Social video marketing

Social video marketing is a component of an integrated marketing communications plan designed to increase audience engagement through social activity around a given video. In a successful social video marketing campaign, the content, distribution strategy and consumer self-expression tools combine to allow an individual to “add their voice” or co-create value to a piece of content - then further disseminate it out to their social acquaintances. Social video typically benefits from a halo effect cast by the "influencers” of a given social grouping. Social video marketing draws on consumer-culture theory, economic theory, and social theory around the psychology of sharing. Social video marketing differs from social marketing, which has the intent of influencing behavior for a social good.

Media publishers and content rights holders create social videos from TV, live video feeds and pre-recorded content in order to generate engagement on social platforms and drive media distribution. They use real-time video editing software to instantly create and share social videos in native formats such as vertical video for Snapchat and square video for Instagram. YouTube stands out as a paramount marketing tool for brands across diverse industries. A Wyzowl survey from 2021 revealed that 87% of video marketers endorsed YouTube for its effectiveness, solidifying its status as the preferred platform among video marketers.

Distinguished from viral video marketing
Social video marketing is also distinct from viral marketing which is more closely aligned with the self-replicating nature of both “memorable and sufficiently” interesting content. In contrast to viral video where success is typically measured solely on the pass-along rate or the number of impressions, social video hinges on leveraging a deeper more contextual relationship between sharer and recipient.

Social videos tend to be passed along because of a shared interest or a sense of trust between the sender and recipient(s). Social videos attract conversation in either a one-to-one or a one-many relationship, with the comments and interactions becoming cumulative, rather than moving in a one-way trajectory, as in the case of not a viral video.

Historical context
Conditions which have made the market conducive to the rise of social video marketing:


 * Falling cost of technology
 * Cameras' ubiquity
 * Increase of bandwidth and consumer access
 * Computer speed/RAM
 * Desktop publishing
 * Rise of social networking sites

Bibliography and References
“Why Do We Share Stories, News, and Information With Others?” - Psychological Science [3]