Joe runs a fast-fashion business, and even though he has been running paid adverts on his Facebook and Instagram pages, it was clear that Joe wasn’t maximising his opportunities. His monthly budget is $300, with less than optimal ROI.

We met at a digital marketing workshop, and he asked how to make more sales this holiday season, without necessarily increasing his budget.

Considering recent events around the world; the China-US trade war, the shift in retailers spending pattern, and a shorter season, some digital marketers like Joe have expressed concerns.

However, Salesforce forecast sustained and substantial US digital revenue growth this holiday season at 13% year-over-year and total sales of $136B from November 1 to December 31.

They also predict that international markets will carry global growth overall, as we anticipate a slightly higher rate of global digital revenue growth at 15% Y-o-Y and total sales of $768B.

Speaking of digital marketing, one wonders

WHY FACEBOOK, AND WHY VIDEO?

If I got a dollar every time someone asked me that question, I’d own a sizable share of the platform. There are over 7.7 billion people in the world, and over 60% or 2.7 billion of them use Facebook monthly.

From experience, video promotion yields great ROI. I get more engagement and leads from video than with graphics alone.  57% of consumers also say video gives them more confidence to purchase online.

Google loves video, so much so that you’re 53  times more likely to top SERPs  if you have video embedded on your site.

Following are

5 Ways to Sell More on Facebook this Holiday Season Using Video

  1. Respect Video Length Limits

There are different ways and formats to use video on Facebook including, in ads, in Facebook Shop, Facebook Watch Party, Facebook Live, posts, etc.

Each has its own length requirements. Ensure to limit your videos to the stated or required lengths for optimum exposure and performance.

  1. Get to the Point

81% of businesses prefer sharing their video content on Facebook, it means video is used a lot on the platform. This increases supply and creates competition for viewer attention.

Since recent reports indicate that average human attention span is now about or less than a Goldfish’s at 8 seconds, you may want to get straight to the point with your videos, or lose your audience.

  1. Use Great Thumbnails for your Videos

Thumbnails affect Facebook video ad performance, and this was proven when Paul Fairbrother and his team spent $1000 to check if this little and often overlooked detail should get more attention.

The results showed that great thumbnail image could change CPA up to 2X. Their experiment also showed the best image generated $25.02 CPA while the worst reached $49.87 CPA.

  1. Optimize Your Video Captions

This is very important because one of the first things people will notice about your ad is your caption. For every video you use on Facebook, ensure the caption captures viewer attention, isn’t lengthy, wordy, or clickbait.

Also make sure the content is reflective of the title so as not to turn viewers off. Otherwise, your subsequent videos may be snubbed and ignored. A good title or caption, is essentially a call to click.

  1. Pick and Mix

As mentioned earlier, there are several ways to promote video content on Facebook. You could experiment with tutorial videos, live videos, behind the scenes videos, informational videos, how to videos, and several others.

Try different combinations of Facebook video types and formats to see what appeals to your audience more. Then create more of that. Also try to repurpose your videos as often as possible.

Conclusion

It is important to monitor and measure outcomes on an ongoing basis. This way you’re able to identify what works and doesn’t; do more of what works, and less or none of what doesn’t. This can optimize spend and increase ROI.

In this 2019 holiday shopping season, plan to implement these tips and see how much it helps to lift your sales and conversion rates.

Author Bio

Amos Onwukwe is an AWAI trained Business and Ecommerce Copywriter who also covers Tech and Social Media. When not writing, he’s thinking of writing or making music. He’s been featured in Huffington Post, Dumb Little Man, Ecommerce Nation, eCommerce Insights, Understanding Ecommerce, Result First, Floship, GrowMap, Self Growth, among others.

You can connect with him on

Twitter: @amos_onwukwe
LinkedIn:  Amos Onwukwe