More and more brands are shifting their marketing focus to video, as this medium is highly effective at capturing consumer interest and attention. In fact, consumers who see a video are almost twice as likely to make a purchase. But simply creating a marketing video isn’t enough, as you then need to distribute it effectively for maximum reach. Social media is a powerful tool for sharing, as there are countless platforms on which consumers are engaging with video every day.

From Instagram to YouTube to Facebook, how do you decide which platform is the most effective for getting your marketing video out there? Here are some tips from experts:

1. Capture Attention on Instagram 

Instagram has several benefits over other video options, especially when exploring paid media. Using Facebook’s targeting options, you are able to place your message directly in front of your target audience. You capture more attention on Instagram over other social channels because there are less distractions in the user’s feed. The new “stories” feature presents even more opportunity.

– Jonathan Long, Market Domination Media

2. Optimize Your Video Search on YouTube 

YouTube is the second largest search engine behind Google. Optimizing your videos for search will organically attract new video views from both YouTube’s suggested videos and Google’s search results. The shelf life of your video also lasts longer on YouTube than on Facebook or Instagram, giving you a sustainable way to continually use video to grow your business.

– Brett Farmiloe, Markitors

3. Start Trending on Facebook 

Most video marketing is effective on Facebook because it’s one of the most active networks. In fact, most trending videos start on Facebook thanks to the amount of likes and shares they receive. Facebook videos receive more reach than any other type of post because it makes it easier for advertisers to target certain groups of consumers.

– Bryanne Lawless, BLND Public Relations

4. Ask Where Your Target Audience Is 

Every platform has its benefits, but the most important question to ask before creating and distributing video content is, “Where is my audience?” Take a look at the user demographics for each platform as well as any restrictions that exist for the content, and then make your decision about where to use video.

– Sydney Williams, SYDNEY: unfiltered

5. Take Advantage of Multiple Platforms 

All the platforms are effective because you are going to touch and engage different parts of your audience on each platform, so you end up reaching more people. I use all of them for my video content and get different responses and reactions on each platform, which helps me understand and differentiate the various audience segments.

– Murray Newlands, Due.com

6. Play Around With Snapchat

I feel that Snapchat is the best video marketing method because the whole service is based on watching videos. It’s quick and easy, but also extremely user friendly on both sides. While Instagram and Facebook have video capabilities, most people scroll quickly and are hesitant to pause on their feeds to take the time to watch a video.

– Leila Lewis, Be Inspired PR

7. Reach a Large Audience With YouTube 

YouTube is huge in the SEO world. Its videos show up all over Google, as Google owns YouTube. Most people just embed videos into social media using YouTube. There are over a billion users on YouTube who go there to watch videos, not to socialize as they do on other platforms. When using YouTube, videos can also be translated into more than 75 languages very easily, so your videos can reach a much wider audience.

– Tommy Mello, A1 Garage Door Service

8. Consider Your Industry 

This really depends on your industry and audience. For instance, B2C can really benefit from Instagram and Snapchat where you can reach a steady stream of new viewers/potential buyers. For B2B, longer-play platforms like YouTube and Facebook, with curated videos on services or tutorials, can reach a wider audience of potential customers.

– Andrew Kucheriavy, Intechnic

9. Promote Videos on Facebook 

To reach fans at scale, you have to consider Facebook. YouTube is highly saturated and it’s difficult to be seen. On Facebook, you can grab audiences that weren’t necessarily interested in the content you have to share and convert them into fans. With targetable consumer data and the ability to promote videos to specific audiences, Facebook rules the videosphere.

– Marcela De Vivo, Brilliance

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