Producing videos is becoming more accessible for businesses everywhere. High quality cameras are becoming less expensive, editing tools are becoming more user friendly, and smartphones allow filming practically anywhere. Of course, if you want to pursue a video content campaign, you’ll want it to be successful. As with most marketing, it takes time and patience before you start seeing results, especially if it’s a new tactic. As you start considering and planning your campaign, here are some tips and tactics to help it kick off as best as it can.
What will the videos accomplish?
Before you start putting on your filming makeup or buy some video equipment, you need to outline what you want your videos to accomplish. Yes, the overall goal is to increase sales. But where in your marketing funnel will the videos land, and what do you want viewers to walk away from your videos thinking?
Video content can fit into any stage in the buyer’s journey and needs to help push viewers into the next stage in the process. The video should educate and then have a call to action at the end. If the video targets potential customers, the call to action should push them further through the buyer’s journey. If the video is more for current customers or brand promoters, it should push them to share the content.
Video content has a ton of benefits that other formats lack. It’s easier for people to consume, it adds a new visual element to your information, and is easier to go viral. Using these benefits towards the right goals can be just the push your marketing needs.
Do you have the tools and skills needed?
If you’re going to produce video content, you need to do it well. Too many companies produce videos with poor sound quality, awkward acting, choppy editing, or flavorless content. Be prepared before you start making videos so that your first attempts have the best chance to succeed. This includes having the right tools and skills to making good videos.
The first step is to have the right camera, lighting, and microphones for videos if you are going to film. Professional looking videos look bright, have crystal clear audio, and just look good. It’s helpful if somebody involved has experience creating a good set with great lighting and somebody handling the camera, especially if you plan on filming from multiple angles.
If you decide to produce videos that don’t require somebody in front of a camera, you are going to require capture software for your computer. This is important for things like software tutorials or video PowerPoint presentations. More than likely, you’ll still need a good microphone to capture quality audio to mix with the video.
And finally, you will need editing software and the skills to put it all together. Editing can fix all the little mistakes that occur while filming. It can change the volume of the audio, put parts from different recordings together so you utilize the best from each shoot, and can make a decent video great.
What platform are you using?
Where people can watch your videos has an impact on the type of content you produce and how effective it is. Different platforms prioritize specific analytics and understanding how they work can help your videos succeed.
YouTube
YouTube is the king of video content platforms. It’s a search engine to find the exact video you want. Like Google, the algorithms are highly complex, but there is a heavy emphasis on video retention time and channel subscribers. If you can get people to watch all your videos and subscribe, you’ll grow your viewer base and show up higher in relevant searches and in suggested sections.
Remember, YouTube is a search engine and many popular SEO tactics apply to it. Things like having keywords in the title and description help people find your videos through search easier.
Social media
Videos on social media act differently than YouTube. People don’t search Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter for videos, but instead come across them naturally in their feed. To increase how many people see your videos, you will need to grow your number of followers and get your existing ones to share your content.
Your own site
Hosting videos on your own site can contribute a lot to your strategy. Instead of people needing to go to a third party site to watch your content, they can stay where they are. It’s easier to guide them to a specific call to action and you can better track their engagement with your video. You can also combine video content with written content to get the best of both worlds.
The downside is that it limits your reach. Videos on YouTube can be found by people viewing similar videos, but unless they are on your site already, people will have a harder time finding your work.
Making content worth watching
Great content is entertaining and educational. Want to know why Bill Nye the Science Guy is remembered by every student in the 90s? It made learning fun.
Your content is meant to inform and educate your target market. The end goal is to persuade them that your product/service is the best solution for them. Now, you can simply present raw numbers and facts, but those are boring. Presenting that same information with passion, humor, and style can make it fun to watch.
You are now prepared to start your video marketing campaign. As mentioned at the beginning, utilizing videos in your strategy takes time to refine and see results, so keep at it for the long term. As you do, you’ll collect useful data to help guide where to take your campaign and where it can grow.
Have a question about where to start your video content campaign? Looking for advice on how to make it both entertaining and professional? Let us know in the comments below.