Love it or loathe it, social media is here to stay says Frank Taylor & Associates
The explosion of social media is staggering. There are 300 million Instagram stories uploaded a day – if this last sentence has left you confused then you risk being left behind and missing out on one of the fastest evolving platforms for media the world has ever seen.
The content used on social channels is evolving just as quick. To pick on video this has moved through three styles in just a few years.
- The scribbling pen videos were all the rage for a while where a pen jumps onto the screen to illustrate an image or write a sentence right before your eyes. Once the script was written you could get this produced on Fiverr for less than twenty pounds.
The pros of this format are that it can be viewed both with and without sound, making it still slightly relevant for social media today, considering 80% of videos on social media are watched in silence. The cons are that it is impersonal and a style that many practices are trying to distance themselves from.
- Next was to draft in a professional speaker in a studio to talk to your patients on your behalf – bit like reading a blog post.
This approach achieved a higher level of engagement and viewers were more likely to watch the whole clip. On the downside, it had a ‘corporate feel’ as the user is acutely aware that there is a script and actor involved, and so lost some authenticity.
- After the scripted professional speaker came the FAQ style videos which are still popular today.
This approach meant a lot of content could be filmed in one go, by breaking the clips up into 15-25 second segments.
The style isn’t very dynamic and with the average human in 2018 having an online attention span of just eight seconds you’ve got to keep their attention in as many ways as you can.
We are now on the edge of the next evolution which is moving away from pitching to a broad audience and talking to individual customers, consumers, patients. This has been adopted by huge companies such as Coca Cola and Chevrolet, so if they’re doing it why can’t you?
This style is significantly different from anything before as it takes the dental team in front of the camera. It might sound daunting but the power of talking directly to patients and potential patients gives them a real insight to what your practice is really like. The upside of the content being relatable and authentic more than outweighs the value of a professional speaker.
This style is also perfect for all social media channels and with a few post-production adjustments you could upload it in portrait for Snapchat or change the aspect ratio to 1:1 to give that viral Instagram feel.
