Video Marketing Strategy: A Practical Guide (2017 Edition)

Marketing is one of the few vital business operations you’ll never go wrong with. More important to mention is that it has evolved, and if you haven’t adapted to the new trends, you are being unkind to your business.

Well, here’s a reality we have to face today: The use of video in marketing is an unstoppable phenomenon. It’s fast becoming the game-changing tactic that every serious brand from across the world uses to capture the attention of their target audience and to convert prospects into customers.

However, whether you’ve just become part of this phenomenon or you’ve been using it for ages, you won’t be getting any closer to achieving your goals unless you come up with a practical video marketing strategy.

Does it need to be incredibly detailed? Absolutely not. Provided you harbor a good idea of how you will align the video content with your business’s goals, you are already on your way to creating an effective video marketing plan.

Here’s how to go about the entire process.

Step 1: Specify The Content You Intend To Share

Before doing anything else, an important question to ask yourself is: What stories or content do I want to share?

First off, you will have to list down the things that your audience wants to hear and learn and see if the content really match what you intend to say. Technically, this is called the content core.

Put differently, your expertise should be directed to the person who really cares about it. This will require plenty of research, which includes:

• Finding and summarizing the topics and content that seem common among your audience
• Holding discussions with your current customers
• Study your followers; i.e., those on your email list, social media, and other related platforms. If possible, ask questions that will help to make your study effective.

Once you have enough and satisfactory answers and results from your research, explicitly define what your audience wants to hear, learn or see as well as the type of topics you intend to have as part of your video promotion and content marketing strategy .

Step 2: Set A Mission And Goals For Your Video

Great content marketing starts with ensuring your product or service isn’t directly related to the content you want to produce. It’s possible that the company or business won’t understand why you are creating a specific type of video unless you create a mission statement for your video marketing strategy.

Besides, having a mission will help you to remain focused on your goals. Make it short and simple and let it sum up everything clearly. By reading it, a person should be able to specifically tell what you are trying to achieve and, of course, with whom.

Also, list down your goals. What you intend to achieve with your videos should be clearly stated. The performance of your video measured against your goals will help to determine its effectiveness and will help you make adjustments that will make it better.

Step 3: Come Up With A Proper Video Structure And Layout

Next, you will have to decide how you are going to share your video content. To begin with, identify a proper tone for your video. Note that the type of tone you choose (serious, sarcastic, etc.) will depend on the type of product, target audience, and the audience’s age group amongst other factors.

Formatting is another aspect. There are a couple of ways you can format your video: text-based, monologue, panel conversation, interview, one-person monologue, and so on.

Visual aspects should also be put into consideration. You can use animations or graphics, or you can simply sketch visuals. Identify a suitable option and pick out the effects that will make it effective.

Not forgetting to mention music/sound. Apart from having a particular instrumental playing throughout the video, you can go for short clips and have them at the intro and towards the end of the video. Whichever option you choose to go with, ensure it matches the tone and fits well with the subject.

Lastly, decide on the length of your video. Keep in mind that short videos perform way better than lengthy ones.

Step 4: Naming and Distribution

Naming your video is another process you cannot afford to go wrong with. If your business is an established brand, name the videos after the company’s name as this will make them easily discoverable and trustable.

If it’s a series, you can adopt a style based on the day of publishing, topics covered, or other factors you find suitable. Don’t forget to feature essential keywords.

Plan to share your video on as many platforms as you can in order to reach a wider audience. Popular ones include Facebook, Twitter (maximum video length is 2:20 minutes), Vimeo, YouTube, and Instagram. You can also share the video to your email list or embed it in your blog as shown below:

Conclusion

To have a credible online video marketing strategy, you will have to carry out each of the steps we mentioned with utmost precision. For those who don’t feel sufficiently equipped to undertake the process, it’s advisable to hire an in-house videographer plus a competent team of marketers or outsource the work to a reliable digital marketing agency.

Also, figure out a way to measure the performance of your videos. Ensure you are able to track down the click-through rates and the attention span/drop-off rates. More importantly, stay consistent in your delivery.