The phenomenon of YouTube fully demonstrates the amazing evolution of video on the Internet. People like to watch videos, be entertained by them, and to share the action with friends. This is especially true in the context of a social media community—because sharing is what a community is all about.

Keeping the viral explosion of video use in perspective, your social software platform should offer members a fast, simple way of uploading videos for others to see. Many SaaS (software as a service) solutions providers partner with dedicated social media developers who specialize in video delivery.

For example, ThePort Network collaborates with the experts at Multicast to deliver high-performance video functionality to the members of its clients’ communities. Developing together, ThePort and Multicast integrate video modules into a custom platform so that users find generating content to be fun, quick—and most important—reliable.

Since easy engagement and flexible communication are hallmarks of the best white label communities, experienced social media vendors focus on video as a an essential element—one that helps people connect and consistently stimulates debate. Ideally, intuitive sharing activities will be linked to every video post. Members should have the option to rate, tag and comment on the sound & motion content. This level of engagement really helps members spend more time interacting in the community. Rallying around video also keeps your constituents returning often and gives them added reason to formally invite their online friends as well as to spread the news by word of mouth.

Word of mouth “buzz” is viral marketing at its most potent—the greatest marketing campaigns in the world cannot compete with word of mouth credibility.

In terms of sharing video, when your members discover a presentation they especially appreciate, they should be able to easily send a message to the original poster, leave a personal comment, and request that the video contributor become their friend. Along with being able to tag a specific member’s video post, a user should have an easy method of capturing the member’s video gallery in an RSS feed.

Social media video engagement continues to evolve within online communities as innovative social networking software providers create new activities linked to video content. One way or the other, growth of online video interaction will help power the growth of socially-vibrant destinations. The only question is, will the rate keep accelerating at its current, furious pace. 

Stay tuned to the latest developments in the world of social media to find out.

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