screen in your own content, so start brainstorming and recording your own videos.

5. Skits

A skit is a type of short video used to entertain or inform your audience via a sort of play or performance. These are extremely popular on TikTok, especially in “Karen” skits and stories about customer service. However, these can be useful for different types of businesses.

Here’s an example of The Washington Post using a skit to explain a news topic in an easy-to-understand format.

If you have a complex topic to explain, consider writing a skit to convey the information. This can also be a fun way to share customer interactions, talk about new products or services and more.

6. Day in the life

Another trending TikTok video type is the “day in the life” video. These follow someone (either someone on your team or the business owner for a small business) throughout their day-to-day tasks and activities, especially how it relates back to their business.

Here’s an example of a bakery owner sharing what a day in her life looks like. She creates these videos multiple times a week and her followers enjoy being able to watch as she grows her business.

This trend can be emulated in a number of different ways. Consider having one team member take over your TikTok account each week and walk followers through what their day-to-day job and work load looks like. Or, if you run a small business, consider regularly sharing what you do throughout the day. Transparency like that is not only interesting to an audience but can also encourage others to follow in your footsteps.

7. Creators take the wheel

Trend-setting TikTok creators are fueling the rise of the creator economy. TikTok is a creator and influencer culture incubator. It enables popular TikTokers to reach and engage millions of users on the app in minutes. And they do this without tons of studio equipment or highly-produced content. Actually, users favor content that feels genuine and realistic rather than perfect. In the world of TikTok, anyone can be a creator.

Creators play a key role in connecting people to brands and products. Entertaining videos featuring real product reviews continue to grow in popularity. Hashtags like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt led to many products reaching record sales and completely selling out in 2021. Creator product reviews work because people trust TikTok creators to be genuine and share honest feedback about a product.

One of the most popular food critics on the platform right now is Keith Lee, based in Las Vegas. He’s been reviewing small businesses all over the area, causing their restaurants and food trucks to explode with new business. With that in mind, luxury cookie company Last Crumb sent him a box of their cookies for him to review and share his honest opinion.

Tap into creators to help co-create your brand’s identity on TikTok. Remember that come-as-you-are content makes people feel like they can trust you, the creators you partner with and your products.

8. [Insert subculture here] Tok

The TikTok community has something for everyone. That’s why people worldwide are bonding over niche interests and creating their own subcultures. Even though subcultures have existed since the dawn of the internet, TikTok has made them more accessible.

Whether you’re interested in #BookTok #FoodTok, #CleanTok or #MoneyTok, it’s easy to connect with like-minded people who share your passions. Subcultures lead to creative and entertaining videos, but they’re also a essential places for self-expression.

To connect with a subculture community, it is important to create content that feels trustworthy and authentic to your brand. Immerse yourself in the subculture and stay up to date on current music, jokes, edits and memes.

For a bookstore like Barnes and Noble, it’s easy to assimilate into #BookTok. Various B&N locations have their own TikTok accounts and create content about the bookkeepers’ favorite books, store layouts or utilize fun and relevant filters, like in this example below.

Use these TikTok trends in your marketing strategy

Take advantage of these TikTok trends and more in your 2023 strategy. Sprout’s social listening tools can make it even easier for you to discover some of the latest trends and audio clips to use. Combine that tool with our guide on how to go viral on TikTok, you’ll have an unbeatable presence this year.

The post 8 TikTok trends to fuel your social video content in 2023 appeared first on Sprout Social.

On top of this, 93% of social media marketers who use video say it’s a vital component of their social media video strategy. Even more so if the video is short-form, which consumers find 2.5 times more engaging than long-form video. However, despite being a vital component, video is still widely underutilized across major social media networks.

In this article, we’ll share video marketing statistics and data like this from the Sprout Social Index™, Social Media Trends and other reputable sources to help you make sense of the true value video offers.

Table of Contents

• Social media video marketing statistics
• Facebook video statistics
• Instagram video statistics
• Twitter video statistics
• YouTube video statistics

Social media video marketing statistics

Anyone who’s scrolled through Facebook, Instagram or Twitter recently knows that videos play a major part in your experience with these social media networks. Video has been a buzzword in marketing for years, and today brands are using it to carve out devoted followings on social media. Did you know users will retain 95% of a message watched on video as opposed to only 10% read in text?

Whether you’re creating a viral video, loyal to static image posts or you’re totally new to video, understanding the video landscape can help you determine how, when and why to use this type of visual content.

Knowing your target audience and the networks they frequent will help you with video content ideas.

1. More than 54% of marketers say that video is the most valuable content type for achieving social media marketing goals.
2. Yet video is also the most underutilized format across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, comprising 14%*, 11% and 5% of each network’s content respectively.
3. 93% of companies have acquired new customer(s) via social media video.

4. 26% of marketers state that Stories are the most valuable type of social content.
5. 25% of marketers say live video is the most valuable type of social content.
6. Half of social media users prefer video over other types of content.
7. 35% of all North American B2C marketers use live video.
8. 58% of viewers will watch the entirety of a business’ video if it’s less than 60 seconds long.

9. So, length of content matters. Consumers consider short-form videos to be 2.5 times more engaging than long-form videos.
10. 66% of consumers report short-form video to be the most engaging type of social media content in 2022, up from 50% in 2020.

11. 37% of social media users find live video to be the most engaging.
12. 24% of users find long-form video the most engaging.

What this means for your social media marketing video strategy

We’ve already established the benefits of video, but the data indicates that brands are still struggling to make video a regular feature of their social media content calendars. If you want to stand out on social and diversify your social media strategy with video in 2023, pepper in a few Reels or pencil in a plan to activate your Stories. Be consistent, track your performance and experiment to see what resonates with your audience.

Facebook video statistics

Over the past few years, Facebook has expanded its suite of video options. Today, the Watch tab allows users to view and engage with focused video content. Stories offer a chance for brands to connect and interact with their audience. And Facebook Live allows brands to host live events, give a peak behind the scenes or engage in real time with their audiences. The following statistics highlight the many opportunities for social media marketers to optimize their Facebook video strategies.

13. The vast majority (85%) of Facebook videos are watched without sound.
    
14. Facebook Watch attracts upward of 1.2 billion users per month.
15. 62% of users report increased interest in a product after viewing a related Facebook video.
16. Facebook users are four times more likely to watch Facebook Live videos than pre-recorded videos.
17. Live video on Facebook attracts a higher average engagement rate (1.59%) than pre-recorded video on the platform (0.92%).
18. 300 million people use Facebook Stories every day.
19. 80% of Facebook Stories that have sound or voice-overs drive better lower funnel results.
20. 62% of users said they’ve become more interested in a product or brand after seeing it in Stories, according to a survey of over 18,000 people across Facebook’s family of apps (Facebook Stories, Instagram Stories, Messenger Stories and WhatsApp Status).
21. 31% of social media users said in that survey that in the future, they will be even more likely to use Stories to connect with the brands they like.

What this means for your Facebook video marketing strategy

Facebook Live continues to be an opportunity for engagement, but many marketers aren’t taking advantage of it yet. If you’re looking for a place to start, consider broadcasting to a small, targeted audience first to gauge the response. Take what you learn and expand from there. Be sure to track your Facebook video metrics. These will show you how your videos are performing and help to inform your strategy.

Instagram video statistics

Like Facebook, Instagram delivers many opportunities for video marketing, which gives busy social media marketers a great deal of choice about where they show up with their Instagram content. But it can also be overwhelming for those less experienced with the medium. The following social media video stats shed light on where brands should be spending their time when it comes to Instagram.

22. 91% of users watch videos on Instagram weekly.
23. 43% of social media users watch Instagram Stories more than other types of video content on the network.
24. 73% of businesses report acquiring new customers from an Instagram Story.
25. Instagram videos that are around 26 seconds long receive the most comments.
26. Half of users say they have visited a brand’s website to purchase a product or service after seeing it featured in Stories.

27. 43% of US social media users aged 18–34 watched Instagram Live in 2021, second only to YouTube, with 45% watching that live service.
28. Instagram reel’s reach in accounts with up to 500 followers is a whopping 892%, whereas the reach of images in the same accounts is only 77%.

What this means for your Instagram video marketing strategy

With Stories, Live streams, Reels and in-feed videos, Instagram offers a variety of options for social media marketers to consider. However, with so many available video options, the key is not to pigeonhole your brand into using only one. Provide value by using videos across the network to find your ideal audience regardless of the tab they frequent the most.

Twitter video statistics

As anyone who has ever scrolled through their Twitter feed knows, video is integral to the network’s appeal. Whether it’s a glossy brand announcement, a blockbuster movie trailer or a recording of your neighbors’ kid snuggling their cocker spaniel, Twitter users engage with videos more than any other content type. This list offers insights into how social media marketers can jump on the bandwagon and use Twitter effectively.

29. Tweets with video get 5 times more replies, 2.8 times more retweets and 1.9 times more likes.
30. Tweets with a video get 10 times more engagement than those without video.

31. Videos on Twitter that showcase positive human interactions or desire for a product increase overall response by 40%.
32. Videos that convey their core message in the first three seconds of an ad see a 13% increase in overall breakthrough metrics.
33. Twitter videos that don’t require sound to be understood(with closed captions or text overlays) gain 28% more view time and 1.8 times the return on investment.
34. 15-second Twitter video ads garner three times higher completion rates compared to 30-second video ads.
35. Twitter’s first view gets 1.4 times more view time than competitor’s platforms.

What this means for your Twitter video marketing strategy

While not all of your videos should be product-focused, these Twitter video marketing statistics do showcase that users are not opposed to a sales message when it’s delivered through a well-crafted video. Of course, your brand’s specific mix of entertaining, educational and product-centric content will depend largely on your industry’s standards and your audience’s preferences. But, as you define that blend, consider sprinkling in a few Twitter videos that highlight your products in a positive way.

YouTube video statistics

As the second-largest search engine (behind Google), YouTube is more than just a network where you can watch dog videos after work. YouTube allows brands to showcase their unique value propositions in an engaging way. But because video is the only kind of content supported, it can also be a bit resource-intensive for many marketing teams. These next few statistics lay out some insights to help brands optimize their time on YouTube.

36. 74% of consumers use YouTube.
37. More than 500 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute.
38. Users are twice as likely to buy something if they saw it in a YouTube video.
39. 75% of users report that YouTube makes them more aware of new brands.
40. 70% of users say they bought a product after seeing it on YouTube.
41. Social media users are four times more likely to use YouTube to research a brand, service or product than other platforms.
42. In 2021, YouTube Shorts hit 15 billion global daily views.
43. 47% of social media users follow brands on YouTube.
44. 41% of social media users want brands to post on YouTube more often.

What this means for your YouTube video marketing strategy

YouTube is where consumers are going to learn more about your brand—what you stand for, what you do and how you do it. And those users are clamoring for more video content from the brands they follow. This presents a major opportunity for businesses that aren’t already active to jump in. Or for those who have only tested out YouTube to consistently promote their video ideas.

You can no longer afford not to use social video to promote your brand  

As is clear from these social media video marketing statistics, social video is the thing of the now.

Consumers are asking brands for more video presence, and you must give it to them. With so many choices for how to present your brand via video available, you’re sure to find a good fit for you and your audience. Sprout’s Social Media Content Calendar tools can help you plan your social video across platforms and will even determine the Optimal Send Times for you with ViralPost^®.

An important first step is to develop clear goals for your social media video strategy so that you have benchmarks to measure against as you track your progress.

If you’re looking for a starting point, download our social media video metrics and ideas cheat sheet. In it, you’ll find recommended indicators to track along each stage of the marketing funnel, content ideas and relevant examples from brands that are winning with social video.

The post Social media video statistics marketers need to know for 2023 appeared first on Sprout Social.

Not only do brands need to pay attention to key TikTok stats like demographics and usage, but they also need to pay attention to their TikTok analytics. All of these things can help inform a brand’s TikTok strategy so they can better target their ideal customer.

To help you create a TikTok marketing strategy that will work for your brand, we’ve compiled a list of 28 TikTok stats marketers need to know in 2023. Let’s dig in.

Table of contents

• TikTok stats that are changing the social media landscape
• TikTok user statistics
• TikTok usage statistics
• TikTok audience and demographics statistics
• TikTok advertising and marketing statistics
• TikTok engagement statistics
• TikTok for business stats

TikTok stats that are changing the social media landscape

TikTok is already making waves in the social media world. As we mentioned, it’s been the fastest-growing social media platform so far, reaching 1 billion users the fastest of all other social networks.

To stay ahead of the competition, having a TikTok tool to level up your strategy is only the beginning. To truly take advantage of the platform, you need to understand stats and trends that show how powerful TikTok has become for brands and their users.

1. TikTok was the #1 most-downloaded app in Q1 2022

TikTok saw the most downloads in Q1 2022, surpassing Instagram for the top spot of the quarter. It has generated over 3.5 billion downloads total, becoming the fifth app of all time to hit this threshold—and the only one not owned by Meta.

2. TikTok is the highest grossing non-game app

Based on Q1 2022 revenue from both the App Store and the Google Play store, TikTok generated $821 million in consumer spending. This spending is based on revenue generated directly through the app stores.

3. 34% of adults have an unfavorable opinion of TikTok

TikTok is one of the more controversial social media platforms, with one-third of all U.S. adults having an unfavorable opinion of the platform. This is compared to 37% of adults who have a more favorable opinion of the platform, becoming one of the only social networks with nearly equal favorability.

4. TikTok is #4 on the Apple Store’s top free apps

TikTok is currently fourth on Apple’s top free apps. Not only that but its parent company ByteDance’s newest app, CapCut, is currently listed at number two.

TikTok user statistics

Let’s take a look at the data revolving around TikTok’s platform and its users.

5. TikTok has over 1 billion monthly active users

TikTok’s newsroom announced in September 2021 that TikTok had hit the 1 billion MAU milestone. They have not released any user data since this announcement, but it’s safe to assume that the platform likely has more monthly active users at this point.

6. The U.S. has the largest TikTok audience of any country

The United States has the largest collection of TikTok users globally with 113 million monthly unique users. However, the Chinese version of the app Douyin has 600 million monthly active users based in China.

7. More Gen Zers use TikTok than Instagram

TikTok is quickly becoming the most popular app among those in Gen Z. Gen Zers are currently using TikTok more often than Instagram, and predictions show that they will be using TikTok more than Snapchat in the next few years as well.

8. @khaby.lame is the most-followed TikTok user

The top five most-followed TikTok users are:

• @khaby.lame — 154.7 million followers
• @charliedamelio — 149.8 million followers
• @bellapoarch — 92.8 million followers
• @addisonre — 88.9 million followers
• @mrbeast — 75.7 million followers

9. 40% of TikTok users don’t have a Facebook profile

While most TikTok users do have presences on other social media platforms, Facebook and Twitter aren’t often one of them. 40% of TikTok users aren’t on Facebook and 63% aren’t on Twitter.

TikTok usage statistics

How are TikTok’s 1 billion users actually using the app? Let’s look at some of the data surrounding the usage of the platform.

10. TikTok was the most-downloaded mobile app in 2022

TikTok was the most-downloaded mobile app globally in 2022. The app generated 672 million downloads, well ahead of the second-place app Instagram with 548 million downloads.

11. Kids spent 62% more time watching videos on TikTok than YouTube

TikTok is increasingly becoming more popular with younger generations. We mentioned Gen Z, but it looks like Gen Alpha is following the same path. Kids spend 62% more time (about 23 more minutes per day) watching videos on TikTok than on YouTube.

12. 29% of users access the app daily

Out of TikTok’s 1 billion or so monthly active users, nearly one-third of those users access the app to watch video content each day.

13. The average user spends 95 minutes per day on the app

According to the same study, the average TikTok user is spending 95 minutes per day watching TikTok videos.

Statista broke that down a bit more and found that:

• 30% of users watch for less than an hour each week
• 19% for 1 hour
• 19% for 1-2 hours
• 15% for 2-5 hours
• 11% for 5-10 hours
• 6% for 10+ hours

14. Users spend 19.6 hours on TikTok per month

When it comes to monthly usage, TikTok users are spending nearly 20 hours on the app each month watching, interacting with and posting video content.

TikTok audience and demographics statistics

So who are these users? Here are a few stats on TikTok’s social media demographics.

15. 25% of TikTok’s U.S. users are aged 10-19

A full quarter of TikTok’s user-base is between the ages of 10-19. Children aged 12 and younger are part of Generation Alpha (born in the early 2010s) but the rest are part of Gen Z, further proving that younger generations are big on this app. 22.4% of TikTok’s users are 20-29, 21.7% are 30-39, 20.3% are 40-49 and 11% are 50+.

16. 54% of TikTok’s users are women

TikTok’s users are split almost evenly by gender, with 54% being women and 46% being men. (There is no data on users of other genders.)

17. The top three countries of TikTok users are the U.S., Indonesia and Brazil

TikTok’s most popular countries (other than China, where Douyin reigns supreme) are the United States with 113 million users, Indonesia with 110 million users and Brazil with 82 million users.

TikTok advertising and marketing statistics

If your brand is going to have a presence on TikTok, you need to understand statistics around marketing and advertising on TikTok.

18. 18% of marketers are using TikTok

Shockingly, only 18% of marketers are using TikTok. With such big opportunities for brands on TikTok, more marketers should be making this platform a priority.

19. Bytedance generated $38.6 billion in ad revenue

Bytedance, the parent company of TikTok, got the third spot in the global ranking of media companies’ ad revenue for 2021, generating $38.6 billion in total.

20. Ad revenue was expected to increase by 26% in 2022

Projections showed that TikTok’s ad revenue (already third in 2021) was expected to increase by 26% in 2022. We don’t yet have the data on the exact increase—but TikTok has obviously been successful in its advertising endeavor.

TikTok engagement statistics

How engaging is TikTok? Is going viral on TikTok the only way to get engagement on your videos? Let’s look at some TikTok stats surrounding its overall engagement rates and more.

21. TikTok is the most engaging social media platform

With an average engagement rate of 4.25%, TikTok is by far the most engaging social media platform. In second place was Instagram with an average engagement rate of just 0.60%.

22. TikTok’s engagement rate is decreasing by 28% per year

Although TikTok is still the most engaging platform, it may not stay that way for long. As it stands, TikTok’s average engagement rate has been falling by about 28% each year.

23. TikTok influencers see an average engagement rate of 15.86%

Considering working with an influencer? Do it—their engagement rate is more than triple the regular engagement rate at 15.86%. And in the U.S., TikTok influencers see an even higher engagement rate of 17.99%.

TikTok for business stats

Should your brand be on TikTok? How can TikTok affect brands? Using TikTok for business can have many advantages, but first, it is essential to understand how your target audience uses the platform.

24. 55% of TikTok users have bought something after seeing the brand on the app

TikTok users are shopping. More than half (55%) of users have made a purchase after seeing a brand on TikTok. Create a consistent presence on TikTok to start generating more sales from your viewers.

25. 50% of TikTok users have bought something after watching a TikTok Live

According to a TikTok study, half of its users have made a purchase directly due to watching a TikTok live from a brand or about the purchase. Live shopping is a major trend that can help you increase sales.

26. Macro-influencers charge between $151-793 per post

Macro-influencers have between 100,000 and 1 million followers. Their average rate per brand post falls between $151 and $793. Mega influencer rates start at $1,034 per post.

27. The top three brands on TikTok are TikTok, Netflix and NBA

TikTok is the top brand on its own app with 62 million followers. Netflix is in second with 23 million followers and NBA comes third with 15 million followers.

Use these TikTok stats to inform your strategy

Ready to create an effective TikTok strategy for your brand? Keep these TikTok statistics in mind as you begin creating your content so you know exactly who to target and how to go about it. Then check out Sprout Social’s TikTok management tools to support your TikTok marketing efforts.

The post 27 TikTok stats marketers need to know in 2023 appeared first on Sprout Social.

We get it. Getting your channel off the ground is a struggle.

By learning about YouTube marketing and SEO, you can make your videos more searchable and expand your channels’ reach.

Recent YouTube statistics tell us the platform is currently the second-largest search engine in the world. Meanwhile, video consumption is at an all-time high.

And despite popular belief, learning YouTube SEO doesn’t require a bunch of technical know-how or spammy tactics.

In this article, you’ll learn what YouTube SEO is and how it works. We’ll also introduce you to top YouTube SEO strategies and tools to help you succeed on the platform.

Table of contents

• What is YouTube SEO?
• How does YouTube SEO work?
• YouTube SEO strategies
• Essential YouTube SEO tools

What is YouTube SEO?

YouTube SEO is the process of optimizing your videos and channel to rank higher in YouTube’s search results. It involves using a variety of strategies and techniques to attract more organic traffic and put your content in front of your target audience.

How does YouTube SEO work?

SEO for YouTube works a bit differently from regular SEO.

While search engines can’t exactly watch video content, they can crawl the text components of those videos. These include closed captions, transcripts, titles, descriptions and tags.

Incorporating relevant keywords and phrases into these text components is an essential part of any YouTube SEO strategy.

Additionally, optimizing these elements on top of creating high-quality, engaging content helps you improve viewer experience, which directly contributes to your video’s popularity.

If your content is a hit with your audience, YouTube’s algorithm is more likely to bring it to the top of search results.

YouTube SEO strategies

In this section, we’ll look at several SEO strategies for YouTube to help you get your videos to the top of search results.

1. Perform keyword research

First things first: digging into video topics that people are looking for.

By default, YouTube does a pretty solid job of cluing creators into what viewers want. Simply type a keyword or term into YouTube’s search bar and you’ll see a slew of keywords from actual viewers.

The purpose of keyword research isn’t necessarily to copycat the keywords that are already out there. Instead, you can use these terms to explore new potential topics and see what other keyword opportunities are out there.

For example, let’s say you’re a fashion YouTuber interested in making a video about distressed jeans. Simply by looking at the top results, we can see that peripheral terms like “DIY” and “denim” pop up alongside our primary keyword.

Digging into other related terms, you can narrow down the niche of your video and find a unique angle beyond just “distressed jeans.”

For example, you might talk about a specific tool or technique (“scissors,” “knife,” “sandpaper”) or perhaps a certain style of distressed jeans (“big holes”). Niching down your videos means that you’re targeting a more defined audience and are less likely to try to compete against more established videos and channels.

Another place to conduct video SEO research is through Google. That’s because YouTube videos rank in Google results, meaning that videos that pop up in a search are more than likely already optimized for SEO. Take note of what these sorts of videos do in terms of their titles and thumbnails (but more on that later).

Finally, you can also conduct keyword research via Google’s Keyword Planner tool. Although not related to video SEO per se, the added bonus of using Google is that you can uncover real-world search terms that people are actually using.

The purpose of keyword research is both to brainstorm ideas and figure out what viewers want. Including keywords and related terms throughout your content is a low-hanging way to boost your rankings versus videos that totally ignore YouTube SEO.

2. Add hashtags to your videos

Hashtags are a great way to get your videos more exposure. You can add relevant hashtags to your video titles and/or descriptions. Just like on other social media platforms, users can click on or search for hashtags on YouTube to view content related to specific topics.

Be careful with the number of hashtags you use. Don’t use too many or your content may come across as spammy. Stick to 2-3 of the most relevant terms, such as your company name, brand name, and main topic or keyword.

3. Create a playlist

Playlists help keep viewers on your channel for longer, which can improve your overall watch time and potentially lead to a higher ranking in search results.

Organizing your content into playlists on YouTube also makes it easier for viewers to find and watch related videos.

Finally, playlists help YouTube understand the theme and content of your channel, which can help improve your search visibility on the platform.

To optimize your playlists for SEO, you can use descriptive titles that include relevant keywords, add appropriate tags and make regular updates.

4. Optimize your video titles and descriptions

An enticing title and description can make or break your video. They are also great spots to highlight your keyword.

How to optimize YouTube video titles

Conventional wisdom says that ~75 characters is the sweet spot for titles, so you need to choose your words wisely.

Below are some examples of title formats that stick with our best practices of headline writing tips and allow you to seamlessly integrate your keyword ideas:

• Pose a question (“Why…” or “What is…”)
• Make a listicle (“Top 5…” or “5 Reasons Why…”)
• How-tos and tutorials (“How to…”)
• Compare and contrast (“Ranking the 5…” or “Best to Worst…”)

Channels like DFB Guide almost exclusively follow the formats above and their view-count speaks for itself.

Although these aren’t the only types of titles you’re restricted to, they’re arguably the safest options for both piquing people’s curiosity and ease-of-use for keywords.

As a side note, try to avoid writing clickbait headlines–audiences are increasingly familiar with and fatigued by these tactics, meaning they may reduce trust in your content.

How to optimize YouTube video descriptions

Descriptions are definitely a big deal when it comes to YouTube SEO.

With 5,000 characters to work with, it might be tempting to stuff keywords here.

However, that’s obviously not what this space is for (and keyword stuffing could land you in trouble).

There are plenty of ways to naturally integrate keywords into your YouTube descriptions minus any sort of spam. Also, your descriptions are crucial for funneling traffic from YouTube to your website, landing pages and social media channels.

In short, don’t let this space go to waste. Here’s a combination of elements to include in your description:

• A brief summary of your video which integrates your primary keyword
• Links to other relevant, keyword-specific videos on your channel
• Timestamps on your video which integrate relevant search terms
• Links to your website, social channels or other promotions

Let’s look at some examples of solid descriptions that stick within the best practices of YouTube SEO without being totally spammy.

This description for Beardbrand integrates multiple keywords throughout, including links to other videos which translates into more engagement and longer watch-times (all good for video SEO).

This description for Elgato manages to target keywords for their specific products, a smart move if you’re looking to tie the ROI of your YouTube channel to purchases on-site.

This straightforward example from Food Wishes proves that including keywords in your descriptions doesn’t have to be complicated (note that this video ranks #1 for “Baklava recipe”).

Here’s an awesome example from JHS Pedals which manages to integrate specific product-related keywords through timestamps. As a side note, including timestamps in your videos is great for engagement as it keeps your viewers from bouncing by allowing them to zero in on the most relevant parts of your videos.

Finally, this example from SEMrush does all of the above with a keyword rich-description, timestamps and links to useful resources on their site.

5. Make the most of YouTube tags

Tags are a subtle aspect of YouTube SEO that your audience more than likely will never see, but they can help improve your visibility and ranking.

But again, that doesn’t mean you should go stuffing tons of tags in your videos.

The concept behind YouTube tags is simple: by tagging your videos with descriptive terms, you’re helping YouTube understand the content of your videos and recommend what’s relevant to viewers (think: “DIY jean distressing” or “distressed jeans scissors”).

Although YouTube themselves don’t specify how many YouTube tags are considered “optimal,” five or so seems to be fair game for most channels.

If you’re interested in example tags or want to see what tags your competitors are using, figuring both out is simple. Simply go to a video, view the page source (CTRL-U) and then search (CTRL-F) “keywords” to uncover the tags.

6. Create compelling thumbnails

Although thumbnails aren’t directly tied to video SEO, they’re crucial for grabbing the attention of viewers and therefore scoring clicks.

As a rule of thumb (ha!), here are some best practices of YouTube thumbnails for most channels:

• Striking colors (either via text or background)
• Bold text which highlights the video’s title (or a benefit)
• A person or some sort of action

Here are some examples from Upright Fitness:

Thumbnails are important for establishing your brand’s identity and giving your channel a much-needed sense of professionalism. Even if you’re not a design expert, you can create consistent, eye-popping thumbnails with the help of the following template tools:

• Canva
• Bannersnack
• Visme

7. Promote your content across networks

Let’s talk about some less technical YouTube SEO tips for boosting video engagement both on the platform and off of it.

Increasing clicks, views and subscriptions to your channel are all signals to the YouTube algorithm that can improve your overall visibility, and should be a goal of your video SEO strategy.

Asking for engagement in-video

When you’re trying to get more engagement, anything you can do to get a reaction from your viewers is a plus. Some tips for doing so include:

• Asking for comments, “likes” and subscribers (don’t be shy about this but also don’t be obnoxious)
• Include some sort of call-to-action in your video (pose a question, for example)
• Add a call-to-action or question in the first line of your video description

You don’t have to beg for likes or comments, by the way. Just include a passing mention at the beginning or end or include an in-video prompt that doesn’t interrupt your viewers. Here’s an example from Emergency Awesome:

Sharing and promoting your content beyond YouTube

Pointing viewers to your YouTube content means consistent promotion across as many channels as possible. This might include:

• Embedding videos on-site or within blog posts
• Promoting your video content to your email subscribers
• Sharing your videos via social media

The last point is a big one. Video content performs well on social media, which is exactly why businesses make a point to share their latest videos time and time again across Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and/or Pinterest.

You can use tools like Sprout’s social media publishing platform to queue up and promote your videos as soon as they’re ready to go live. Additionally, Sprout’s built-in YouTube publishing allows you to push content directly to YouTube without having to leave our app.

8. Leverage analytics to find what’s working

The last piece of YouTube SEO is analyzing your results.

Through your YouTube analytics, you can assess your content’s performance to understand what’s doing well and what isn’t in terms of SEO.

For example, your YouTube dashboard can clue you in on the following:

• Which keywords are you ranking for?
• Which types of videos perform well? (think: how-tos versus listicles)
• How long are your top-performing videos?
• Which videos result in the most traffic and off-platform engagement?

If you want to know where your YouTube SEO strategy should go, you need to know where you’ve been. Based on your data, you can explore new topics and keywords which brings us full-circle.

Essential YouTube SEO tools

Sprout Social

Sprout Social is a social media management platform that offers a range of tools for managing and analyzing social media activity, including YouTube management.

You can optimize your YouTube channels and videos for search with in-depth analytics, keyword and tag suggestions, and the ability to track performance and engagement.

Sprout Social also offers features for scheduling and publishing YouTube content, as well as the ability to collaborate with team members and clients.

YouTube autocomplete

YouTube autocomplete is the platform’s built-in tool that helps you identify top keywords related to your content. Simply type something in the platform’s search bar and view a list of suggested search terms.

This gives you valuable insight into popular topics and content types on the platform. Use this to tailor our own content to better meet the needs and interests of your audience.

Ahrefs Keyword Research

Ahrefs is a powerful keyword research tool that can help you optimize YouTube videos for search. With Ahrefs, you can see the search volume and competition level for different keywords, as well as the keywords your competitors are ranking for.

This information can help you identify the most relevant and valuable keywords to target in your video titles, descriptions and tags. Additionally, Ahrefs provides data on the types of queries that are driving traffic to your channel, as well as the specific keywords that are driving the most views to your videos.

TubeBuddy

TubeBuddy is another powerful tool that you can use to optimize your channel and videos for improved visibility and performance.

Some of the key features of TubeBuddy include the ability to see what tags and keywords your competitors are using, the ability to bulk edit video titles and tags, and the ability to see detailed analytics about the performance of your videos.

AnswerThePublic

AnswerThePublic is a tool that allows you to enter a keyword or phrase and generates a list of questions that people are asking about that topic online. It’s a useful resource for understanding the interests, needs and concerns of your YouTube audience.

Ready to put your YouTube SEO knowledge into action?

SEO for YouTube doesn’t have to be rocket science.

By sticking to the tips and principles above, you’re already way ahead of the curve when it comes to optimizing your videos for more reach.

And remember: video content is among the most-shared on social media. Find out how to use video to reach and engage your audience with current data and innovative tactics in our free Social Media Toolkit.

The post YouTube SEO: Strategies to optimize your videos for search appeared first on Sprout Social.

According to The Sprout Social Index™, consumers find short-form videos 2.5x more engaging than long-form videos. And it’s the most engaging type of in-feed social content, so short-form is definitely a crowd favorite.

With the ability to publish longer videos and consumers’ love of short form video, there’s a lot of Reel-estate for brands to get creative and boost their engagement.

Here are 20 broken down by industry to help you get inspired and improve your video strategy.

Instagram Reel ideas for fashion and retail brands

Since retail and fashion brands are innately about showcasing products in an attractive way, using Reels for marketing feels natural. Push creative boundaries for your brand with these ideas:

1. Promote hot in-store items

Record some clips of your most popular products, like Lost Girls Vintage’s Reel below. Along with showing a hot item, they include a bit more information about the product and the designer.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Lost Girls ⚡️Chicago Vintage (@lostgirlsvintage)

2. Show the process and a customer reaction

It’s easy to take beautiful photos when you have a physical product, but if you offer a service, take your followers through the process of your service and show the end results with a happy customer.

Alexis Gaines is an Atlanta-based hairstylist who uses this technique often to show the different services she provides. In the Reel below, she uses a time-lapse for a new service and ends the video with a highly satisfied customer.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Alexis Gaines (@hairbylex321)

3. Create fun scenarios to showcase your inventory

Step into your imagination and create scenarios to showcase your inventory. Brainstorming destinations or situations for your inventory could help customers envision themselves using your product, especially if they’re shopping with intention.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Solo Stove (@solostove)

In the Reel above, Solo Stove shows a group of friends enjoying a girls night in. The video features the Solo Stove Mesa, which the friends use to make s’mores and other treats. Setting the scene for your customers is a great avenue to demonstrate your products outside of what might typically come to mind.

4.  Use video to carry out a social media contest

Give your engagement a boost by creating a social media contest fueled by video.

MeUndies collaborated with creators like Lauren-Ashley Beck to promote their social media contest, #GetSpookywithMe. In the video, Beck shows off her pajamas for a spooky date night inside. The TV host and former Survivor cast member sets the scene with fresh baked cookies, Halloween decorations and more. 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by MeUndies (@meundies)

Note how the underwear and loungewear brand included all the contest details in the caption. Branded challenges like this engage your audience beyond typical call-to-actions such as likes, comments and shares.

5. Share a fact to showcase your values

Customers are more likely to buy from brands that align with their personal values—it’s 74% more important to consumers than it was in 2021, according to data from The Sprout Social Index™.

Sharing facts about issues your company cares about is an easy, effective way to present your brand values.

Grove Collaborative is an eco-friendly, sustainable household cleaner and personal care brand, so sharing a fact about recycling is a perfect fit. Along with debunking a myth about plastic recycling, Grove Collaborative explained why they switched product packaging to glass and aluminum only.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Grove Collaborative (@grovecollaborative)

The brand also used this fact-sharing technique to honor World Mental Health Day. In the video below, a content creator uses Grove Collaborative products to do laundry, sharing fast facts via voiceover and text overlay.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Grove Collaborative (@grovecollaborative)

6. Use creators and influencers in clever ways

In early October 2022, Krystal announced the release of their new Side Chik chicken slider. The fast-food brand partnered with influencer Brittany Renner to let customers know they aren’t trying to replace your favorite Southern-style chicken sandwich, they just want to be your Side Chik.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Brittany Renner (@bundleofbrittany)

Krystal is headquartered in metro Atlanta, a city known for its entertainment industry. The Side Chik is the first new menu item since rapper 2 Chainz became Krystal’s head of creative marketing. But why add in Renner? Along with her fitness content, Renner gained notoriety for her relationships with rappers and athletes—an aspect of her life that she isn’t shy talking about. In other words, the brand embraced its connection to Atlanta culture to launch the sandwich.

Collaborating can lead to major wins for your brand. But in order for these types of partnerships to be successful, you have to find the right influencers for your business and audience. And Krystal’s clever, tongue in cheek video is a prime example of getting it right.

Instagram Reel ideas for higher education institutions

Feed alumni’s nostalgia with content that makes them reminisce about their college days.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill walks viewers through the Tar Heels’ famous murals and prompts alumni to comment with their favorite masterpiece:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by UNC-Chapel Hill (@uncchapelhill)

Campus and town tours are a great way to connect with alumni, but they’re also great for getting prospective students excited about coming to campus. This Reel from the University of Georgia not only showcases a beautiful campus, but a student tour guide provides information about why each location is so central to the Dawg Nation:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by University of Georgia (@universityofga)

 8. Get cinematic and showcase students

Speaking of the University of Georgia, the institution definitely knows how to tell a great story. In this Reel, the university highlights the unique journey of third-year student, Hayden Swank. With crisp voiceover and picturesque shots, the Reel emulates a documentary.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by University of Georgia (@universityofga)

Its high production quality paired with authentic storytelling makes the Reel a standout, but it’s also a great way to feature current students to prospective students who are still deciding where to continue their education.

9. Engage your students

This idea also uses a social media contest, but instead of the brand choosing the winner, followers vote for their favorite pieces of content.

For example, Indiana University encouraged students to post their best photos and/or videos of campus during the fall. In the caption, IU explains students will vote for their favorite photos and videos on Instagram. Along with IU gear—and we all know college students love freebies—winners get to be featured on the university’s social media.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Indiana University (@iubloomington)

This technique engages current students over a longer period of time. It also creates a way for prospective students to see some beautiful campus photos and envision themselves there.

10. Offer resources during midterms and finals week

It goes without saying that midterms and finals week are very stressful for college students. Help your student body ease their minds by providing resources, such as free meditation or study snacks.

Arizona State University encouraged students to practice daily mindfulness and self-reflection for #SelfImprovementMonth.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ASU Online (@asuonline)

Notice how they point to ASU’s Mindfulness Center Instagram page to provide students with more resources.

Instagram reel ideas for business-to-business brands

Contrary to popular belief, you can use Instagram for B2B brands. Here’s how you can create Reels for your B2B company:

11. Promote an upcoming event

Get your audience pumped up for an upcoming event. Atlanta-based creative agency Chemistry used this technique to promote a workshop for professionals in digital advertising, public relations and media production.

The Reel below features their chief creative officer, Chris Breen, talking about the agency’s clients and sharing his thoughts on the industry.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Cam Kirk Studios (@camkirkstudios)

Chemistry’s video generates interest by previewing the type of valuable thought leadership professionals are looking for within their industry. 

12. Showcase brand values and culture in a fun way

Chemistry also uses Reels to showcase the agency’s values and culture. In this video, we’re greeted by Odie for “Dogsplaining with Chemistry.” The adorable pup and friends are seen in the office as Odie explains a core component of Chemistry’s values and culture:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Chemistry (@visitthelab)

In other words, think outside the box when it comes to illustrating your brand’s culture and values. Chemistry has a dog-friendly office and the Reel itself proves to be another example of the type of creativity the agency produces.

13. Use animation

Use animation to showcase new updates and features for your product. Instagram Reels are lush with videos using strictly photo and video, so animation can help freshen your brand’s feed.

Zoom used animation to announce Zoom Team Chat:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Zoom (@zoom)

Your animations don’t have to be complex or super detailed. Notice how the animation is simplified, but still mimics what the new feature looks like. In fact, the simpler the animation, the better because they are easier to digest. However, just like editing, animating can take a lot of time and resources so make it easy on your team!

14. Post a satisfying time-lapse

Use time lapses to hook viewers within seconds. Time lapses are easy to shoot and edit, lowering the lift for your brand’s creative and social teams. You’ve probably seen time lapses for cooking videos or murals, but this particular Instagram Reel idea is great for brands with niche audiences too.

Inventables, a computer numerical control (CNC) brand, used a time lapse to promote the launch of their 3D carving:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Inventables, Inc. (@inventables)

By showing a piece with intricate details within a short time frame, Inventables illustrates the level of sophistication their product offers.

15. Use a trending sound

Videos are all about visuals, but brands can also lean on sound-driven Reels. When used appropriately, B2B brands can capitalize on trending sounds. For example, Inventables used the “Go Little Rockstar” trend to demonstrate how a small bit can be used to build an impressive sign:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Neon LED by Steveston Creative ⚡️🇨🇦 (@stevestoncreative)

The sound is definitely the star of the show, but the caption is the supporting actor in this scenario because it complements the Reel so well. In the caption copy, Inventables includes two call to action prompts and answers a FAQ. It also captures a story about the featured drill bit in the video. When your brand uses a trending sound in a Reel, consider how you can continue to engage your audience in the caption.

16. Share industry tips with a talking head series

Sharing tips related to your industry shows your brand is aware and gives an opportunity to provide thought leadership.

ClickUp, a project management platform, use their #WorkBestie series to share productivity tips.

For example, in this Reel, Work Bestie talks about the dos and don’t of creating a meeting:

Talking head series are very popular and a great way to showcase your brand’s personality and voice.

17. Participate in seasonal cheer

Holidays are when we connect with our loved ones and create memories. B2B brands can make the most of holiday marketing with festive Reels.

The feature management platform LaunchDarkly posted a Halloween-themed Reel. The post features a jack-o’-lantern animation with LaunchDarkly’s logo on the pumpkin:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by LaunchDarkly (@launchdarkly)

Reels like these are another easy way to show off your brand’s personality. Plus, it creates a path for your customer to engage on topics they already enjoy talking about.

Instagram reel ideas for government agencies and nonprofits

Government agencies and nonprofit organizations can also use Reels in creative ways. Here’s some inspiration:

17. Post a recap of an event

Keep your audience up to date by providing coverage of past events. Your followers who attended will enjoy reminiscing and you’ll make others excited for the next event.

Green City Market posted a recap of their annual Chef BBQ festival, featuring dishes, vendor tables and more:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Green City Market (@greencitymarket)

Reel recaps like this one could even lead to more donations and/or funding because it provides memorable visuals to what your brand does.

Instagram Reel ideas for travel / tourism brands

18. Share a #relatable travel frustration

Some of the best social media memes are based on #relatable content. Have you ever purchased in-flight wifi to chat with your friends and family, only to get zero responses?

Well, the travel app, Hopper posted about it:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Hopper (@hopper)

Customers are looking for brand authenticity on social, so relatable content resonates with many people.

Instagram Reel ideas for healthcare companies

Even the healthcare industry can benefit from using Instagram Reels. Here are a few of our favorite ideas:

19. Spotlight frontline professionals

Place the spotlight on frontline responders who are making a difference. The Grady Health System posted a slideshow of paramedics to celebrate #EMSWeek:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Grady Health System (@gradyhealth)

GHS also reposted an old music video featuring paramedics and other frontline partners:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Grady Health System (@gradyhealth)

Healthcare professionals face severe challenges every day, so posting light-hearted content like this helps lift their spirits and honor their daily contributions. Besides, who doesn’t love some hometown spirit a-la hit songs?

20. Use ASMR

Along with trending sounds, ASMR videos on Instagram are very popular. The pet insurance brand Figo (yes, we’re counting our furry friends in the healthcare space) used ASMR in the Reel below as a call to action:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Figo Pet Insurance (@figopet)

As you can see, several people commented with their vote for the best ASMR sound. This Instagram Reel idea is another great example of taking advantage of captions to funnel social traffic to your brand’s website.

Fill up your content calendar with these Instagram Reel ideas

With this list of Instagram Reel ideas, start brainstorming for your brand and get inspired to create more Reels that’ll make your feed stand out.

To learn more about the ins and outs of Instagram, check out our guide on Instagram insights.

The post 20 Instagram Reel ideas for all types of brands appeared first on Sprout Social.

Staying relevant and capturing your audience’s attention is a constant challenge for marketers. And now that brands rely on video content more than ever, it’s critical to use the correct social media video specs and advertising video sizes.

However, we couldn’t find all the correct social video sizes in one place. So we decided to create a complete guide of every single social media video spec and advertising video dimension.

Before we start, here are some additional resources to help you keep the information in once place:

• Easily reference our social media video specs in our always up-to-date Google Doc.
• Looking for image sizes? Check out our social media image sizes guide for help.
• Want to get better results with video? Download our social media video content workbook.

Social Media Video Specs & Ad Sizes Per Network

We’ve gathered a plethora of information on each social network’s specific video sizes and specs. Simply click the links below to jump to your desired network:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• TikTok
• Snapchat
• YouTube
• LinkedIn
• Pinterest

Collaborative Publishing Made Easy with Sprout

Visually appealing content can often be found at the heart of successful social posts.

Whether it’s a video, image or text, Sprout’s Asset Library serves as the central hub, making accessibility, organization and collaboration easier than ever.

Experience how easy asset management can be when you get started with a free trial today.

Facebook Video Specs

Facebook video is consumed at higher rates each year, so it’s no wonder why so many marketers search for the correct Facebook video specs.

The challenge for marketers is that there are simply so many types of videos you can share on Facebook and the platform updates its design frequently. Each video format has different dimensions and specs, which can make it confusing to know whether or not you’re uploading the correct format for organic or paid posts. Follow the specs below to optimize your posts.

Shared Post Video (Landscape & Portrait)

Easily the most common type of video on Facebook comes from shared posts. This type of video lives in your Facebook feed, and can be shared by brands or your friends. While it’s not as easy to get organic reach on Facebook, it’s still a viable way to share video. You can choose between two video orientations: Landscape and Portrait. Here’s a look at the video specs for both.

Video Guidelines

• Recommended video dimensions 1280 x 720 for Landscape and Portrait.
• Minimum width is 1200 pixels (length depends on aspect ratio) for Landscape and Portrait.
• Landscape aspect ratio is 16:9.
• Portrait aspect ratio is 9:16 (if video includes link, aspect ratio is 16:9).
• Mobile renders both video types to aspect ratio 2:3.
• Max file size is 4GB (3 GB maximum in Sprout).
• Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
• Video length max is 240 minutes (45 minutes if uploading in Sprout).
• Video max frames 30fps.

360 Video

Facebook’s 360 Video allows users to get a complete 360-degree view by scrolling with a cursor on web, by touch or turning the device on mobile.

Video Guidelines

• The resolution and aspect ratio depends on the type of content:
  • Monoscopic: 5120 x 2560 maximum, aspect ratio 2:1
  • Stereoscopic: 5120 x 5120 maximum, aspect ratio 1:1
• Recommended max file size is 10GB.
• Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
• Video length maximum is 30 minutes.
• Recommended framerate is 30 fps.

Facebook Reels

The convenience of cross-posting your Instagram Reels to Facebook expands the viewership and reach of your videos. This format appears organically in feeds, but often gets “priority” on Facebook feeds.

• Recommended video formats are MP4 and MOV
• Allowed Frame Rate: 23 FPS minimum
• Allowed Duration: 4 seconds – 60 seconds
• Allowed File Size: No file size limit
• Resolution: 540 x 960 (540p) minimum (1080×1920 or greater recommended)
• Allowed Aspect Ratio: 9:16

Facebook Video Ad Specs

In-Feed Video Ads

These ads are the sponsored equivalent of in-feed posts and follow similar guidelines.

Video guidelines

• Recommended to upload the highest resolution video possible.
• Recommended resolution: 1080×1080.
• Recommended aspect ratio is between 9:16 to 16:9 (Horizontal: 16:9, Square: 1:1, Vertical: 4:5 or 2:3 and Full Portrait: 9:16).
• Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV (see full list here).
• Max video file size is 4GB.
• Video length max is 240 minutes.

Character limits

• Primary text: 125 characters.
• Link description: 30 characters.
• Headline: 40 characters.

There are more than 5 million advertisers now on Facebook and having the right specs for your ads can be tricky. Each type of Facebook video ad is different, so let’s go ahead and break down the specs for each type of video you can produce.

Carousel Video Ads

Facebook Carousel Video ads allow brands to showcase multiple videos (or images) and a link within a user’s Facebook feed. It has grown in popularity because its unique scrolling feature allows users to see more content before clicking a link. In fact, Digiday estimated Carousel Ads to be 10 times more effective than standard social media ads.

Video Guidelines

• Recommended video resolution 1080 x 1080.
• Aspect ratio is 1:1.
• Max video file size is 4 GB.
• Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
• Video duration range is 1 second to 240 minutes.
• Video max frames 30fps.

Collection Video Ads (Mobile)

The Facebook Collection ads showcases multiple images and a main video above it. This is perfect for displaying multiple products (or various colors of a single product) and a video as well. The ad type has been popular so far with retailers and clothing companies.

Video Guidelines

• Recommended video resolution 1080×1080.
• Square aspect ratio is 1:1.
• Max video file size is 4GB.
• Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
• Video length max is 120 minutes.
• Video max frames 30 fps.

Character Limits

• Primary text: 125 characters.
• Headline max: 40 characters.
• Landing page URL required.

Instant Experience Video Ads

Facebook Instant Experience ads open up a full-screen experience after the first click, which can be further customized with a variety of interactive features. This can include multiple video experiences, including features to auto-play on loop.

Video Guidelines

• Minimum resolution: 720p
• Portrait aspect ratio of 9:16 with pillarboxing for all others uploaded.
• Max video file size is 4GB.
• Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
• Maximum length of all video content must be 2 minutes combined.
• Video max frames 30fps.

Slideshow Video Ad

Facebook’s Slideshow videos were built for advertisers wanting to reach audiences with slower internet connections. Instead of a regular video, slideshows are just that–a slideshow of images or video in an ad display.

Video Guidelines

• Recommended video resolution 1200 x 720.
• Aspect ratios available are landscape (16:9), vertical (4:5) and square (1:1)
• Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
• Slideshow duration max is 15 seconds.

Facebook Stories (Ads & Organic Posts)

Facebook has also added the Stories feature, disappearing short photo or video updates that are only available for 24 hours. In addition to user-generated organic posts, Stories ads that run in between sets of user stories are also available.  While most users will be sharing immediate & organic updates from their phone’s camera without worrying too much about their video specs, the guidelines for this format are similar for paid & organic posts.

Video Guidelines

• Recommended resolution 1080×1080
• Aspect ratios: 1.91 to 9:16, with colored gradient bars rendered above and below videos under 9:16. The text field will also be placed under below videos smaller than this aspect ratio.
• Max video file size is 4GB
• Duration is 1 second to 2 minutes
• Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.

Character Limits

• Primary text: 125 characters
• Headline: 40 characters

For more information on the video specs for Facebook, visit the Facebook Help Center.

Instagram Video Specs

Instagram launched video capabilities in 2013 and quickly saw enough success to start advertising on the platform in 2015. Since then, video only continues to grow as an engaging social format. So needless to say, Instagram videos are absolutely worth the investment.

In-Feed Video (Landscape, Square & Vertical)

Since 2015, Instagram crafted its videos formats to allow three different styles: landscape, square and vertical. The predominantly-mobile social network is perfect to share videos of any size organically to reach your audience.

Video Guidelines

• Minimum resolution for all formats is 1080 x 1080
• Recommended horizontal pixel resolution is 1920
• Multiple aspect ratios are supported: Landscape aspect ratio is 16:9, square aspect ratio is 1:1, vertical aspect ratio is 4:5.
• Max file size for all formats is 4GB (*100MB maximum for Sprout Direct Publishing and 512MB maximum for Sprout Mobile App Flow Publishing).
• Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
• Video length is 3 to 60 seconds.
• Recommended frame rate is 23 to 60 FPS.
• Recommended data rate/bitrate for posting through Sprout: 5 Mbps (megabits per second)

Character Limits

• Primary text recommendation: 125 characters.
• Maximum number of hashtags: 30

Instagram Reels

Introduced in 2020, Instagram Reels are another option for your video strategy on Instagram. These short-form, easily digestible videos are becoming the preferred type of content in Instagram feeds.

Fortunately for social content creators looking to easily generate a lot of content for Instagram, most of the video specs for Instagram Reels are fairly similar to other formats on the platform, with the main differences being the short length and the ease of editing in-app to add effects and sound.

As Instagram has started to add separate tabs for different content types, thumbnails will be cropped differently on each view. If the viewer is on the first tab that has all content types, the thumbnail will be cropped to the traditional square post size of 1:1–center your subjects and plan to avoid undesirable vertical cropping.

• Allowed file extensions: .MP4 or .MOV
• Allowed Frame Rate: 23-60 FPS
• Allowed Duration: 3 seconds – 15 minutes
• Allowed File Size: 4 GB max (1 GB or less in Sprout)
• Allowed horizontal pixels: 1920p
• Allowed maximum bitrate: 5Mbps
• Allowed aspect ratio: 0.01:1-10:1 (9:16 recommended)

Instagram Video Ad Specs

Instagram’s advertising revenue has significantly increased over the last year. In fact, Instagram predicts to earn $4 billion in mobile ad revenue in 2017 alone. The push for Instagram advertising is real and marketers have to be ready to take advantage with engaging videos.

In-Feed Video Ad (Landscape, Square & Vertical)

Much like the in-feed organic Instagram video options, the network provides similar options for advertising. These video ads appear nearly identical to organic posts to blend in with users’ feeds. In fact, the Instagram video specs are the same for organic and paid content.

Video Guidelines

• Same as In-Feed Video.

Video Character Guidelines (Mobile)

• Same as In-Feed Video.

Carousel Video Ad

Much like Facebook’s Carousel Ads, Instagram offers a similar feature. Carousel ads allow users to see more of a product or feature than a single image or video. With Instagram, your carousel video ads can have 2-10 cards with a full-width call to action below the ad.

Video Guidelines

• Minimum resolution is 600 x 600.
• Max resolution is 1080 x 1080.
• Aspect ratio is 1:1.
• Max file size is 4GB.
• Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
• Max video length is 60 seconds.
• Instagram allows 2-10 videos/cards per ad.

Instagram Stories (Ads & Organic Posts)

It didn’t take long for Instagram Stories to feature ads within users’ story feeds. Brands can seamlessly integrate their video content between other Instagram users. Much like Snapchat, it’s smart to make these videos more raw and in-the-moment to avoid drastically standing out as an ad, especially since users can immediately swipe to leave.

Video Guidelines

• Recommended resolution is 1080 x 1080.
• Aspect ratio is 9:16.
• Max file size is 4GB.
• Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
• Video length max is 2 minutes for ads and 15 seconds for organic. If you upload a longer video on organic, it will be clipped into multiple Stories slides.

If you’re looking for further information including images, check out our complete guide to all the Instagram ad sizes!

For more information on the video specs for Instagram, visit the Facebook Help Center.

TikTok Video Specs

TikTok has quickly gained attention in the social space, and some social marketers might be feeling caught off guard by the rush to understand what works and what doesn’t on the platform. Fortunately, TikTok’s focus on easy to create and share videos means it’s not hard to start producing video content for the platform, and there are plenty of trends to inspire TikTok content creation. Read on for the specs.

TikTok Organic Videos

TikTok videos are all about the ease of creation, editing and sharing, so it makes sense that specs are more or less oriented around typical mobile phone dimensions. One key trait to keep in mind if you’re trying to repurpose video content across platforms is that videos uploaded from another file source, rather than recorded on the app, can be longer than 60 seconds.

Video Guidelines

• Recommended resolution: 1080×1920
• Aspect ratio: 9:16 recommended to fill a standard mobile phone screen (1:1 with letterboxing)
• Length: 15 seconds recorded in-app, 60 seconds in-app (4 sections of 15 seconds), or over 60 seconds when uploaded from another source
• Maximum file size: 287.6MB
• Video formats: MP4 or MOV recommended

TikTok Feed Ads

TikTok ads are a rapidly evolving opportunity for brands. The in-feed option for paid TikTok content is fairly similar to the formatting for existing organic content. To fine-tune paid content for the best performance, be sure to consult TikTok’s business center for the latest tips.

Video Guidelines

• Resolutions must be at least: 540×960, 640×64 or 960×540
• Aspect ratio options: 9:16, 1:1 or 16:9
• Length: 5–60 seconds, but 9–15 seconds is recommended
• Maximum file size: 500MB
• Bitrate minimum: 516 kbps
• Ad description character limits: 1-1000 Latin characters or 1-50 Asian characters
• Video formats: .MP4, .MOV, .MPEG .3GP, .AVI

Twitter Video Specs

Twitter is a popular space to share and interact with different social media videos. For marketers, it’s all about keeping a user’s attention with enthralling and click-worthy video content. In the sports and entertainment industry, Twitter is often the go-to for sharing video content, so it’s critical to learn the correct Twitter video specs.

Twitter Landscape & Portrait Videos

Twitter provides two formats of in-feed video content to share with your followers: landscape and portrait. These specific formats are only available for uploading video directly to Twitter, rather than sharing YouTube or Vimeo links. Luckily, Twitter makes it easy to share organic content, but the dimensions do change as the video bitrate alters.

Video Guidelines

• Recommended resolutions are 1280×720 (landscape), 720×1280 (portrait), 720×720 (square).
• Aspect ratios recommended at 16:9 (landscape or portrait), 1:1 (square). 1:1 is recommended as the best route for rendering across devices with the best output.
• Max file size is 512MB.
• Recommended video formats are .MP4 for web and .MOV for mobile.
• Video length max is 140 seconds.
• Recommended frame rates are 30 or 60 fps.

Character Limits

• Maximum count: 280 characters.

Twitter Videos Ad Specs

Looking to promote your video through paid ads on Twitter? Luckily, you can use the same exact formats from Twitter organic videos. Stick to the same specs for both organic and paid video to ensure maximum visibility.

For more information on the video specs for Twitter, visit the Twitter Help Center.

Snapchat Video Specs

Snapchat is still an active network for younger generations to share video content. Whether it’s through FOMO-inducing disapppfilters, Snapchat is a hotbed for video sharing. And for your brand, it’s important to know the correct video dimensions for Snapchat.

Single video ad

This video format is the most common across the channel and is the main way users communicate back and forth through the app. However, your business can post videos to its story so others can see what your business is up to. Just follow these specs:

Video Guidelines

• Recommended dimension is 1080 x 1920.
• Aspect ratio is 9:16.
• Max file size is 32MB.
• Accept video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
• Video length is between 3 and 10 seconds.

Long-Form Video Ad

Snapchat currently offers one main video format for ads, which is known as the long-form video. While there are partner opportunities to put video within Snapchat’s discovery option, most dimensions are the same, but require your business to reach out to the social network for more details on advertising. However, the Snapchat Long-Form Video Ad is what users see in between viewing users’ Stories.

Video Guidelines

• Recommended dimension is 1080 x 1920.
• Aspect ratio is 9:16 or 16:9.
• Max file size is 1GB.
• Accept video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
• Video length is 3 to 180 seconds.

For more information on the video specs for Snapchat, visit the Snapchat Ads Help Center.

YouTube Video Specs

Known as the second-largest search engine behind Google, YouTube is an essential network for video content. For marketers, YouTube is a great space to promote, educate and share video content around your brand.

As YouTube continues to grow as a destination for video content, it hosts everything from short form promotional videos to full-length movies and TV. This means users are streaming content on all sorts of devices, which could have different levels of zoom or overscan.

While there’s no hard and fast rules from the platform on how to approach the video editing concept of ‘title safe’ areas where text like titles and subtitles aren’t cut off, you do want to avoid placing these types of visual elements right at the edges of your video area. Read on for more specifics on each format available on YouTube.

Video Player (Standard YouTube Video)

While YouTube allows users to upload various types of media formats and use plenty of different dimensions, organically, there’s truly only one format for the video player. Organic videos should all follow 16:9 ratio, but can be uploaded 4:3. However, the smaller ratio will automatically pillarbox the sides to still make it fit in the player. YouTube has seven recommended dimensions and ratios for standard YouTube videos:

Video Guidelines

• Recommended dimensions: 426 x 240 (240p), 640 x 360 (360p), 854 x 480 (480p), 1280 x 720 (720p), 1920 x 1080 (1080p), 2560 x 1440 (1440p) and 3840 x 2160 (2160p).
• Aspect ratio is 16:9 (auto adds pillarboxing if 4:3).
• Max file size is 128GB or 12 hours, whichever is less.
• Accepted video formats include: .MOV, .MPEG4, MP4, .AVI, .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, 3GPP, and WebM.
• Video length max is 12 hours.

YouTube Video Ad Specs

Standard YouTube videos are pretty straightforward, but there are a few video ad formats to learn if you want to advertise on the network. According to data from Google, Brands advertising on YouTube often receive a 20% increase in traffic.

Skippable, Non-Skippable, Mid-roll & Bumper Video Ads

We’ve put these four YouTube video ads specs together because in the end, they all play through the standard YouTube video player. That means all of these ad types follow the same dimensions as the non-ad videos, but only differ in video length. Let’s look at each ad type:

• Skippable Video Ad: This YouTube ad type is played before, during or after the content and becomes skippable after 5 seconds. This ad format is the only one allowing advertisers to monetize views from any viewing device.
• Non-Skippable Video Ad: This YouTube ad type is played before the content and users must watch the full 15 seconds (can also be added during or after video). However, views from TVs or game consoles don’t count toward a monetizable view.
• Mid-roll Video Ad: This YouTube ad type is played mid-view (like TV commercials) and is only available for content longer than 8 minutes. Ads are added either manually or automatically and again, views from TV or game consoles don’t count toward a monetizable view. Mid-rolls can be skippable, but users must watch 30 seconds or entire ad (whichever is shorter).
• Bumper Video Ads: This YouTube ad type is played before the content.It’s a small 6-second video ad that cannot be skipped, which is usually optimized for mobile views.

Video Guidelines

• Recommended dimensions: 426 x 240 (240p), 640 x 360 (360p), 854 x 480 (480p),1280 x 720 (720p), 1920 x 1080 (1080p), 2560 x 1440 (1440p) and 3840 x 2160 (2160p).
• Minimum dimension is 426 x 240.
• Max dimension is 3840 x 2160.
• Aspect ratio is 16:9 (auto adds pillarboxing if 4:3).
• Max file size is 128GB or 12 hours, whichever is less.
• Accepted video formats include: .MOV, .MPEG4, MP4, .AVI, .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, 3GPP, and WebM.
• Skippable video length max is 6 minutes (skippable after 5 seconds).
• Non-skippable video length max is 15 or 20 seconds (30 seconds in some regions).
• Mid-roll video length minimum is 30 seconds.
• Bumper video length max is 6 seconds.

Display Ad

YouTube display ads are shown in users’ search queries and sometimes appear in the right video column when watching a video. These ads are static, which means they don’t automatically play. However, once the video is clicked, the type of content displayed can simply follow the standard video player guidelines mentioned above.

Video Guidelines

• Recommended dimensions for the static image is 300 x 250 for the larger side view or 300 x 60 for the smaller side view.
• Actual recommended video dimensions are: 426 x 240 (240p), 640 x 360 (360p), 854 x 480 (480p),1280 x 720 (720p), 1920 x 1080 (1080p), 2560 x 1440 (1440p) and 3840 x 2160 (2160p).
• Aspect ratio is 16:9 (auto adds pillarboxing if 4:3)
• Max file size is 128GB or 12 hours, whichever is less.
• Accepted video formats include: .MOV, .MPEG4, .MP4, .AVI, .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, 3GPP, and WebM.

For more information on the video specs for YouTube, visit the Google Help Center.

YouTube Shorts

Introduced late 2020, YouTube Shorts have recently made its debut as another short-form video feature. These videos are a new way to watch, create and discover short-form content. Shorts can be captured and edited from a smartphone or uploaded through the standard upload workflow from desktop or mobile. Because people are watching more short-form videos globally, using Shorts is a new way to reach wider audiences to entertain, education or make them feel good.

Video Guidelines

• Recommended dimensions: 240×426 (240p), 360×640 (360p), 480×854 (480p), 720×1280 (720p), 1080×1920 (1080p), 1440×2560 (1440p), and 2160×3840 (2160p),
• Aspect ratio is 9:16.
• Video length is 60 seconds max.
• Accepted video formats include: .MOV, .MPEG4, MP4, .AVI, .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, 3GPP, and WebM.
• Music from the YouTube music library is limited to 15 seconds.
• Title character limit: 100 characters max.

For more information on the video specs for YouTube, visit the Google Help Center.

LinkedIn Video Specs

Even though LinkedIn is still in the early stages of video content adoption, the network is still a go-to source for sharing. In fact, nearly 75% of business executives say they watch online videos every week. With that number only likely to grow, it’s safe to say LinkedIn will continue to put video content at its forefront.

Shared Video

The only video format you can upload is through a shared video. While there are options to share YouTube links in shared posts and in LinkedIn Pulse articles, there’s still just one way to upload your own video.

Video Guidelines

• Aspect ratio is 1:2.4 to 2.4:1.
• Max file size is 5GB.
• Accepted video formats are .ASF, .AVI, .FLV, .MOV, .MPEG-1, .MPEG-4, .MP4, .MKV, and .WebM.
• Video length minimum is 3 seconds, max is 10 minutes.
• Video max frames 60fps.

For more information on the video specs for LinkedIn, visit the LinkedIn Help Center.

Video Ads

As of 2018, LinkedIn now offers video ads. The requirements are a little bit different than shared video, so be sure to consider them when developing ads for your paid campaign.

Video Guidelines

• Required dimensions are:
  • Landscape video: Minimum: 640 x 360, maximum: 1920 x 1080.
  • Square video: Minimum: 360 x 360, maximum: 1920 x 1920.
  • Vertical video: Minimum: 360 x 640, maximum: 1080 x 1920.
• Aspect ratios are:
  • Landscape: 16:9
  • Square: 1:1
  • Vertical: 9:16
• Maximum file size is 200 MB
• The accepted video format is .MP4
• Video length max is 30 minutes, although LinkedIn’s guidelines state most ads perform best at around 15 seconds
• Frame rate must be less than 30fps.

For more information on the video specs for LinkedIn ads, visit LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Help.

Pinterest Promoted Video Specs

Pinterest allows video upload for business accounts only, so they have specs designed for brands to get the most out of the highly visual and inspirational lifestyle content frequently shared on the platform.

Shared Video

In addition to ads, business accounts can upload organic video content. There are two formats: standard and max width video.

Video Guidelines

• Standard video recommended aspect ratio: 1:1 (square) or 2:3, 4:5 or 9:16 (vertical)
• Max width video required aspect ratio: 1:1 (square) or 16.9 (widescreen)
• Max file size is 2GB.
• Acceptable video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
• Video duration is 4 seconds to 15 minutes (for ads, the platform notes that 6-15 seconds are optimal).

Character Limits

• Title: Up to 100 characters.
• Description: Up to 500 characters.

Promoted Pinterest Video

There are two formats for Pinterest Promoted Video: standard and max width. Both versions have the same specs as the options for organic uploads. These video ads appear in users’ boards, but advertisers can select the style in the ads manager.

Video Guidelines

• Same as shared video

The post Always Up-to-Date Guide to Social Media Video Specs appeared first on Sprout Social.

If you haven’t brought video into your social media strategy, consider this your “twist my arm” moment.

But video creation requires work. You want your time and effort to go toward content that is effective for your channels and your brand. And to know what videos work, you need the right metrics.

Let’s explore video engagement metrics that help you understand organic performance across your biggest channels.

Dive deeper into video engagement performance with Sprout Social

Sprout’s Premium Analytics give you a full, 360-degree view of how your videos—paid and organic—perform on social.

Fast reporting helps you understand what content impacts your business and strategy, and how.

Request a demo to try Sprout’s Premium Analytics tools and see how they can enhance your strategy.

Before we start, know your goals

If you feel overwhelmed by the dozens of video metrics out there, there’s good news—you can be choosy.

The best way to pick the right metrics is to ask yourself: what are my channel-specific goals?

As Sprout Social’s Senior Social Media Manager Rachael Samuels puts it, “On every network, the metric that relates to the goal or purpose of the video is what you should measure. If you want people to comment or take action, views aren’t the most important but view duration might be. If your goal is awareness, if it’s an ad, if you want your video in front of thousands of people—views are more important.”

Video engagement metrics you need to improve content performance

While everyone knows metrics like views and impressions can inform performance, they might not tell the full story.

Here are some key video engagement metrics to help you dive deeper into your performance data and know where to focus your production efforts.

TikTok metrics to track

As a short-form video app, views are everything on TikTok. The second your video starts playing, it’s counted as a view—including when a video is replayed. Views from you watching your own video, however, don’t add to your total count.

Here are some TikTok metrics to track.

Total likes and total views

These are two individual metrics, but they’re important to compare. A high total views count is exciting. But if your total likes are low, you’re not getting the most out of your content.

The TikTok algorithm uses likes as a key signal when it comes to identifying popular content to organically show to more users. If your likes are low, especially on videos with a high view count, experiment and find new ways to make your content more engaging.

Post time

Most newly-uploaded videos reach peak engagement soon after being published. Publish videos when your audience is more active to rack up more engagement earlier. Look at the post time of your most successful videos to identify your best times to post on TikTok.

Watched full video

Viewers watching your video to the end holds a lot of weight with TikTok’s algorithm. Luckily, the majority of consumers find short-form video to be the most engaging content type.

To achieve a better video completion rate, create engaging, bite-sized videos with sounds and text that keep viewers watching. Tracking this metric will help you understand how well you’re hitting this goal.

Traffic sources

Knowing whether the majority of your traffic comes from your followers or new users in the For You Page tells you how much organic reach your content is getting.

A little background: there are three TikTok feeds, including the Friends Tab, Following Feed and the For You Page. The For You page is where you want your content to show up, and where you can go viral. Tracking video views received from the For You feed will tell you which videos TikTok is pushing to more people.

Average watch time

Like we mentioned, completion rate matters on TikTok. Tracking the average time people watch your content will inform when people are falling off, and what your ideal video length might be.

Keep in mind—TikTok only keeps your data for 60 days. Using a tool, like Sprout Social’s reporting and analytics, empowers you to see your lifetime TikTok data, and even compare your TikTok performance to the performance of your other accounts.

Facebook video metrics to watch

A video view on Facebook counts when a user watches a video for at least three seconds.

Average video time watched

This can help you understand your audience’s preferred video length.

Sound on vs. Sound off video views

The vast majority of video on the internet are watched without sound. Knowing whether your videos are watched with or without sound can help you prioritize captions, music, voiceover and more. Dig into how sound on vs. sound off video plays compare using Sprout Social’s Premium Analytics tools.

Full video views vs. partial

A partial view is the number of times users watch a video for at least three seconds, but no more than 30 seconds and not to the end.

A full video view is the number of times users view your post’s video for at least 30 seconds, or almost to the end for shorter videos.

Seeing these two metrics next to each other can help you visualize if your video retention improves over time.

Click-through rate

Click-through rate (CTR) is the number of times users clicked in your post as a percentage of impressions during its lifetime—especially important if your goal is to boost conversions or leads.

Cut out the manual calculation that goes into CTR. Sprout Social’s Premium Analytics feature calculates this metric in a downloadable report in seconds.

Unique video views

This is the number of unique users who viewed your video. If one person watches a video 10 times, it counts as one unique view.

Using Sprout’s Premium Analytics, compare this number against your total views to get a sense of how often your video is being replayed—an important metric considering Facebook favors content that keeps people coming back.

Click to play vs. Autoplay metrics

This can tell you how many people click to play your videos and which videos inspired interest. While videos on Facebook generally autoplay, this feature can be turned off.

Peak live viewers 

If livestreaming is a part of your video strategy, using Facebook’s Live video metrics can help you refine your approach to live audience.

Shares and comments

Facebook post engagements include reactions (Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad or Angry), shares, clicks and comments. Total engagements can give you a sense of how effective your video was overall.

People sharing your content is one of the best ways to organically reach new eyes in an algorithm-satisfying way.

95% video views

Facebook prioritizes content that sustains viewer attention. This metric highlights when viewers have watched at least 95% of your video, including those who skip ahead. Find this when you download your Post Performance Report with Sprout’s Premium Analytics.

Stand-out YouTube video metrics

YouTube has more than 2 billion active users and their newest video type—YouTube Shorts—generates more than 15 billion daily views. But beyond its popularity as a social platform, YouTube also has SEO and search applications. The platform is often touted as the most popular search engine behind Google.

Here are a few YouTube metrics to measure whether your videos are standing out.

Average view duration

YouTube prioritizes how much time is spent watching a video. It’s important to know which videos inspire people to keep watching, and how to recreate their success.

Card clicks

YouTube cards are the main type of pop-up you see during a video. There are four different kinds:

• Video: allows you to link to another YouTube video (see example below)
• Channel: allows you to link to another YouTube channel
• Link: YouTube Partners can link to an external website
• Playlist: can link to a public YouTube playlist

Card teaser impressions

This is the number of times that card teasers were displayed to viewers.

Subscribers gained/lost from video 

Looking at how many people subscribed to or unsubscribed from your channel from one video can tell you a lot about its impact.

Likes/Dislikes

While this may just seem like a vanity metric, YouTube’s algorithm weighs Likes and Dislikes when determining which videos to serve.

Key Instagram video metrics

On Instagram, a view is counted when someone has watched a video for three seconds or more.

Saves

When someone saves a video on Instagram, it means they liked it so much that they want to easily rewatch it. Instagram also uses saves as an indicator of what to show in the Explore feed.

Story metrics

Looking at Instagram Story analytics can help you understand their impact and which ones to recreate or turn into Highlights. Keep an eye on:

• Story taps back: Could indicate people are rewatching your Story, or the previous frame contained too much information
• Story taps forward: Could indicate people don’t want to stay on your Story
• Story exits: Who dropped off of or swiped out of your story
• Story replies: Who took the time to respond to your Stories, if you offer replies

Profile metrics

Looking at the following profile metrics can indicate if a recent video post led to a spike in profile actions:

• Website clicks
• Email link clicks
• Get Directions Clicks
• Phone Call Clicks

Using Sprout Social’s Premium Analytics feature, you can quickly pull these numbers to understand your audience behavior.

Essential LinkedIn video metrics 

Like Facebook, LinkedIn counts a view after three seconds, and your video view count doesn’t display publicly on your post until your video has reached 500 views.

Click-through rate

LinkedIn prefers native content that keeps users on the platform. Make sure your external links, like the job posting link below, are worth it by looking at which videos drive the most clicks to post links.

Pro tip: LinkedIn’s paid ad analytics open up opportunities for a deeper understanding of video performance. In Sprout’s Premium Analytics, you can look at view conversions to understand how your video directly impacted engagement.

Comments

Posts with a lot of longer comments, like the post below, get the platform’s attention—even more so than reactions (Like, Celebrate, Support, Love, Insightful, Curious.) They’re richer in content and can potentially increase time spent on a post, or dwell time, which LinkedIn’s algorithm favors.

Followers gained or lost 

Looking at this number after you’ve posted a video vs other types of content can reveal whether video is a powerful tool for you, or hurts you.

Helpful Twitter video metrics

A video view on Twitter is counted when someone has watched your video for at least two seconds with at least 50% of the video visible in their window.

Engagements

Twitter’s algorithm favors engagement as one of several key signals. The more engagements, the more attention. On Twitter, engagements include:

• Retweets
• Favorites
• Replies
• Mentions
• URL clicks
• Hashtag clicks
• Media views

Tweets that are Liked or commented on by one person may show up in their followers’ feeds, connecting you to new potential fans.

Follow or Unfollow from posts

Use this metric in Sprout’s Premium Analytics to understand which of your videos drive people away, and what videos attract new audience members.

Post media clicks

Post media clicks can tell you how many times viewers clicked your video—to pause it, for example—while watching.

What’s next: Turn video engagement information into action items

You’ve published videos on your social channels.

You have a sleek report highlighting their performance.

…Now what?

Data has a million stories to tell about your brand and channels. Here are a few ways you can level up your social media analytics from data points to actionable insights.

Report impact to stakeholders

Data provides a window into your strategy. It can also back you up when you need more resources for video creation by illustrating video’s impact on your brand to senior leaders.

Similarly, if your higher ups are pushing you to publish video formats that you know are not performing well, data can help prove your point. Use Sprout’s presentation-ready reports to present clear findings to your leadership team, and use Premium Analytics to answer some of their biggest questions about how social affects your business.

Know where to allocate your ad spend

It doesn’t make sense to boost or make an ad out of a video that doesn’t resonate. Knowing which videos are your most engaging can help you determine where to distribute your budget.

Guide your content strategy

Video content is a lot of work. Especially if you have to coordinate remote video production.

You want to make sure the work and energy you invest goes into the type of content that works best.

Looking at your video engagement data can highlight successful content to recreate and content that’s underperforming.

Here are a few factors that metrics can help you determine:

• Video length: Looking at view duration and video lengths with higher engagement can help you prioritize the right type of video content.
• Theme: What types of videos garnered the most engagement? Were they about your product? Funny? Informative?
• Quality: If all of your viewers drop off of a video at the same time, what’s turning them away? What can you fix?
• Card clicks: Specifically on YouTube, are a lot of people clicking a card at a specific time? Or is your card missing your audience?
• Frequency: Use video engagement data to determine how often to post, and when to pull back.
• Time of day: With social platforms like Facebook and Twitter putting a lot of value on posting time, video engagement data can help inform when your best times to post on social might be.
• Titles and description copy: Did your top-performing videos have particularly keyword-rich descriptions? What were their titles like?
• Preview images: Is there imagery that worked particularly well for video clicks?

Identify which videos to repurpose

The more mileage you can get out of one video, the better.

Identifying your high performers can help you determine which videos are worth repurposing and posting on other channels—even beyond social.

Connect content to intent

Going viral for the right reasons is every social media manager’s dream. But at the end of the day, your social efforts have to positively impact your business’ bottom line.

Video engagement data, when paired with other metrics, can help you connect content interactions with audience intent.

Looking at a successful video and comparing it to website clicks, event registrations, profile views, email signups, etc. at the time it was posted can connect content to action. This can illustrate the real business impact your efforts make to your senior leaders.

Make an impact with video engagement metrics

Video engagement metrics and social media analytics don’t exist in a silo.

By combining some of these metrics with awareness metrics—like impressions—and more, you can start to form a full picture of how video can drive your social strategy, and your business, forward.

It’s hard to be decisive when it comes to social data, but you’re not alone. Use our social media metrics cheat sheet to find the metrics that matter most to you. Then, level up your insights and make data analysis a breeze—request a demo of Sprout’s Analytics tools today.

The post The marketer’s guide to reporting on social video engagement appeared first on Sprout Social.