Ever felt like it’s hard to stand out on Facebook and Twitter?

You spend all that time creating or curating great content, or making endless connections. Why? So you can stay top of mind, position yourself as an expert or thought leader, get seen by your potential clients and customers, and ultimately build “like, know, trust” so that people will listen to what you’ve got to say or choose to do business with you.

But how can you get seen amongst the wall of information shared through social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter?

How about you step out from behind the brand/company that you represent?

Let your prospects and clients see the whites of your digital eyeballs.

Start using video comments on Facebook and Twitter to really increase your profile views

At the moment, Facebook and Twitter are the main social media sites where you can reply directly in a video, and you can use this facility on desktop, laptop and tablet or mobile, as long as you’ve got a camera built in. (It’s actually easier to use your tablet or mobile for this)

Why do video comments work so well?

  • They enable you to build a deeper connection with your prospects and clients
  • Your video comments stand out in the comments/replies
  • People appreciate that you’ve taken the time to personally respond – they know it’s you answering, and not an “outsourced” response
  • It humanises your company/brand
  • People are more curious to know about you having watched your video response, so are far more likely to view your profile or business page after
  • Your comments cannot be misinterpreted, as your body language and tone of voice come across in video
  • You’ll be remembered far more than a text comment reply
  • You can say more in video and it feels more meaningful.
  • If you’re prospecting a person/company, it shows that you’re really taking the time to engage and be interested in them

On Facebook, you can video reply from both a personal profile and a business page. If you’re video replying from a business page, you’ll need to make sure that your business page has liked the page that you want to comment on. You might have to beg your marketing team to allow your sales teams to have admin access to the Facebook page, but there are BIG benefits to be reaped from doing so

Are you a Business Development Manager, Sales Director, or responsible for Lead Generation?

Do you ever attend events, conferences or trade shows?

If so, it’s likely that these events are promoted on Twitter and/ or Facebook. Find out if there’s a hashtag for the event on Twitter, or whether there’s a Facebook Event set up to promote it.

If there is, why not join the Twitter hashtag conversations with video tweets rather than text ones. You’ll be much easier to recognise once you’re at the event, you’re far more likely to attract followers who are also attending, and therefore it’ll be much easier to make connections once you arrive at the event, as you’ll already have developed rapport.

Similarly, if there’s a Facebook event page set up, check the recent posts, and respond with video rather than text.

Video comment tips

  • Use a selfie stick for a better camera angle
  • Make sure your phone is in landscape mode (turn it 90 degrees) when filming. If you use it in portrait view, you’ll get black bars on either side of the video, which doesn’t look as great
  • Put some personality into it – be the real you! But also consider that you’re a brand advocate for your company/business/product/service.
  • Share your brand/company/product/service story
  • Share your insights on the posts that you’re commenting on – consider how you can add value to the conversation , and use examples of where your product/service has worked or changed to solve a problem… Don’t go hard sell though!
  • Video replies on Twitter should be less than 30 seconds as that’s the maximum video length, it’s amazing how much you can say in that amount of time
  • Don’t speak too quickly
  • Offer advice or a solution
  • Don’t promote on other people’s posts unless it’s super relevant, or you might find your video comment/reply is deleted
  • Make sure that your Facebook/Twitter page and/or profile is completely up to date with contact number, and website link (you could even update your profiles to go to a lead page on your website rather than your home page if you’re discussing a particular product/service regularly)
  • If you’re connecting to your prospects or clients through your personal Facebook page, be mindful of what you’re sharing and liking. Remember that Facebook shows the content that you’ve liked to your friends on Facebook, as well as the content that you post and share… don’t get caught out!
  • If you’re commenting on your prospects/customer’s Facebook pages through your personal profile, ensure that you’ve changed your settings to allow followers. That way if you choose not to allow them to connect to you as friends, they can follow your profile, and see your public updates
  • Don’t worry about your video being absolutely perfect (otherwise you’ll never use video replies or comments) – it’s what you say that’s most important! Just grab your phone, record your response, and leave it as a comment on Facebook, or post it as a reply on Twitter.
  • Add a short text reply too that will make them want to click on your video reply, as your clients and prospects might have disabled video auto-play whilst they are on mobile devices
  • Where appropriate, invite people to visit your website at the end of your video reply

Get started now

Grab your phones, record your reply and add it as a comment of the Facebook posts or reply with video on the tweets of the people that you want to make a lasting impression with!

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