Blog courtesy of WordWrite Communications

With YouTube, Vine and Instagram it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with the latest video flavor of the week. We’ll get to which tool is best for you to use later, but with all these new and easy video creation and sharing apps, there’s really no excuse for not including video in your social media strategy. Studies continue to prove that photos and video drive the most engagement on social media sites. Videos are shared 12 times more than text and links combined, and video results appear in roughly 70 percent of the top 100 listings in search results.

There will always be a place in our social media marketing strategies for the traditional longer professional quality videos. They are a great investment and can bring great value to your social media efforts over time. In fact, 100 million users take a social action, whether it be commenting or sharing, on YouTube each week. However, with the overload of short snippet video services, we are experiencing a shift in the way social users prefer their videos. If you’re going to create professional, commercial style videos, it’s important to include micro-videos in your strategy as well. With the recent swing, many social media users are looking for short, creative videos that focus on one key takeaway at a time.

Just this week, YouTube founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen announced their new video creation app, MixBit. So, what makes this app different from the others? For one, the videos are longer. Although Vine allows six-second videos and Instagram 15, MixBit offers 16 seconds. You’re probably thinking, “What’s one more second going to do for me?” It’s what you can do with your 16-second videos that makes MixBit truly distinctive. MixBit gives users the capability of combining 16-second videos into one longer video; hence the name MixBit. Users can mix up to 256 clips to create an hour-long video that can be shared on your website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus or on the MixBit website.

Another key distinguishing feature of MixBit is the ability to use any video clips you want. While Instagram just released this feature on Wednesday, Vine still only allows users to use video shot within the app. MixBit encourages the use of outside video to create new works and to tell great stories together.

Vine, Instagram and now MixBit have many similar features. Before deciding which one to incorporate into your social media strategy, you should find out which one your key audience participates in most. If by doing some secondary research, you’re unable to determine which is most appropriate, poll your audience. Ask on your other social networks or send out a targeted marketing email to solicit responses. Whichever platform you choose to move forward with, remember to embed your videos in your blog posts and webpages to gain additional traffic and followers.

It’s important to walk before you run when executing a social media strategy. You may find there’s a relevant audience on both Vine and MixBit or another social channel. Try picking and focusing on one network, and become expert at it. Once you feel like you have a successful strategy to which your audience is responding, then focus on working another outlet into your plan.

Whether you choose to use YouTube, Vine, Instagram or MixBit, videos are an important component to work into your social media strategy. By identifying the appropriate network and creating a comprehensive strategy, you’ll be able to establish your organization as a thought leader in the industry and grow your bottom line.

If you’re in healthcare, insurance, technology or other professional services industries, and need help with a PR, marketing or social media campaign, contact Scott Public Relations.

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