First of all, in case you haven’t heard it enough, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I truly hope this year brings you all the success you desire.
But, of course, success doesn’t just come from desiring it. It comes from getting stuff done too! So, I thought I’d share with you what I will mainly be focusing on with my own social media activity in 2018.
It really follows on from what I started to do in 2017 and that is VIDEO! Video is such an important element of your social media activity now. I have never seen as much engagement on my social media platforms as I have when I started incorporating video posts on a regular basis. So, this will be something I’m continuing without a doubt in 2018.
I will be creating videos up to 1 minute long at least 3 times a week, and sharing those videos on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. The preference would be to have differing content on each of the platforms, but I know I don’t have the time to do that. Better for me to get as many views of the same video as possible, than restricting those numbers by sharing it on only one platform.
It’s a good idea to add subtitles to your videos, as so many people watch without audio. To do this, I use an app called Clips to record my videos on my iPhone (unfortunately, I don’t think there is an Android alternative). This adds the subtitles as you are recording your video. It doesn’t get them all exactly right, but just go back after and edit any mistakes, and it’s a really quick way of getting subtitles on your video without creating long winded SRT files.
The whole process of creating and uploading a video to each platform takes me about 5 minutes. Which is why it’s achievable to aim for posting several videos a week. I aim for a one take video. They may not be absolutely perfect, but far better to post a good video several times a week, than never post a perfect video because I don’t have time to create it!
Another type of video I’m going to be using in 2018 is more LIVE video! I ended last year by going live 14 times during December on my Facebook page. I plan to continue this, but with a more focused approach and a live schedule. I’m also going to go live more on Twitter, via Periscope, and possibly stream the same live broadcast to both at the same time to compare viewer figures.
And finally, I’m going to start creating some vlogs for YouTube! For all I was posting short video content direct to my social media platforms last year, I created very little content for YouTube. I have decided to start doing a weekly blog (video blog), taking you along with me to speaking engagements and training sessions, as well as sharing some social media and small business hints and tips!
That’s a lot of video content! But video is going to be more key than ever in 2018 and can’t be ignored. If you’ve never created a video for social media, it’s time to get started. Believe me, there are very fee people in this world who enjoy being in front of the camera! But the more you do it, the more you get used to it. No one will be scrutinising how you look or sound other than you! They care more about your message. So, jump out of that comfort zone and hit that record button!
