How to Plan Your 2024 Video Marketing Program

Ah, video production.

Even though they're called shorts, doesn't mean they take a short amount of time to produce.

In a recent role, I oversaw the YouTube marketing program: managing six corporate YouTube channels among a total of 23 social media channels.

While there, I grew one YouTube channel from 40k to 100k subscribers in less than eight months, between September 2021 to May 2022, by transforming its corporate branded channel into a partner’s (human-centric) channel all organically leveraging SEO. It also had channel revenue projections of $220k ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue) for the channel.

Over the course of a year and a half, we witnessed three videos surpass more than three million organic views.

This success was largely attributed to planning a “living” annual editorial calendar that accomplished three things: was clear about who the video is for, described what problem the video solved and quickly aroused viewer curiosity.

Today, that one channel boasts over 15 million views. Its success was predominantly founded on SEO research when we shifted the channel from a corporate brand to a human personality. And I definitely stress the importance of a thumbnail strategy, but that's an entire post unto itself.

My YouTube channel strategy includes: monthly editorial planning, audience segmentation, branding, title and thumbnail optimization, video file naming, video descriptions, keyword research, tags, chapters, CTAs, promotion, analytics, performance tracking, trend analysis and YouTube Live.

We slowed down to understand what our audience was searching for on Google to solve challenges or learn about topics the firm's SMEs were experts. We also spent a lot of time analyzing competitors and continued to track them on a regular basis as we were covering similar topics on their channels.

For tools, we predominantly used TubeBuddy for keyword and competitor research and Google Sheets for organizing and sharing the editorial calendars. This year, the platform has added many AI features, so it's worth exploring. Choosing the right tools is critical in social media and investing time in researching tools that fit your team’s priorities is essential.

Throughout YouTube video production, we also collaborated closely with the partners, our SMEs or stakeholders, to stay abreast of trends and breaking news. We prioritized these videos' release even if we had five to 10 videos already prepared and in the can. We edited the hot releases, optimized for SEO and pushed them live in about a day.

Why It’s Important to Start with YouTube

In the world of digital content creation, staying ahead of your competitors requires strategic planning and a deep understanding of your audience's preferences - also known as audience segmentation.?

As we step into 2024, one thing is abundantly clear: video content STILL continues to reign supreme.?

But where should you begin and how can you maximize your reach? The answer lies in a well-thought-out content strategy, starting with YouTube.

Creating Shorts from YouTube Video

To create YouTube Shorts from a main YouTube video, it's a good idea to have the main video be at least a few minutes long, preferably around 5-10 minutes. This provides you with enough content to create shorter, engaging clips or cuts that will supply your YouTube Shorts throughout the year.

YouTube Shorts are typically less than 60 seconds, so having a longer main YouTube video gives you the flexibility to extract multiple interesting segments or highlights from it for use on YouTube Shorts.

These shorter clips can then be used to capture viewers' attention and encourage them to watch the full-length main video, driving traffic to your primary content.

Prioritizing YouTube for Shorts

When creating content for YouTube Shorts, you should focus on optimizing YouTube first.?

YouTube Shorts provide a platform for short, engaging videos that are vertically oriented and under a minute in length. By starting with YouTube Shorts, you can harness the benefits of a well-established platform and its vast user base.

Benefits of YouTube as the Starting Point

YouTube's ecosystem offers various advantages, such as discoverability through the YouTube Shorts shelf, monetization options and a user-friendly interface.?

This platform provides creators with visibility and a chance to gain subscribers who may engage with your longer content as well. Moreover, YouTube's powerful analytics tools can help you understand your audience's preferences, aiding in content refinement.

Optimizing for Facebook, Instagram and TikTok

After crafting your YouTube Short, you can adapt it for Facebook and Instagram Reels and TikTok. While these platforms also support short videos, they have unique formatting requirements and features.?

By starting with YouTube Shorts, you create a comprehensive and polished video, making it easier to create shorter, engaging clips for Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

This approach can save time and maintain a consistent brand presence across platforms.

Potential Results You May Expect to See

By prioritizing YouTube for Shorts, you increase the likelihood of reaching a broader audience and gaining followers who appreciate your content.?

The potential results include increased visibility, engagement and even revenue generation if your YouTube Shorts perform well.

Furthermore, repurposing content for Facebook, Instagram and TikTok extends your reach and encourages cross-platform promotion, ultimately helping you grow your online presence and impact.

The Year Ahead: The Social Source of Truth

As you plan your video content for 2024, remember that a well-planned strategy that looks over the course of the year is key.?

I do understand that you may take a deeper personalization approach to each of your social media channels. If you have the time and team support to customize each social media channel with different videos based on the nuances of the audiences on each channel, I understand, and do support that approach as well.

For those who may not have a large budget or a lot of time and want to produce educational videos that answer questions and solve challenges for your ICPs (Ideal Customer Profiles), this post is predominantly for you.

Focusing on producing one set of videos for YouTube as your "social source of truth" to enjoy the benefits of optimizing for SEO on the world's second most popular website is a solid strategy in which you will reap the benefits from over time.

And with Google serving up YouTube videos at the near top of Google Search results, if your video content is clearly answering your target audiences questions and solving their pain points you can potentially rise to page one results in a keyword you typically would not through your website that may not have the Domain Authority (DA) for the popular keyword you're trying to rank for.

YouTube can provide you with an almost level playing field against other DA heavy hitters if you put the investment into methodical video editorial planning, keyword optimization and other related tactical strategies.

Anyway if you are of the ilk to streamline your video production and disbursement ...

Start with a strategy that creates long form video content first. Then expand that to YouTube Shorts, then to Facebook and Instagram Reels and then TikTok to ensure your audience is being engaged across ALL platforms with a video omnichannel approach.?

I hope you enjoy the benefits of increased visibility, engagement and revenue through developing a video marketing program for your organization and wish you the best. Reach out to me on LinkedIn if you have any questions.

#socialmedia #socialmediastrategy #contentmarketing #youtube #instagram #facebook #video #marketingstrategy #digitalmarketing #growthmarketing