• by Dimitry Ioffe , Columnist, April 1, 2016

Waiting in line for anything today has its benefits – for most it’s a head down opportunity to catch something new on Instagram, Snapchat or a Facebook feed. Digital video content – mobile in particular — is having its moment. And I believe it will last for a long time to come.

Every day brings a new announcement from a social media platform about new formats, longer or shorter ads, and gifs and other tools to make content more engaging and shareable. Instagram, for one, just announced a :60 format.

Keeping up with the changes is vital to ensuring that you connect with today’s always-on consumer. For entertainment brands, the stakes to get video content right are even higher because, in many cases, the product is the content. Turning a film, a series or show into short, shareable bites isn’t the same as creating a 30-second television ad. Here are some ways that entertainment brands can put their video content to work:

Start with Audience

Before even deciding which platforms you want to use, you have to start with understanding the audience you want to reach. Moms use Instagram and Facebook differently than Gen Z or Gen X. And younger audiences devour Snapchat while ignoring Facebook. 

Think – and Produce — Mobile First 

Back to the waiting-in-line experience – more video content is being watched on mobile than desktop. It is now the main way consumers interact with content. This is a challenge and opportunity for brands of all kinds. For one, you can create more immersive experiences on mobile where the user can find him or herself on the edge of a mountain, in the middle of a laser fight or at the table where dinner is being served. Mobile enables 360 experiences. It also means that you have to create content that loads quickly or you will lose the consumer’s attention fast. 

Make Content that Works on Mute

Let your moving pictures speak a thousand words because many videos begin running without any sound. If you can capture someone’s attention immediately just with your imagery, you will win. Lead with your brand upfront because it will get lost otherwise as consumers are prone to scroll past silent video unless they know it’s something they are interested in seeing.

Consumers will Seek out Entertainment Content

If you’re like me, you’re watching the latest Carpool Karaoke or Jimmy Fallon clip on your phone or tablet. I’m watching what friends share or I get it automatically from a feed so I don’t miss out. Make it easy for consumers to find your content and make sure your social sharing buttons are active. 

Not All Platforms are the Same

Just as each social post created to promote a brand, a film or movie needs to be tailored for each platform, so too do video posts. An Instagram video is not a Facebook video, is not a Snapchat video and so on. Not to be overlooked are the growing placement of video ads on search engines.  

Give Your Stars Something Special

Celebrities are like us. They like to share. Make sure you have content created specifically for social-minded actors in your film or show so they can share the content with their millions of followers. Give them different content for each channel. Make sure that what you create for Instagram is different than Facebook. They get the difference among platforms as much as their fans do.

Don’t Over-Produce

Everyone’s a videographer today. Videos go viral not based on high production values but on entertaining content. Even when you’re putting out content for a highly produced movie, make sure your content has personality. Telling a good story will stand out over content that is too slick and feels overly controlled.