Social video marketing is a component of an integrated marketing communications plan designed to increase audience engagement through social activity around a given video. In a successful social video marketing campaign, the content, distribution strategy, and consumer self-expression tools combine to allow an individual to “add their voice” or co-create value to a piece of content – then further disseminate it to their social acquaintances. Social video typically benefits from a halo effect cast by the “influencers” of a given social grouping. Social video marketing draws on consumer-culture theory, economic theory, and social theory around the psychology of sharing. Social video marketing differs from social marketing, which has the intent of influencing behavior for social good.

Media publishers and content rights holders create social videos from TV, live video feeds, and pre-recorded content in order to generate engagement on social platforms and drive media distribution. They use real-time video editing software to instantly create and share social videos in native formats such as vertical video for Snapchat and square video for Instagram.