How to Skyrocket Your Performance on Twitter Using Video

Video Transcription

Today you will learn how to skyrocket your performance on Twitter using video.

With over 2-billion views per day, video is now the fastest growing type of content on platform. And according to Twitters very own data, video content is viewed 10 times more than any other type of content on the platform and delivers the highest levels of engagement.

So, if you want to learn how to get the most out of your videos on Twitter, stick around as today we are going to cover exactly this.

Hi, I’m John here at Spiel Creative. Before we begin, make sure you subscribe to our channel and hit the bell notification. That way, each time we release new videos to help you with your video marketing, you’ll get notified.

Without further ado, let’s get started by going through the 3 types of videos that you can use post on Twitter

Sharing Videos Hosted on External Platforms

The first way you can posts video content on Twitter is by simply sharing videos hosted on other platforms such as YouTube, for example. Doing this is as easy as sharing the link for the video in your Tweet.

Although this method of posting videos isn’t Twitters recommended option for maximising reach and engagement, it does have the benefit that you aren’t restricted in terms of how long your video can be. It can also be the least time consuming method if you generally upload your video content on another channel such as YouTube as all you have to do is just share the link.

So, moving on, the second option you have to post videos on Twitter is…..

Native Videos

Native videos are videos that are uploaded directly to Twitter, with no third-party platform involved

According to Twitter, native videos achieve a substantially more reach and engagement than videos shared from other platforms.

This is because native videos on Twitter autoplay in user feeds which give them much more visibility than videos shared from other platforms. And just like all other social media platforms, Twitter wants its users spend as much time as possible on its platform rather than elsewhere. So their algorithms are naturally going to favour and provide more benefit to native videos rather than those that their viewers have go to competitor platforms to watch. So whenever possible, make sure you use Twitters native video option to get the most exposure for your videos.

One downside of native videos however is that at the time of recording this video, they can only have a maximum duration of 2 minutes and 20 seconds which means that it is only suitable for short form content.

And finally we have…

Livestream Videos

The third and final way to share video content on Twitter is by livestreaming.

You can livestream videos on Twitter by signing up to their very own livestreaming app called Periscope. To do this, all you need to do is visit the apps official website www.pscp.tv and sign up to it and connect it to your Twitter account.

Ok, now that we’ve covered the three different types of videos that you can post on Twitter, let’s look at the 3 different video advertising options that are available to you on the platform, starting with…

Promoted Videos

Promoted videos are the easiest type of add to run on Twitter and are designed to help give native videos more reach. To promote your video using this ad format, all you have to do is upload it as a native video and then promote it using your Twitter account. Promoted ads work on a ‘Cost per View’ basis, which means that promoted videos only consume your budget when someone actually watches your video.

Moving on, the second type of video ad that is available to you on Twitter is…

In Stream Video Ads

These ads work similarly to in stream ads on YouTube and are seen by users as a pre-roll, either before a video plays, or mid-roll. In stream ads are only available to brands that have become part of Twitter’s Amplify program. So, if you’re interested in using in-stream ads for your business and want to become part of Twitter’s Amplify program, you can do this by speaking with one of their Partner Managers in regards to submitting an application.

And last but not least, we have….

Sponsored Video Ads

The third and final type of video advertising available on Twitter is sponsored video ads.

These are pre-roll video ads played specifically before a premium video.

Now premium videos are created by Twitter’s vetted and approved premium video content partners – which include large-scale media outlets like Bloomberg, Vice Media and Sony Music. Now these types of ads are designed to create a brand association between the advertiser and the premium content partner and are really only available to larger Twitter advertisers with deeper pockets.

In stream and sponsored ads are generally used more to create brand familiarity whilst promoted video ads are more useful to build your following on the platform. Another important thing to remember when creating In-stream ads is that in general shorter ads tend to perform better than long drawn out ones. Even twitter itself recommends that the optimal length for instream ads is around 6 seconds.

Ok, so now that you are aware of the different types of videos you can share of twitter and the different ad formats available, let’s go over 3 simple tips to follow which will help you to get the most out of your videos on the platform.

Tip 1: Use Twitter Media Studio

What makes Twitter’s Media Studio so great is that not only does it make uploading and managing your video content a lot easier, but that it also allows you to add extra components to your videos like a custom thumbnail, call to action button, links, titles, descriptions and subtitles. It also provides great analytics and it’s super easy to use!

Once you’re inside the Media Studio, you simply click “Upload Media” and navigate to the content on your device. To make changes, including updating elements like titles, subtitles and calls-to-action, you simply click on the video that you’ve added, a window will pop up and you can make changes inside it. When you’re satisfied with your video, you can tweet it immediately by clicking on the Tweet button and adding your text then hitting Tweet. Or, if you want to schedule it for later, simply choose “schedule.”

So, if you are serious about video marketing on Twitter, this is a great tool to start using. The only problem is that at the time of recording this video, Media Studio isn’t automatically present in your Twitter account and is available through invite only. And getting access isn’t that straight forward. One way to get access is to reach out to Twitter’s customer support team which you can do if you are running paid ad campaigns and they should be able to assist you with this.

Now another way to get access is to complete the application form to get invited.

Now finding the application form to complete is a bit of a challenge in itself. The easiest way we found to get access to the application is by going to the URL showing on the screen now: https://blog.twitter.com/en_au/a/2016/au-launching-twitter-media-studio.html

I also include this description below click the link then scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking on the ‘here’ link which will take you to the application form which you can then complete.

Hopefully in the near future, Twitter will make its Media Studio more accessible but until then you may have to jump through a few hoops to get there. So let’s move on to…

 Tip 2: Include Subtitles

With over 90% of videos on Twitter watched on mobile, you need to make sure your videos are mobile friendly. One important thing to take in consideration is that a large proportion of mobile users prefer watching videos with sound off. This can be due to a number of reasons such as being on a train or at work where putting sound on can be inconvenient. So adding subtitles to your videos can really help boost the engagement levels of your videos.

Tip 3: Keep Your Accompanying Tweet Short

According to Twitters own stats, videos with short tweet copies accompanying them had 13% higher engagement rates. So no matter how long your video is, make sure the copy of your tweet accompanying it is short and sweet.

I hope you found this video to be useful and learnt something new. If so, make sure you remember to subscribe to our channel so you get notified when we release new videos.

And finally, if you need any further help with your video marketing, you can get in touch with us here at Spiel.

Thanks for watching!