It is the platform marketing teams forget and the country keeps using, especially outside the big cities. It calls for different videos.
Groups do a large part of the work
That is the particularity of this platform here.
Activity is not concentrated on brand pages but in groups: local buying and selling, neighbourhoods, municipalities, interest communities, parents, recreational vehicle owners, hunting and fishing, renovation.
A video circulating in three regional groups reaches more people than a post on a page followed by twenty thousand.
The practical consequence: deliver the video file to the person who will post, rather than a link to share. A directly uploaded video is watched; a link is not.
The audience is older and more spread out
That is what changes the content, not only the format.
The audience is on average older than on vertical feeds, has higher spending power, and often lives outside the urban centres.
Three consequences. Home, vehicle, garden, everyday health and local service products work better there than elsewhere.
The text counts as much as the video: here, people read the description.
And the pace is slower: a video can circulate for several weeks, whereas elsewhere it dies in three days.
The format is not that of a vertical feed
That is the most frequent mistake: reusing an edit made for elsewhere as it is.
What works here: a horizontal or square video, longer, with a complete explanation rather than a hook.
Sound is more often on, but subtitles remain essential.
And the first sentence of the text counts as much as the first image, because the feed displays the text above the video.
French-speaking Canada is very present there
That is an advantage brands underuse.
The French-speaking regional groups are numerous, active and loyal, and advertising competition there is weaker.
A French version recorded separately, with the words used locally rather than a translation, performs markedly better there than subtitling.
What the channel imposes on the edit
| Constraint | What it changes | The workaround |
|---|---|---|
| Silent playback by default | The voice does not carry | Burned-in subtitles |
| A very fast feed | Three seconds to hold | Movement from frame one |
| Widely varied screens | Fine text disappears | Large type, strong contrast |
What works with a broader audience
A slow, complete demonstration rather than a nervous edit. This channel's audience watches longer when the video genuinely explains.
What is prepared in two formats
A vertical version and a square one, exported together. Cropping afterwards always cuts something important out of the frame.
What works best
Four formats, tested by the brands that stayed.
The long, complete demonstration, answering every question at once.
The testimonial of an identifiable customer, with their town.
The before and after comparison, which reads very well in this context.
And the public answer to a question asked in the group, filmed and reposted. It is the most effective format on the platform, and the least used.
In every case, identifying the commercial nature is still due, including in a group and including when a member is the one posting. The applicable rules depend on the content and are checked before publication.
