There’s really no better way to say it than this: Videos are a must to be successful on social media, but especially so on Facebook with the changes that have come down the pipe.

Correction: Quality videos are a must to be successful on social media.

It’s easy to post a video on Facebook, but if you’re not making sure it’s in line with your social media strategy or has a strategy built around it, the odds of success are not in your favor. According to Cisco, 80 percent of all content consumed online will be video by 2019 and that’s only six months away folks. The time to get going on videos was yesterday, so if you could use some guidance on how to correctly incorporate them into your Facebook strategy, you’re in luck, MILO is here to dish out some advice.

Focus on what matters

Gone are the days of relying on metrics like views and followers to judge the success of your videos. In fact, Marcus Sheridan, of The Sales Lion and IMPACT fame, stressed at Social Media Marketing World 2018, that you need not get caught up with the things that don’t matter, such as views.

According to Sheridan, you have to establish other parameters to measure success early on and determine the KPI’s that will dictate if you’re winning or not. Your video can have a million views, but if none of those views have generated sales for the business, are you truly winning?

Brian Fanzo, founder of iSocialFanz, is another social media expert who is urging marketers and businesses to say goodbye to vanity metrics, as Facebook is all about those meaningful interactions now. For Fanzo, the focus now is on bringing authenticity and creating participatory content when building out your social media strategies. By the way, did you know that Facebook Live gets six times the interactions than native videos on Facebook?

Content is Still Key

Mari Smith, Facebook’s designated “Small Business and Facebook Marketing Expert” shared an interesting statistic at SMMW 2018 – people gaze five times longer at video than static content on Facebook (and Instagram). Due to this, we need to move away from the whole “buy my stuff” style of copywriting and begin thinking about the videos we create from more of a screenwriter’s viewpoint. Remember, relationships first and business second.

If you’re wanting to move the sales needle, remember these five types of content which are favorites of Sheridan:

  • Content that is willing to look at the good, the bad and the ugly. To create trust with the customer, you must be willing to look at all sides. Remember, it’s not the competition who is keeping your lights on, it’s the customers and they value transparency.
  • Content that openly discusses money, costs, pricing, rates, etc. Did you know that 90 percent of businesses won’t address the cost of their service/product online? Take a chance and be one of the 10 percent who will.
  • Content that is willing to turn customers away. This one is important: don’t be afraid to tell folks exactly who you are and what your company can do, including what you’re not.
  • Content that promotes self-selection. “For me” searches have increased 130 percent over the past two years and “Should I” searches are up 60 percent. Incorporate this in your content strategies.
  • Content designed to replace or facilitate the traditional buyer experience. “First Ride” and “Shop With Me” videos continue to see their popularity surge, which is telling of what social media users are looking for.

Videos on Facebook are here to stay and if your brand implements some of these tips, you’ll see some encouraging results.