A thumb stopper refers to “a piece of content on the feed so eye-catching, attention-grabbing, and intriguing that it causes a user to stop scrolling and take notice.” 

Thumb stoppers are the holy grail of today’s social media-driven marketing world. And, increasingly, they take the form of video. According to a 2022 survey by Vidyard: 

  • Social media is the most popular distribution channel for B2B video.
  • 63% of marketers use video on social media.
  • 82% of respondents report that video content is becoming more important to their organization.
  • From 2019 to 2020, there was a 93% increase in using video for sales and customer conversations.

In this post, we’ll explore the tangible business benefits (read: ROI) to sharing video on social media and offer four easy ways to get started. 

Why You Should Be Sharing Video On Social Media

Did you happen to catch Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri’s recent Instagram video? He straight up said, “We’re no longer a photo sharing app.”  

Mosseri and his team are leaning in to video as the primary content driver on Instagram. It’s a direct response to the rise of TikTok and the popularity of YouTube. The app is making changes to its algorithm based on how users engage with social media and what they expect from the platforms. 

What this means for marketers — particularly in the B2B space — is that video is more important than ever to your digital marketing strategy. 

  • 93% of businesses landed a new customer because of a video on social media, and video ads were the No. 1 way consumers discovered a brand they later purchased from. (Animoto, 2020)
  • 95% of video marketers said they felt they’d increased understanding of their product or service using video. (Wyzowl, 2020)
  • Video users grow company revenue 49% faster year-over-year than organizations without video. (Vidyard/Aberdeen Group)

How To Get Started

Video creator Vidyard has the following tips for marketers looking to get started sharing video to social media:

  • Create value.
  • Start with an attention grabber.
  • Frontload the value.
  • Make it mobile friendly.
  • Add a call to action.

Conveniently (and unsurprisingly), Vidyard created a handy video explaining these concepts. 

Understanding Platforms

Each social media platform has its own personality and unique audience. You can think of it kind of like a family going on a road trip. 

(Spoiler: That’s just what comedian Trey Kennedy did in this video.)

For marketers, that means video content isn’t a one-size-fits-all proposition. 

Use your buyer personas to match up your target market with the platform they’re most likely to hang out on. Then, as you create video content, you’ll be able to speak directly to your audience. 

Social Media Demographics

source: sproutsocial

LinkedIn

For businesses, there is no bigger platform than LinkedIn. According to Wyzowl, 68% of marketers planned to include LinkedIn in their 2022 video market strategy. And it’s no wonder — video content generates 20 times more shares than other types of content on LinkedIn. 

LinkedIn has gone all in on video with the creation of its VideoAds platform. Now, users can post content directly through the app (rather than linked) and broadcast live video content to their network in real time. According to the company, LinkedIn Live streams have increased 158% since February.

Pro tip: Don’t forget the awesome copy! Post your video with an engaging headline that gives people a reason to stop scrolling. 

Facebook

While Facebook’s growth in 2021 slowed significantly (from 3.3% growth in 2020 to just .8% last year), it remains the largest social platform with 2.91 billion active users. And according to Animoto, in 2020, 64% of businesses said a video on Facebook resulted in a new client. 

The Creator platform makes sharing live or recorded video content relatively easy. Video uploaded directly to the site also performs better than linked content from another platform. 

Pro tip: The vast majority of Facebook users watch video without sound, so think of your FB vid like a silent film. Add captions!  

Instagram

As mentioned above, Instagram is dedicated to making video the cornerstone of its platform. Even as it continues to develop in the video space, Instagram is a powerhouse. 

Hubspot reports that Instagram video is the most engaging type of content on Instagram, with an average of 24.25 comments and 1,097.9 likes per post.  

Pro tip: Instagram is a vertical platform. Users aren’t generally turning their cameras to watch, so design content accordingly. 

Twitter

According to Twitter, video is the platform’s fastest-growing advertising tool, with more than 2 billion video views per day. What’s more, tweets with video earned 10 times more engagement than those with text or pictures. 

TikTok

The new kid on the block, TikTok, has taken social media by storm. Wyzowl reports TikTok increased adoption by 30% in 2021, and 33% of those surveyed said they planned to use TikTok for marketing in the next year. 

Pro tip: Get started with TikTok by setting up a pro account that allows you to view analytics and insights. 

YouTube

YouTube is a thing unto itself. It is the world’s second-largest social network (yes, it is considered a social media platform) and the most widely used platform for video marketers (eight years running).

Fun fact: More than 500 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. 

4 Videos Ideas To Get You Started (And Where To Share)

How do you absorb all of this information and put it into practice? We’ve designed four ideas that you can customize and execute without having to spend a lot of time or money. 

1. The explainer video. B2B companies have oodles of expertise. By their very nature, B2B leaders like you know a lot about their product or service. Sometimes it can be hard to explain those concepts to new or potential customers. A video is the perfect tool to make hard concepts accessible. 

Explainer videos are often animated, meaning you don’t need to capture live footage. If you don’t have the budget to outsource video creation, Adobe Express offers a basic video maker for free. 

Where to post it: YouTube 

2. Event videos. You can turn any event, round table or conference into excellent video content with a little pre-planning. Take video during the event and edit together a highlight reel featuring notable moments. 

The good news is you likely have all the software you need on your own computer to patch together a highlight reel using iMovie or a Windows equivalent. 

Where to post it: Facebook, LinkedIn

3. Q&As. Establish expertise in your industry by hosting Q&A sessions with your company’s CEO or other industry thought leaders. 

These don’t have to be long or highly produced. In fact, you may just want to go live with a single question. 

Where to post it: Instagram

4. GIFs The best thing about GIFs is you don’t need a massive budget or Spielberg-style direction to yield a fantastic social media ad. Take this Twitter ad by Spindrift. It’s a three-second GIF, but it’s effective and eye-catching. 

The key is to keep it simple and to the point. Make sure your name and branding are prominent throughout. Most importantly, GIFs are fun! Don’t take them (or yourself) too seriously. 

There are tons of free GIF makers online. You can also create GIFs from videos you already have. 

Where to post it: Twitter

Start Posting!

Social media is a highly visual medium. People scroll through platforms daily and only stop if something catches their eye. Right now, that’s mostly video. That means — whether you DIY or seek the help of a digital marketing agency — sharing videos on social media should be part of your content marketing strategy. 

Get out there and make some thumb stoppers!

Sarah Asp Olson

Sarah Asp Olson