This article is part of our blog series, Social Media for Landscapers, featuring tips on how you can take advantage of social media for your business.

Think of social media as planet Earth. In relation to the universe, our planet is fairly young.

While humans have only been around for a fraction of the time the Earth has been spinning, we have made a staggering impact on the blue planet.

Now, think of video on social media as human beings on Earth. Throughout its short, yet impactful, life nothing has shaped the face of social networking quite like video.

By 2020, video content will account for 80 percent of the content consumed on the internet. Today, posts on Facebook that include video receive 135 percent more organic reach than posts with just photos.

While social media and video content might seem microscopic when compared to the universe, the power an effective social media strategy can have on your business is Earth-shattering.

Ready for liftoff

The first step to getting your social video strategy orbiting is to simply start generating video content.

Videos on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter don’t have to be studio quality. Most iPhone and Android smartphones produce high enough quality videos for social media platforms. Just point, shoot and upload your video straight to your desired platform.

Creating video content will quickly evolve your social media profiles from static pages to pages in motion. This will help your social media following take off, because Facebook profiles with video tend to get more engagement from followers than profiles with only photos or text posts.

Content that drives business

For landscape businesses, there’s a variety of content you can share with your followers.

Take video of the beautiful landscapes you and your team create. If a job is going to take you a day to complete, film a quick video of the jobsite before it’s completed. After you’ve finished the job, take another one to show off the high-quality work you do. Just be sure to get permission from customers to film if it’s on private property.

You can also create video content that educates your followers about their landscapes, such as different plant types or how to fix simple problems. Not only will this be useful information to them, but it will also showcase your business as an expert in the field and give people a reason to follow your pages.

Video content should be fun and engaging and show off the personality and culture of your business.

Lightspeed video

In 2016, more than 50 percent of all video views came from mobile. This means people are watching social media videos throughout their day, and won’t have time to watch a 15-minute video.

While your videos don’t need to be as quick as lightspeed, keep them short and sweet. This is an effective way to get views and retain viewers for the entire video.

The most successful social media videos tend to be in the range of 15 seconds to two minutes long. Keeping your videos short, yet fun or informative, will keep audiences engaged and coming back to your social media pages.

Keep an eye out for future tips on social media to promote your business. Have a question? Post it in the comments.