Video content marketing is a powerful way to attract and engage your audience, but it also requires a lot of planning, creativity, and technical skills. In this article, we will explore some of the key skills and tools that you need to succeed as a video content marketer, and how to use them effectively.
Before you start creating any video content, you need to have a clear strategy and goals for your campaign. What is the purpose of your video? Who is your target audience? How will you measure your results? These are some of the questions that you need to answer to define your video content marketing objectives and align them with your overall business goals. A good strategy will help you focus your efforts, optimize your budget, and increase your ROI.
Due to the expense and effort, video content should be used for multiple purposes and audiences and not be considered a singular "video." An interview can be made available for longform viewing on YouTube and in written form on a blog using transcription from editing software. Short video clips can be used as teasers on social channels and short quotes can be pulled from the transcript for quick posts. Repurpose all good content in an many ways possible to expand your audience.
I agree, making sure any campaign objectives you set ladder up to your wider business objectives is key. You should also ask yourself: - If video is the best medium for your message or if you want to consider other formats - If you will have a bespoke approach to content for every platform you plan to post on - Whether this content should live on every platform your brand has a presence on
Once you have your strategy and goals, you need to craft your content and storytelling. This is where you need to use your creativity and empathy to connect with your audience and deliver your message. You need to understand your audience's pain points, needs, and desires, and create content that resonates with them, educates them, entertains them, or inspires them. You also need to use storytelling techniques to capture their attention, build trust, and motivate them to take action. A good content and storytelling will help you stand out from the crowd, generate engagement, and drive conversions.
Being able to have the skills for effectively creating content and storytelling should be a top priority for digital marketers who want to succeed in today’s world with so much digital noise. By producing content that relates with their audiences needs and interests, marketers can create a deeper connection with their audience which can lead to greater consistency with their target audience. In my experience, being able to achieve content that has storytelling is more important than the content itself. Effective storytelling can help marketers create an emotional connection with their audience, which can be a powerful tool in building trust and credibility.
After you have your content and storytelling, you need to produce and edit your video. This is where you need to use your technical skills and tools to bring your vision to life. You need to choose the right equipment, software, and platform for your video, depending on your budget, quality, and format. You also need to follow some best practices for video production and editing, such as lighting, sound, framing, transitions, effects, and captions. A good production and editing will help you ensure your video is clear, professional, and appealing.
Timing is everything. Holding onto a shot for too long, especially on social, can feel like a drag. Listen to your audio and see if you can cut your frame down to a digestible rhythm without losing the shot integrity. Try no more than 2.5 seconds on B-roll, be clear with your message, and see what happens!
If you don't have the equipment or skills to create video content yourself or you're facing a particularly challenging deadline, this is a great stage at which to engage a professional (or a team of professionals). Take stock of the steps with which you need the most help. Perhaps you're comfortable filming but you don't have a lot of editing experience, or perhaps your video could benefit from graphic design and animation that is beyond what you or your team can do. When looking for video professionals to help you, be prepared to talk through the services you need, your budget, your timeline and your distribution plan.
Once you have your video ready, you need to distribute and promote it. This is where you need to use your marketing skills and tools to reach your audience and achieve your goals. You need to choose the right channels, platforms, and formats for your video, depending on your audience, objectives, and budget. You also need to optimize your video for SEO, social media, and email marketing, using keywords, tags, titles, descriptions, thumbnails, and CTAs. A good distribution and promotion will help you increase your visibility, traffic, and leads.
Thinking about influencers and individuals who act as an extension of your brand is important here too. For example, I work with a number of football clubs who have huge personalities at their disposal in the shape of players and managers. Often, these individuals combined will have a greater reach through their social platforms than a single main account. Treating them as brand ambassadors and equipping them with content is a savvy way to boost reach, speak to a wider audience and make noise in the right places.
Finally, you need to analyze and optimize your video content marketing. This is where you need to use your analytical skills and tools to measure your performance and improve your results. You need to track and monitor your video metrics, such as views, watch time, retention, engagement, conversions, and ROI. You also need to use feedback, surveys, and testing to identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. A good analysis and optimization will help you learn from your experience, adjust your strategy, and enhance your effectiveness.
In my experience, it's important to embrace the qualitative data as well as the quantitative. We are given so many numbers and data points (reach, impressions, link clicks, likes, retweets, shares, comments, views etc.) to analyse and these can be fantastic for measuring success, but social listening and actively reading replies and engaging with your audience will tell you far more and can feed into future campaigns and content too.