Transform Your Marketing Campaign With An Optimized Video Marketing Strategy

Videos are like black holes sprinkled across the internet, drawing your attention no matter where you are on a page.

Whether it’s an animation or a live video explaining a company’s latest product or service, videos give companies and organizations a way to engage with larger audiences online. And while of course video content should be created with consumption in mind, brands can reap major benefits even if viewers don’t watch the content from start to finish.

Keep reading to learn how.

Why Video Content Marketing is Booming

Video content marketing is among the most popular forms of marketing across the world because of how emotionally evocative it can be. I mean, seriously, who doesn’t love watching videos or, even better, a video campaign! In fact, a Statista study found that around 85% of the internet audience in the U.S. watches videos online, and Social Media Week found that users spend 88% more time browsing websites that have videos than those that don’t.

That’s right, just like a black hole devours light, people can’t help but look at videos. The human brain is hardwired to track movement, so it makes sense why social media channels like Instagram are prioritizing video content over still images.

According to Optinmonster, 72% of customers say they would rather learn about products or services through video, with 84% of people saying they’ve been convinced to buy either of these due to a brand video.

Marketing efforts like blogs and white papers are essential to most content marketing strategies – but video provides another avenue for reaching audiences who might prefer watching over reading. If you’ve never waded into the video planning or creation pool, or want to improve your existing video content marketing efforts, no worries. The process is simple yet effective.

The Video Creation Process

Why are you creating videos, and what type of video content are you creating? Your marketing team needs to have a clear idea about the focus of the video. Are you making this video to generate awareness and engagement or convert better leads? The type of video will depend on the video goals you’ll have in mind. Some videos are good at educating, others good at engaging, and some are great for advertising. The content of your video will likely change depending on the purpose and even where it’s viewed. Video viewers expect different content based on their pain points and where they are in the customer journey, so you need to have a plan behind why you’re creating content before you get started.

Who is your target audience? As with other forms of marketing content, understanding the audience is vital. Do you want to attract new clients for your tech business? If so, you may want to gear your content towards C-suite executives in specific industries. Are you trying to generate brand recognition for a construction company? Then you may want a broader target audience. Whatever you choose, you’ll need to have that target audience in mind from start to finish to make sure the messaging resonates.

Where will the videos be shown? The video platform where viewers will see the content is important to consider before a single shot is captured. For example, Facebook supports videos that are up to 15 minutes long, while Tik Tok only allows videos as long as three minutes. You also have to take into account the different formats required by different mediums. For example, one platform might prioritize video in portrait orientation while another works best with landscape. Keep in mind that not all social media platforms attract similar audiences. The audience you’re trying to reach will influence where the video should be posted.

When are you publishing? For ongoing publishing, consistency is key. A social media video series that appears on subscribers’ feeds every Thursday morning will get far more views than a series with sporadic installments and large, unpredictable gaps in-between.

With a clear plan and understanding of the purpose, audience, platform, and publication details, executing your video strategy becomes more achievable. But first, you’ll need to determine what type of content to produce.

Where Video Strategy and Video Content Meet

They may seem similar, but there are subtle differences between your strategy and content that are important to keep in mind when you begin your video journey.

Your video strategy combines the goals you want to achieve and the direction you want your content to take. If you want to generate leads, you need a different style of videos than if your goal is brand awareness. Keeping both in mind will help keep your content marketing strategy consistent.

Your video content, on the other hand, is everything you create to achieve those goals. The content is your vehicle for delivering whatever message you want the audience to receive; it’s what you want people to learn or think about your business.

Your video strategy and video content need to be in alignment if you want your efforts to pay off.

Oh… it’s not as hard as it sounds. Here’s how.

The Big Five of Video Content

You might be using video in an effort to achieve numerous goals, from brand awareness and lead generation for B2B companies, to donor cultivation for nonprofits, to customer retention for B2C brands. The video editing style and content options for the video are seemingly endless—but there are five major video types that businesses use most successfully in their marketing.

Explainer Videos

Your brand is everything, so why not let it shine? Explainer videos, sometimes called brand videos, give prospective clients an in-depth look at a brand’s specific services or products through the lens of actionable resolution. Basically, the explainer video quickly sets up a scenario and shows how a product or service helps resolve the problem. These videos are typically shorter, have a clear call to action at the end, and, ideally, are simple yet engaging. Many explainer videos use animation to keep engagement high while boosting the quality of the video. That said, animated videos take extra time to produce, so unless you have a dedicated animation solution on hand or on budget, live videos may be a stronger alternative.

How-to Videos

If you’ve ever watched “How It’s Made,” then you have a good idea of what a how-to video is about. Essentially, they’re a tutorial video about a product or service. These are typically short videos with clear steps and compelling narration that draw the viewer in and show how to use the company’s products or services effectively. New customers will flock to these videos and use them as reference or research, depending on where they are in the marketing funnel. How-to video content is meant to add value and reduce friction for your customers. How-to videos also support brand positioning: if your brand appears knowledgeable in its industry, it will attract a wider audience.

How-to videos differ from explainer videos despite being similar. While an explainer video is providing a scenario and telling a story through simplified concepts and a shorter presentation, how-to videos are a step-by-step tutorial about a service or product.

Product Demo Videos

If you want to show off how amazing your products are through video content, product demos are the way to go. Product demos include the features, benefits, and information the audience needs to understand what the product is and how it operates. The video strategy is straightforward and the video content is easy to digest. These videos are typically short enough that they can be posted to social media. Search engines often rank product demo videos highly because they encompass key-words people are searching combined with informative content.

Testimonial Videos

No video content strategy is complete without customer testimonial videos. Let’s see some smiling faces! …when appropriate, of course. 

Your audience wants to know that you have trustworthy solutions to their problems. Testimonial videos provide social proof and allow audience members to hear directly from others who have been in their position. Instead of looking up reviews for your business, they can watch and listen to what others have to say about it.

Company Culture Videos

Company culture videos are useful for customer retention and employee recruitment. Having multiple videos centered around an organization’s or team’s work ethic, missions, values, and differentiation in its space provides an opportunity to show off the work you’ve put into your company. You could even use a live video on social media as a glimpse into the company culture without having to invest a lot in the production. Depending on the tone or subject, you could even link to a landing page to drive new hires or leads to the appropriate next steps.

The videos described here don’t have to stand alone. Brands can create a series centered around a product, service, or idea and tie it into a larger content strategy. Having a variety of videos and telling a story through individual videos and the overall video arc makes for compelling content that people watch time and again.

Incorporating Creativity and Entertainment in Your Video Content Marketing

As the world becomes more technology-focused by the day, your video marketing strategy will become increasingly important. Advancing your video strategy with new types of videos may help increase your viewership in the future.The best video content will draw in prospective clients like a black hole pulls in light. Don’t be afraid to experiment and get creative. Keep your topics simple but exciting. Overall, have fun with it. While parts of the process can be stressful (stupid deadlines), you’ll find that videos are often more successful (and well-received) when the people making them are enjoying the process as much as the outcome.

Video Marketing Expertise Closer Than You Think

If you’re looking for creative direction, digital strategy, video production assistance, or project execution, we’ve got the expertise and insights to help elevate your content to the next level.

Get your video marketing started on the right foot with a partner that understands how to create and market engaging video content from start to finish. If you’re interested in a video marketing strategy meeting, we’d love to connect.