The video marketing strategy you need to succeed
If you are a marketer you should know (or at least hopefully after this you will) that content is the best way to drive brand awareness, traffic, and sales of your brand.
Content can be anything from blogs, vlogs, videos, and more. However, video content, in particular, has huge traction mainly due to social media platforms like Youtube, Tiktok, and Instagram.
How we consume video is important to consider just as much as how you create the video and the content or message that it is delivering. For example, think how many times you watch a video that catches your eye when you are scrolling through your stories or feed that you never turn up the sound for? Or how long do you spend watching a video? Sometimes it can be only 10 seconds, other times it can be over an hour, depending on what the subject is and what your interest is in the topic.
In short, there are many considerations to take into account when it comes to adding video content to your marketing strategy. You need to consider:
- Who your audience is
- What platform you will post your video to
- What device users most often watch off of
- The length of your video
- What content will you cover in your video
- What is the tone of your brand in your video
- How will you carry out video production
- What is your video creation budget
- What metrics will determine whether your video is a success
- What outcomes do you want to achieve from your video
This may seem like a lot more than you expected when deciding to use video but once you have a good strategy in place you can quickly produce engaging and entertaining content to expand your reach. So where should you start? We will take you through developing a video marketing strategy by looking at:
What is Video Marketing?
Well, first of all, let us define exactly what video marketing is.
Video marketing means using videos for promoting and telling people about your product or service. It helps increase engagement on your digital and social channels, educates your audience, and allows you to reach them with a new medium. (Hookle, 2021)
Now, this description is accurate but when it comes to making videos, the approach does not always have to be so direct. You do not always have to have your product or brand be front and centre in the video that you create for it to be effective. But more on that later. Simply, any video that raises awareness of your brand can be considered video marketing, from the most cinematic to one that is quickly done on your phone.
One reason why video marketing has become such a useful and viable option is because of the smartphone.
57% (or as much as 75% according to other sources) of global video is played using mobile devices. (Kegishyan, 2020)
Not only do we consume the majority of videos through mobile, but we also create videos using mobile too. This means that if budget or time is an issue, you have access to a device that can create high-quality content nearly instantly. If it is used correctly of course.
This means that video content that, in the past was expensive, time-consuming, and only available to big brands is now accessible to nearly everyone. However, this does not mean that you can simply point and shoot and create a video in one take that will go viral. Finding success with video marketing is often a case of trial and error but eventually, you will find a workflow that suits your branding.
Is there a best video marketing strategy?
The simple answer is no. There is no one size fits all video marketing strategy. Just like your brand, you will have a target audience that you want to reach and expectations around your brand that need to be represented in the video content. This means careful consideration of how your video is made, the production quality, where the video is shown, and the content of the video.
For example, let’s imagine that we are trying to promote awareness of an expensive, luxurious watch brand with watch prices starting from $1000s. What type of audience do we want to reach? And what type of video do we think is going to be best suited for displaying these watches?
Certainly, for this type of marketing, we would need very high-quality video production, so the hiring of professionals with pro gear, lighting, and editing skills will be needed to display the intricate details of the craftsmanship of the watches. The high production will also create the association of exclusivity of this product. This is not the type of video that will be shot using a phone but more likely will have a cinematic quality to it, complete with dramatic music and effects.
This video can still be rolled out on social media such as Instagram, which is all about lifestyles but may also be used on high-profile websites such as elite dating sites, expensive retail outlets, and so on. Its reach is likely to be a lot lower but more targeted at high-income leads and positioned in places where they are likely to see it.
If you have ever watched a James Bond film at the cinema, you’ll know the type of video being described here.
Let’s compare this to a low-cost nutritional, environmentally conscious milk substitute.
Now we are dealing with a very different product. One that promotes not only personal health but the health of the planet too. This type of product will have a much greater reach and has an aim to convert people away from traditional milk products. A viral type of video would be a great success for this type of product. And due to its environmental stance, low production costs are better suited to its style of video. So, we can consider shooting this on a phone in a more casual manner. We could up the ante here by having a famous influencer shoot a Tiktok or Instagram story for us on their mobile device to help promote the realism and everydayness of the product. Social media would be the best platform for this and the aforementioned platforms, Instagram and Tiktok, would help to create brand awareness.
Ultimately, your video marketing strategy will change depending on your brand, product, and the action that you want the viewer to take at the end of the video.
How to build a successful video marketing strategy
While there is no one size fits all with video marketing there are still steps that you can take to ensure that you have the foundations of a successful digital marketing strategy.
Your brand/product
Start with what you know. What is your brand/product? Who do you want to target? How are you going to target them? I.e., what is your target audience likely to consume video content and how long are they likely to watch a video? Answering these questions will help you to plan out your next important step.
What is your budget?
How much are you willing to spend on the video? That is not only the video quality, if you need to hire professionals, but also how much you are willing to spend on advertising to get that video seen in the right places.
Hiring professionals will be expensive and can also be time-consuming, however, you can get a lot of value out of these videos by cutting them down to different lengths to suit each platform that you intend to use.
Doing it yourself using a mobile device will be much faster and cheaper but will have to be done more often to keep interest up in the brand. The money you save here can then be spent on pushing the video content in the right places.
Invest in some basic equipment
One of the mistakes that a lot of video creators make is not spending their budget on the right tools.
Many will rush out and buy a high-quality SLR or mirrorless camera but lack the skills to use it. Not only that, you will still lack two tools that are essential if you are on a tight budget. Lights and microphones.
Phones are capable of shooting high-quality video, especially if you have access to higher-end iPhones. But where they lack is in sound quality and any type of effective light source. Ask any photographer or videographer worth their salt and they will tell you lighting is the most important thing. You cannot rely on natural light. Thankfully, lighting equipment for phones or cameras is very inexpensive and can completely change the quality of the video that you are shooting.
If the sound is an important part of your video, you will need a mic too. These items should be prioritised over an expensive video device. If you still cannot get results with these, then think about investing in a camera.
There is a reason that hiring professionals is expensive. The art of video production is a highly technical and creative skill that takes years to perfect. However, by learning the basics of composition, movement, and editing together you can quickly achieve results that will outshine your competitors and help to create more engaging and entertaining videos for your brand or product.
A little bit of time learning will give you a lifetime of skills that will also upskill your resume. At the end of it, all video is simply about storytelling, and learning how to tell the story of your brand will certainly lead to success.
Looking to sharpen your video editing skills? Join our video editing course today!