I’m Shannon Leonard, full stack video producer and social branding consultant here at Dubb. In my chapter of this educational series, I’m going to share actionable video production recommendations proven through our data, focused on optimizing marketing and sales flow via social media. These lessons have been designed based off what I’ve learned while working at Dubb, and from my over 7 years experience making branded content for social platforms.

marketing

Lesson 2 in my chapter: Edited vs Unedited

There are two main types of social video ads: Edited and Unedited.

Edited videos take more time to produce. Edited videos require learning video editing software, or hiring a video editor.

Unedited videos can be recorded and then instantly uploaded.

Which is better for acquiring customers via paid and organic content?

My answer: both!

It’s all about the distribution context of the video that you want to create. Is this video going to be pinned on your main Facebook page? It might be a good idea to polish the video with some editing. Or are you just posting to your Instagram story? In that case, an unedited video would be a better use of your time.

To determine the distribution context, you need to have an understanding of the platforms and formats that are available in the social marketing world. As you may know, Instagram stories are ephemeral and disappear after 24 hours. Unedited videos and clips captured in-the-moment work well with Insta stories because the context of the format is inherently disposable.

Videos posted to your main Instagram and Facebook page are automatically evergreen. They can be seen forever, as long as you don’t delete them. Be mindful of the opportunity this creates. Creating edited evergreen content with higher production value can pay dividends.

The distribution context is important, however, there are always exceptions. Follow your gut. Want to post an unedited video to your evergreen Instagram feed? Cool! Don’t be constrained by anyone’s “marketing rules”. Try things. Don’t get bogged down in the decision-making process.

For example, and specifically, regarding paid social ads, our data show that both edited and unedited content can deliver good results. If you are being authentic and clearly articulating your value proposition, your ad should be performing well regardless of production value. If you are not getting the level of conversions you want, maybe it’s time to take a step back and reevaluate the core creative and copy of your video. Try something different and see how that performs. Later in my chapter, I’ll talk about how A/B testing with different formats can help give you learnings on what works.

The bottom line: It’s helpful to understand your distribution context to help you decide to make edits (or not). However, what really matters is that you are creating and publishing content.