Are you looking to add video to your social media strategy, but aren’t sure where to start?

First, don’t be intimidated at the prospect or the outcome. Video can be an effective tool for connecting with and educating your audience. Find out why, how, and when you should use video on your channels.

Posting a video series on social media is a great way to keep your audience engaged with your video content on a consistent basis. It’s best to choose one social channel for your series; don’t try to execute it across multiple channels at the same time. Keep your audience focused, and give them one spot to access all your series content.

Here are some options:

IGTV

IGTV was launched by Instagram in June 2018. It’s a long-form video channel that gives brands the opportunity to post longer videos longer than they can on Instagram Stories (maximum 15 seconds) and posts (maximum: 60 seconds). Regular users can upload videos up to 10 minutes long, while verified users can post IGTV videos of up to an hour. In 2019, Instagram began to allow creators to post 60-second previews of their IGTV videos in the newsfeed to improve visibility and encourage views.

Recently, Instagram introduced the IGTV series feature that allows creators to make a series of videos that are released on a recurring basis. Brands have been slow to adopt IGTV, mainly due to the high cost and large time investment required to produce long-form videos on a regular basis. However, if used correctly, it can be a great way to build interest in your brand’s Instagram channel. Here are some types of video series:

• How-to video series demonstrate how to use a different product/feature/service in each video.

• Talk shows discuss new happenings in your business or industry and answer three to five customer questions per episode. These can be used as a call to action for customers to ask more questions.

• Behind-the-scenes series show a different area of your brand’s business in each episode.

YouTube

YouTube has two billion active users worldwide, and nearly 80% of marketers surveyed consider it to be the most effective video platform.

Further, more than 90% of people surveyed said they discovered new brands or products on YouTube. A well-set-up channel with regular video content can help potential new customers discover and learn about products and services — and push them further down the sales funnel.

YouTube has recently released several new features to more efficiently promote and organize video content.

• Chapters: YouTube is rolling out a chapters feature for longer-format videos. This feature uses timestamps and descriptions provided by the creator and turns them into chapters in a video. This allows users to skip directly to the specific section of the video they are interested in.

• Premieres: Similar to Facebook Premieres, YouTube Premieres allow brands to schedule a video upload and create a public watch page that can be shared in advance of the Premiere. This creates a community viewing experience much like the premiere of an episode of a TV show.

• Stories: Similar to Instagram and Facebook Stories, YouTube Stories are short, mobile-only videos that allow users to connect with their audiences more casually. On YouTube, Stories are live for seven days. YouTube has included some nice promotional features with Stories, including stickers that feature a full-length video thumbnail and drive viewers directly to that video with a click.

Facebook Playlists/Premieres

Facebook has introduced a playlist functionality similar to YouTube’s. Add a series of videos to a playlist, and they will auto-play for the viewer in the order of your choosing.

Facebook also has a Premiere feature similar to YouTube’s. Page managers can upload a video and set it to premiere at a certain time, allowing Page fans to sign up for a reminder notification so they can tune in. Facebook Premieres allow brands to take advantage of the live engagement that comes with Facebook Live, but with a more polished prerecorded video. Premiere also allows brands to build more buzz before the broadcast.

With so many video publishing options to choose from, there’s something for every brand.