Video content is undeniably amazing. They provide immersive experiences that make your message more engaging and memorable.
However, videos take countless hours to produce, making them appear impractical for many marketers. Moreover, they are too often used only once, so at first glance, it's not a sound investment decision.
The trick to making video production worthwhile is to repurpose video content across multiple social media platforms. Not only does it save you time and resources, it also expands your reach and lets you communicate a consistent message.
In this article, we share our top five tips and tools we use for repurposing video content for social media.
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Video creation is more than just picking the right colors and adding transitions. You should carefully consider your audience and the environment your videos will be published to. By considering user preferences around the style of videos across multiple platforms, you can create videos that generate more engagement.
While repurposing video content for social media allows you to create content for multiple platforms simultaneously, you must be mindful about the channel that is best suited for your content. It is possible to use the video as is, but it is more common to have to make minor changes. Editing may sound trivial and unnecessary, but the minute you spend doing it could be the difference between success and failure.
Videos must first be edited to meet the platform's requirements. The right specs enhance video quality, giving users a better watching experience. Furthermore, they also contribute to maximising screen real estate.
Using the wrong specs may result in an unappealing border around your video, a cropped video with important elements cut off, or an oddly scaled video that is unwatchable.
Here are the recommended video specifications for each platform:
It's not exactly practical to shoot videos in different aspect ratios or formats. Editing videos to fit the platform's requirements can get tedious, and technical skills may also be needed to ensure quality output.
Video editing apps make it easy to resize, often with just a click of a button, so you can have perfectly formatted videos for every platform. Most of these apps offer intuitive editing features that even beginners can access. On top of that, built-in animations and effects allow you to spice up your videos. If you do run out of ideas, you can access pre-made templates for your videos.
Here are some of our favourites when it comes to video editing.
Inshot is a mobile editing app that’s available on both Android and iOs. Inshot can perform basic video editing, including trimming, splitting, and merging, and includes a feature that lets you add a personalised touch with animated stickers and texts. Inshot's free version comes with all features you'll need, but if you want the full version, you can unlock it for $3.99 per month or $34.99 for a lifetime subscription. The Pro version unlocks all filters, stickers, and effects and removes all watermarks.
Mojo lets you create and edit videos directly from your phone. There are hundreds of editable templates, and more are added every month. Mojo also lets you integrate animated text and effects into your videos. The pro version unlocks more templates and lets you customise your logos and fonts. The monthly plan is $9.99, while the annual plan is $39.99.
Filmora uses a keyframe editor to let users edit easily between scenes, making it an ideal tool for beginners. Colour matching, audio ducking, and easy to add video effects ensure that your video looks good and sounds good. Green screen is another outstanding feature, as are split screen and the capability of changing backgrounds on a subject as you record.
Davinci Resolve is an excellent video editing software that's difficult for new users to get used to. However, once you get past the steep learning curve on its complex tools, it's easy to create amazing video content even professionals will admire. It has a dedicated feature set for colour correction, cinematic motion graphics and audio processing.
A lot of brands are recognising the value of an audio podcast as a way to deliver content in a different manner, and as a chance to establish themselves as an industry leader.
The popularity of audio podcasts is largely due to their accessibility. You can consume new information without having to stare at a screen the whole time.
Converting your videos to an audio file is easier than you might have thought. You can easily extract and edit the audio in a matter of seconds with the tools we listed below.
Audacity is a free open-source desktop app that lets you extract audio from your video by simply exporting it in mp3 format. If you are more advanced, Audacity offers a robust editing process that lets you adjust sound quality, add effects and manipulate tracks.
Anchor.fm is a podcasting tool released by Spotify. Besides giving you the ability to extract and edit audio from your video, you get a host of other features that aid in the distribution and monetisation of your audio podcast.
Anchor.fm offers unlimited hosting and one click publishing to major podcast platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Overcast. Additionally, your podcasts' metrics and listener information are available within the platform. Anchor also lets you monetise your podcast by enabling donations and Anchor Sponsorships.
VLC is a widely known media player that supports a variety of file types. What many don't know is it also allows you to extract audio from your videos. By simply going to the media tab and clicking convert, you are already able export mp3 file. However, the only thing you cannot do is edit the audio file afterwards.
Another way to repurpose video content on social media is to turn your video into a blog post to increase its SEO value and make it more accessible to a broader audience. Well-written content can easily rank high on Google search results and attract organic traffic.
As opposed to videos, blog posts can be more elaborate since fewer people will lose interest mid-way through. Additional information on the topic can be added to what's already in the video. A blog post can also make finding specific information about a given topic much easier than having to navigate through videos.
However, writing a well composed blog post can be time-consuming and requires some writing experience.
If you want to write up your video quickly, you may want to do a transcription instead. The transcription provides a summary of what has been said on the video. The only thing to be aware of is that transcriptions are normally done word for word, so you may still have to edit them, leaving only the key points.
You can easily transcribe videos using online tools.
Rev offers both machine-generated and human-generated transcriptions. They support multiple speakers and handle difficult audio with accents and specialised terms. Machine-generated transcripts are estimated to be 80% accurate and cost just 25 cents per minute. Meanwhile, professional transcriptionists deliver with 99% accuracy and cost 1.25 per minute. Transcripts are sent in an editable format within 12 hours of uploading.
Go Transcribe offers a similar transcription service. Their pay-as-you-go model is $12 per hour, with monthly plans starting at $36 per month for 4 hours of credit with one month of rollover.
All your best-performing videos will all share one thing – people watch them. That’s why using them to run social media ads is a clever way to maximise their value.
Engaging videos reduce the time it normally takes to launch new ad creatives by eliminating the need for extensive testing. They boost brand awareness and convert visitors faster through higher click-through rates and average play times.
To determine the right video to use, consider the purpose and whether it matches the platform. For instance, quirky content may not have the strongest appeal on Linkedin. The same is true for overly serious, professional ads on Tik Tok.
The video you choose should be edited to the appropriate resolution, aspect ratio and file type. This provides the video with better delivery and performance on the platform.
Including brand elements helps viewers associate the content with your brand, thus increasing brand recognition and awareness.
Additionally, you need to consider the nature of ads when repurposing your video. People tend to ignore them. Therefore, it is important to have scroll-stopping thumbnails and to deliver your message in the first few seconds. You can also encourage your customers to take the next step, such as visiting your site or buying your product, by placing call-to-action elements in your video.
Using the best video content for your ads, and editing them so they best fit the platform can definitely help you speed up results and avoid burning through your budget.
Video is likely to remain one of the most effective formats. Communicating verbally and visually delivers a clearer message that builds confidence with viewers. Although the costs may be steep, it is certainly worth the investment.
Next time you produce video content, remember to repurpose it in multiple contexts and utilise every distribution channel available. The video you worked hard on should definitely be used to its full potential and maximised.
Want to know how else you can repurpose video content for social media or simply looking for social media marketing services? A social media agency can help. Heroes of Digital is the top social media marketing agency in Singapore. With more than 600 clients under our belt and half a decade of experience, we are the go-to Singapore social media marketing agency.
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