Create an Impactful Video Marketing Strategy

It’s 2019, if you don’t have a video marketing strategy, you’re already behind. In order to make your brand succeed, video is no longer just helpful, it’s a must.

Since video isn’t a one-size-fits-all product, you can include it in your marketing plan easily and adapt it to your audience and your goals. With all the benefits video has shown it can produce, it only makes sense to make room for it in your plans. Don’t fall further behind and get your strategy right before you start making random video content.

Why Is Video So Important in 2019?

In the past, text posts may have been the norm online, but through the years, our way of communicating has become a lot more visual. This isn’t by mere coincidence either. Creating images and video content have become easier thanks to advances in technology. For example, video making tools are everywhere and can produce great results. Posting and sharing videos online has also become much simpler than in the past, encouraging people to do it more.

Marketers also know what they’re doing when they opt to use video to communicate with their audience instead of a long text post. It’s easy enough to say that video is more visually appealing, but the stats also show how significant its impact is. In fact, 93% of marketers have gotten new customers as a result of a video posted to social media and 72% of businesses attribute improved conversion rates to video content. With stats like this, it only makes sense to include video in your already existing marketing plan.

Define Your Target Audience

Now that you’re convinced you need a video marketing strategy, there’s more work to be done before you start making your first video. Put down the camera and first define the audience you want to reach with your content. Without specifying this basic target, your video efforts won’t have much guidance and won’t hit the mark. If you already have a marketing plan in place, use this to help you define your target and your goals as well.

To decide who your target is, you can start by selecting a broad group you want to reach with your message. This can be something as simple and general as women, men, or children. Instead of stopping there, narrow this group down even further using other characteristics like age, location, and niche interests. This will help you understand your audience much better, making it easier to deliver a video that really catches their eye.

Including social media videos on landing pages and on your website is great practice, but you’ll also want to pay close attention to social media. Video content made specifically for your social accounts is a must because of the tremendous impact it can have. Each platform has pros and cons, different demographics, and a different reach, so get to know these thoroughly before you decide which platform will help you reach your target audience best.

What’s Your Objective?

After defining your target audience, you will also need to have a clearly established objective for your video content. This means you shouldn’t make videos just to make videos. Be sure each one has a specific goal you’re working to achieve. Common objectives for a video marketing strategy may include things like increased engagement, increased follower count, increased exposure, or increased revenue.

Once you have your goal clearly defined, creating targeted video content will be much easier. You will then be better prepared to develop a concept for your video that will help you reach that goal more effectively. Think of it as a guide for your efforts or literally a target you’re aiming at. For example, if your goal is to get the word out about a sale you’re having, then a promo video that clearly highlights your best deals will be ideal. Not sure what type of video to use? Check out some of the most common types below:

• Promo video: Use this type of video to promote your brand, a new product, a sale, or anything else.
• Intro video: An intro video, like a logo animation, is a great option to introduce a new brand or project. If you don’t have animation skills, create a cool intro easily using and intro maker.
• Testimonial video: These are a great way to show potential customers the great reviews you’ve received from already existing customers.
• Step by step video: Teach your followers how to use your products or share a cool tutorial with them. Create these types of videos easily with a slideshow maker.

Posting Your Video Content on Social Media

Where you post your video matters. As we mentioned earlier, creating one video and posting it everywhere won’t have the best results. Since each social media platform has its quirks, you’ll need to make content that makes sense for each one. It’s also worth noting that each platform has different guidelines for videos, including time limits, ratios, and posting possibilities. What you can do is come up with a concept and adapt it to all of the platforms you want to post on.

To help you make the perfect content for each social networking site, check out these basic guidelines for the most important social networks:

• Facebook: This social network is popular with just about all demographics. It’s great for running targeted video ads because of it's easy to use ads manager tool. You can post landscape, portrait, or even 1:1 aspect ratio videos. Facebook has tons of options for video posting, including regular in-feed videos, Facebook stories, Facebook canvas, video carousel ads, and so much more.
• Instagram: Instagram is loved by millennials, but keep in mind that Gen X is also fond of this very visual platform. While you can post vertical, horizontal, or square videos on Instagram, the 1:1 ratio square videos are what look best. For in-feed videos, you have a limit of 60 seconds to get your message across. Stories should be 15 seconds at their longest and in a vertical orientation. Although stories are shorter, their format means your content will take up the entire screen, meaning fewer distractions. You can also get your audience to connect with you through elements like polls, questions, and quizzes.
• Twitter: This platform allows you to share video either in portrait or landscape orientation. Make your videos for Twitter no longer than 140 seconds.
• YouTube: YouTube is basically a search engine, so you can reach just about any demographic or niche on this platform designed for video content. Videos can be up to 12 hours long and are supported in two ratios, 16:9 and 4:3. To ensure your videos are found by your audience, use your knowledge of SEO to create titles and descriptions that will help them pop up in the search results page. Don’t forget to brand your videos with your logo. If you don’t have a logo you love, create your own using a quick and easy tool like an online logo maker.

Plan Your Content

Now that you have a clear target audience, a goal, and you know where you will be posting your video, it’s time to actually create it. The type of video you’re making will define a lot of the content in it. For example, if you’re creating a promo video, it only makes sense to include information about the deals you have, make it exciting for your target audience, and use images that reflect your brand. Other important aspects to keep in mind while developing your video’s content include:

• Make it relevant to your target: Create videos that your audience will useful or interesting.
• Ensure it’s easy to understand: Don’t overcomplicate things. Keep your video’s message clear and concise.
• Make it enticing and exciting: Make video content that stands out and that really catches the attention of your audience.
• Keep your video short: Short videos tend to perform better than videos that are too long and dragged out. Keep it short and to the point.
• Include sound: Although most videos posted to social media start with the sound off, it’s still good practice to include some background music. Of course, keep in mind that your video should still function without it because many viewers will likely watch it without sound,
• Make it helpful and informative: Make video content that will be informative for your audience. To ensure they know the content is coming from you, use a logo creator to design a logo you can use to brand your videos.

Brand Your Video

If you’re just starting to branch out into video, keep in mind that this content should also cohesively fit in with your established brand. This means maintaining your brand’s style of communication, including your brand voice and tone. Visual elements are also a must. Continue to use your brand’s color palette, use the same type of imagery you use in your image-based posts, and don’t forget to include your logo design somewhere in your video. This can be easy to include at the beginning of your video in an animated video intro or at the end in a transition or end card. This is super important because you want your audience to be able to relate your video content to your brand easily. If they watch your video, love it, but have no way of knowing who made it, then it won’t do much for you. Although it may seem simple, your color palette or your logo can make it super easy to attribute your video to you in less than a second, so definitely don’t skip this step.

Optimize Your Finished Video

When your video is shot, edited, and ready to be posted, there’s one more thing to consider: optimization. You want your video to be easy to find, and optimizing it will make that happen. On a platform like YouTube, for example, SEO can make a huge difference because it’s basically another search engine. This means you’ll have to step up your YouTube marketing by looking for keywords and include these in your video’s title, description, and tags. Don’t forget to include a CTA in your video and again in your video’s description so that it doesn’t get lost on your viewers. Of course, doing keyword research also helps keep you informed on what people are searching for, giving you even more ideas for future videos.

Beyond the written descriptions of your video, you will also want to make a thumbnail for it that will make it more enticing to viewers. Thumbnails give you a tiny space to work with, so do your best to make the most of it. Include a short title, an intriguing image, and throw in your logo so that people can recognize your content before they even click on it. It may sound like a lot, but getting the perfect balance can lead to more clicks.

Start Reaching Your Goals with Your Video Marketing Strategy

Now that you’re better equipped to create a killer video marketing strategy, what are you waiting for? Put your new knowledge to use and get the results you’re after. Keep in mind that this can take some time to master, so be sure to check on how your videos are performing so that you can make the necessary changes to your next videos. In no time, you’ll be a video master!

Photo by Firmbee.com on Unsplash