Twitter announced this week that they are increased the video length limit to 140 seconds from 30 seconds – an update openly welcomed by marketers. This helps Twitter join the ranks of Instagram and Facebook, who both have made changes to make it easier to upload and consume video on their platforms.
Twitter has realized that sports, news, music, and other video content goes viral frequently, like the recent “Damn, Daniel” video that took the world by storm. The head of product development for creators at Twitter, Jeremy Rishel, revealed, “Video is becoming increasingly central to the real-time conversations happening on Twitter video. Video tweets on Twitter have increased by over 50 percent since the beginning of 2015.”
This update creates huge opportunities for brands to increase engagement with video in their tweets. If you’re new to video for Twitter, here’s a quick bootcamp with how to upload, and some ideas to get started.
There are three ways to add video to Twitter:
1. Record: Record, edit ,and share videos within the Twitter app
2. Import: If you use the Twitter for iPhone or iPad app, you can import videos from your device.
3. Upload: Upload existing videos to Twitter.com
Twitter video allows you to show you care and create a strong connection with customers and clients. You can engage with users on a much deeper level, and it shows your company puts that extra effort behind their social media. Give any of the following ideas a try to kick start your Twitter engagement.
1. REPLY WITH A VIDEO
Instead of replying with a simple text tweet, bump it up with a video! Sharing a video shows a commitment to your followers and commitments, and that you’re willing to go the extra mile. Just a quick “Thank you for the shout out, have a great day,” can really set you apart from the competition and help you create a relationship with users. It’s much more engaging that a regular tweet, and just as easy.
2. SHARE LIVE EVENTS
Use Twitter video to showcase whatever event your team has going on- a conference, community event, or just a special day at the office. Use your event hashtag to allow those who could not attend your event to follow along. The videos will help the tweets stand out in the feed, bringing even more attention to your event. Shoot quick, bite-sized videos throughout the event and upload to twitter.
3. PROMOTE AND EDUCATE
Don’t be afraid to share some promotions on Twitter! Whether its your latest produced commercial, or a quick video explaining a new product, Twitter is your platform. Sharing a short fun promotional video can perform very well on Twitter, especially with the recent length increase. Make it quick and entertaining, and retweets may help expand it to a greater audience.
4. ASK FOR USER-GENERATED CONTENT
Twitter is the easiest platform to have a conversation with your audience, so see if they’ll send you videos! You could run a contest with videos as the entry, or just ask for videos with the promise of retweeting them to your audience. You could then use those videos to compile and upload to other social media platforms, or just as a showcase of your brand interactions.
Take the leap and start adding video to Twitter – it might be just want you need to grow your audience.
