People designed social media to bring people together. They chatted on timelines and shared pictures of family and friends. It’s grown far beyond that and is no a powerhouse of commerce and connectivity.
Social media videos are a major aspect of many platforms and account for more than 75 percent of Internet traffic and are estimated to be up to 82 percent by 2021. It includes everything from informative how-tos, cats acting crazy, and the latest music videos.
They’re a hot commodity, but why? What makes videos on social media so popular? We’ll examine the reasons why everyone can’t get enough of online videos.
Faster Internet Ushered in Social Media Videos
When social media first came on the scene, people dialed up on a slow Internet connection. Computers had a fraction of the processing power to process streams of data. If you clicked on a picture on a dial-up connection, it could take several seconds to come up.
If you wanted to see a video, then it could be hours before you could watch it. It wasn’t until high-speed Internet became available that online videos became an option.
People could record their child’s Christmas concert and post it on social media for everyone to see.
Businesses recognized this power and created funny, serious, and other videos types designed to engage people and build out their brand.
Anyone Can Make Them
Videography was once a technical profession. It required a high-quality camera to create videos. You needed a cable to download it onto the computer.
The videographer used high tech and expensive editing equipment to create professional looking videos.
The process could take days or even weeks. Smartphones changed the landscape by giving this ability to anyone.
People could now capture videos in the moment and download to Facebook, YouTube or Live. Hundreds of thousands of people could see your video within minutes of taking it.
Online editing programs made it easy to clip, add special effects and different camera angles without expensive equipment. People love video and social media because anyone can do it.
People Make Money from It
YouTube is a social media platform designed for videos. Everyone from the guy next door to famous celebrities have channels for reviews, unboxing products, or making people laugh. There are also mediums like Twitch created to showcase gaming and live streaming.
Being a YouTuber or online streamer is a profession and, for some, it’s very lucrative. They’ve become celebrities with sponsorships from companies and millions of dollars in revenue.
Twitch and YouTube allow people to monetize their videos based on subscriptions and the number of views. People watch videos with the same excitement as watching their favorite television show or movie.
Many channels have merchandise they sell that not only help make them money, but also build brand reputation.
Video makers use platforms like Patreon to receive donations from fans who can’t get enough of them. Many people also find YouTube celebrities are more down to Earth and relatable than Hollywood celebs.
People Show Off Their Talents
We all have talents we’re proud of but don’t often get to share those talents with others. It could be singing, playing guitar, or fixing the thermostat on a 75’ Chevy.
Before the invention of social media videos, they didn’t have an audience. There are many artists that earned record contracts or other business opportunities because of a viral video.
Before, fame required years of hard work touring the country or luck of being seen by the right person at the right time. Social videos allowed people to show off their talents to a worldwide audience.
Videos Help Save People Money
When people had a problem with an appliance or a car, they often needed to call a repairman or a mechanic. It could cost them hundreds of dollars for a simple repair. They had to pay because they didn’t have that knowledge.
How-to videos created by professionals gave them the opportunity to do it themselves. Everything from car repairs to changing the belt on a dryer had step by step instructions. They could see it, rewind certain spots and complete the repair.
People get a sense of accomplishment from doing it themselves. They save a few hundred dollars because they didn’t call the repairman.
Variety Is the Spice of Life
People like surprise and seeing something they don’t expect. When they flip through Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, they never know what they’re going to see.
It could be a video about charity work in another country. It could be a series of snippets of people falling on ice.
There is almost no limit to the strange, crazy and awe-inspiring things a person can find by checking through social media feeds. These social media platforms are a great resource for creating online videos.
Videos provide sights and sounds that people would never see or hear. People love finding a diamond in the rough. They may flip through 10 boring videos, but they’ll find that one that speaks to them. It could make them cry from the injustice or laugh through ridiculousness.
It’s a roulette wheel of emotions that people spin again and again.
Limited Time Investment
When a person turns on a television show, they’re invested for an hour. If it’s a movie, then it could be two hours or more. Online videos tend to run from less than a minute or at most five to 10 minutes.
If you’re on a 15-minute work break, then you can have fun enjoyment that entire time and still have time to eat a sandwich. People are busy and don’t have the time to sit for long periods watching a video.
Videos on social media are bite-sized packets that they can digest anywhere.
Videos Will Continue to Grow in Popularity
People watch millions of videos every day from platforms like YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, and Twitter. There are more apps that come out every day that takes advantage of social media videos.
The popularity of the videos shows no sign of stopping. If you want to learn more about online videos or social media marketing, then check out this article about essential social media skills you need.
