The Social Media landscape is so diverse these days that we're all looking for that next great thing to take our brand into superstar status. We should always keep our eyes on the horizon, but the truth is that the biggest thing right now is simple - VIDEO. Yup, that's it.

Why is video so important? There's more than one good reason, so here are a few of those reasons:

The millennial generation love it

They love watching videos online. If they can watch a video rather than read the same information, they will. The millennials obviously aren't the only ones who love video, but for fear of stereotyping, they are the dominate group. If your industry or business targets this demographic, you really need to include videos in every aspect of your online strategy.

It makes things personal

There's no better way to show your online audience who you are, then to speak to them via video. You can do weekly or monthly video blogs on key topics. You can introduce team members or new employees through video introductions. You can show your audience clips of how your product is made or show your employees working in the office. Anything that brings an insider's perspective to your company is a great way to develop long-term loyalty from your customers.

It ups the fun factor

Being too serious too often on Social Media is a deterrent. There is always a time and place but most people want to have fun. There are so many ways to make videos fun for your viewers. You can include bloopers at the end of the video (giving them a reason to watch to the end) or just create blooper videos from all your little blunders. You can upload videos of your team/employees celebrating holidays or birthdays at the office. Create a parody with a fake competitor complaining about how great your company is and how they can't compete. Just be creative and find ways to entertain your audience.

Provide valuable information

Whether your business is B2B or B2C, you have something to offer. If you can provide tutorials or video training to your audience, you immediately become valuable to them. Find products or services that you offer that you can create short videos around. Create great, informative videos to help your audience.

Showcase how much other people love your brand

Collect testimonials and references from clients and customers about how much they value your product or service. Collect testimonials from employees who love working for your company. Take these video snippets and create a video montage of all the best comments and footage. Just be careful to make sure these aren't the only videos you create and use - no one likes a bragger. But when used as one level of the video platform, these can be very useful.

Generate calls-to-action

Finish up your videos with a call-to-action - for example: sign up for email alerts, please comment below, click on the link below, subscribe, etc. Asking your viewers to further engage after watching the video ensures higher retention rates, list building, and opt-ins.

So now you're thinking this sounds great but you have all these excuses why you can't use video - it's too expensive, you don't have the equipment, you don't know how, etc. Here's the thing, it's so easy these days to create video that all of these excuses are pretty much invalidated. You can record video on your smartphone or camera. Share everything you create on YouTube (a really simple process once your account/channel is set up) and then share those videos to your Social sites. It's really that easy.

OK, now you're excited and you want to go make some videos. Great! But here are a couple quick tips:

• In general, keep videos to under 7 minutes. This is the average attention span of an adult person. Unless you are providing a training style video, anything over 7 minutes will likely get skipped or dropped early.
• Create a strong introduction. People online are fickle and if you don't capture them in the first 10-30 seconds, chances are they will bounce right off your video.
• Prep in advance. Create a general script or list of topics and rehearse the information prior to filming.
• Reduce background noise as much as possible. If this is an issue, you can purchase a wireless microphone to connect to your camera/video camera for less than $150.
• Use good lighting. Make sure you're not in shadow and that there aren't weird shadows behind you.
• Film in different locations. Keep it interesting for the viewers. Film in your office, outside, in the office lobby, etc.
• Talk into the camera! You need to look like you're talking to the viewer, not someone off camera.
• Be YOURSELF! Don't try to be somebody you're not. This is only more obvious when you're being filmed.

Now you're ready to get started on creating fun, entertaining videos for your Social Media platforms. You'll learn specific tricks and tips along the way about what your audience likes and responds to. Take this to heart! If you get 10X more engagement from a certain style, then keep making those a priority. And remember to have fun making the videos. This enthusiasm will be readily apparent to your viewers.