Understanding User Mindsets for Video Success

Evan Barbare • July 17, 2023

Before uploading a video to social media, do you consider the mindset of users on the platform? If you find your video content is falling flat, consider the following before your next post.

Users of each platform are typically there for different purposes. Looking for life hacks or daily Amazon finds? You’re not going to head to LinkedIn, you’re going to open up TikTok. Thinking you’d like to save money by learning how to build your own fence? You’re scrolling YouTube University.

So how does this apply to marketing? If you want your video to perform well, you’ll want to consider your audience’s mindset for each platform in your video strategy.

Some additional questions you’ll want to ask yourself are:

• What’s the typical attention span of the user?
• Will users have audio on or their device muted?
• What’s the typical production value of videos on the platform?

YouTube: Users are commonly on this platform to learn or be entertained. They will tolerate longer videos, since that has been YouTube’s strategy – at least until the release of YouTube shorts, which is growing in popularity. Users will also more than likely be listening to the audio from the videos, so relying on captions is less likely.

TikTok: Users commonly frequent this platform for quick tips, life hacks, and highly entertaining content. For audio use, you’ll find a mixture; some users will have their audio turned on and some will have their devices muted. One thing is certain: short-form content dominates and the production quality of your content matters less. In fact, content with lower production quality (cell phone videos) has been shown to outperform higher production content.

LinkedIn: Users are generally on the platform for career development purposes: recruiting, networking, and inspiration. For audio, you’ll want to cater to both situations; muted devices and devices with audio turned on. As far as the production quality of your videos goes, prioritize your message with high-quality video being a bonus.

Twitter and Facebook: Both platforms are versatile for video content, supporting a wide variety of interests, from entertainment to news. The same goes for production quality as users are commonly viewing cell phone or studio-quality videos.

Understanding the nuances of each social media platform will make or break your posts’ engagement. So before you click “post,” or “record,” be sure you’ve considered the mindset of your audience to ensure the proper video length, audio, and production value.