One of my favorite additions to the social video space is easily Blab.IM. I’ve been experimenting with it over the past few months, and have really enjoyed the experience. While platforms such as Periscope focus on more of a single person perspective, Blab.IM focuses on a talk show format. In short, it focuses on conversation!
So how is Blab different from other social video tools already out there, and why should you bother using it?
Note: This piece was originally written for Wipster.io
In July I wrote about the exciting new entrants into the world of streaming video: Meerkat & Periscope. At the time, they’d been on the market for less than 6 months, and were already having a big impact in the livestreaming social video market. Since then, each app has gone through a series of updates, bringing with them a surge of great new features. This month we’re revisiting Meerkat & Periscope to bring you the latest updates and look at ways you can use them in your social strategy.
Bonus: I’ll also be taking a quick look at Blab.im, the quickly growing powerhouse for live streaming video conversation!
Note: This piece was originally created for wipster.io/blog
Creating video content for use on your social media channels is not only a great way to stand out, but is quickly becoming an essential part of any social media content strategy. With social networks such as Facebook prioritizing video content in the feed, and investing heavily in new video tools and tech, including video into your social content strategy is quickly becoming a ‘must have’.
To help get you started, here’s 5 Quick Tips to keep in mind!
1: Keep it Short & Sweet
It can be tempting to create an epic, feature length, video dissertation on the topic of your choosing. However, the average attention span has dropped dramatically in recent years (Source). Unless your content is incredibly compelling and to the point, you’re not going to be able to hold the attention of most social media visitors for more than a few minutes.
8 Seconds – Average attention span for digital audiences, via Microsoft Research
In addition, you need to make the first few seconds count! If you’re not showing something interesting in the first few seconds of your video, you’ve already lost most of your audience. So make the most of it: Use those first few seconds to your advantage and show something great that will ensure your audience sticks around!
2: Always Add Great Description Text
Don’t skimp on writing and revising your accompanying description text, be it YouTube ‘Show More’ text, an accompanying Facebook post, or even a quick Tweet. You have a golden opportunity to capture the attention a larger audience, make sure to make the most of it.
This is particularly important if your thumbnail doesn’t clearly communicate what your content is at a glance. People want to know why they should be interested before they spend time looking at your content. Give them a quick idea of what to expect, and encourage them to watch through the accompanying text!
Note: Originally posted at http://wipster.io/blog/meerkat-periscope-part-1
The past few months have seen a surge in video streaming thanks to the introduction of mobile-based apps Periscope and Meerkat. While both are fairly new, they have seen explosive growth and are well on their way to becoming part of social engagement for brands and businesses. Periscope and Meerkat each have their strengths – but which one is the best fit for your social engagement strategy? How do you get started? and how do you get maximum value for your brand? Tara, Wipster’s Community Manager blogs about which platform might be best for you, and how to get started with live video streaming.
Note: This article was originally posted at wipster.io/blog/the-surge-in-video-content-on-facebook
Every year Facebook holds a big developer conference where they announce their newest features, updates, and tips for getting the most out of the upcoming changes. On day one of this year’s F8 Conference, Facebook unveiled a suite of changes to the way they display, surface, and otherwise support the surge in video content.
If you’re invested in the success of your brand or business on Facebook you’ll know that the individual user’s feed is Facebook actively filtered, surfacing content which is deemed relevant and engaging. With Facebook prioritizing video content as highly as they have from a development standpoint, it’s a pretty safe bet to assume that they’re also helping to prioritize video content within the user’s feed.
Our initial experiments have shown a sizable increase in organic reach and engagement for video based content over Photo, or text only posts. But hey, don’t take our word for it: Try out the new features, see what works, and adjust your strategy accordingly! If you’re not already leveraging video content I think you’ll find it can make a huge difference to your overall success!