The ultimate AI + video content creation planning checklist for B2B companies in 2025

AI and video are the two hottest trends in B2B right now.?

I don’t think it’s much of a shocking prediction to say that the companies that are more fully integrating AI and video into their plans are the ones that will be the most successful.?

The challenge is that even though we can accept that as a goal, it’s still a struggle to work out exactly how to go about it.?

Things are changing so fast that just keeping up is a huge challenge, never mind pulling ahead!

Yet, even with the? rapid change in these two areas happening, there are some fundamental considerations that will keep coming up, because they are, well, foundational.?

In a way, nobody is much of an expert at AI, it’s only really been around for a short while and is still in it’s infancy.?

We’re all learning and there’s a lot of noise to sort through and much evolution yet to happen.?

Video is a little different. The tools and techniques have changed, but many of the key considerations about how to go about creating video content are well known, at least to seasoned video professionals.?

In order to help YOU develop your video content creation plans I wanted to outline and explore some of the key considerations that come up? when making a video plan, a video strategy, a video content plan, whatever you want to call it.

The first thing you’ll need to do is to decide and agree on the goals.

It sounds pretty straightforward at first but consider if you have different stakeholders, some that may not have originated the plan.?

For example, if the marketing team starts making a plan to produce some video content but the CEO isn’t on board with the strategy that marketing is cooking up, they may get far into the process before it gets derailed.

Assuming you can get organizational alignment on the goals, then you’ll need to get into the nitty gritty.?

Questions start popping up real fast, question like:

How much is this going to cost?

Where will this video get posted?

How will we know if it was worth it or what the ROI is?

Many of the questions have answers that depend on answering other questions at the same time.?

For example, how much a video costs will depend on what the video is, but to know what the video is, you’ll need to start the creation process, you’ll need a budget to even get started. Chicken and egg kinda stuff.?

To help navigate this decision maze, I’ve created a checklist of the “buckets” or "consideration modules" that need to be workshopped.?

I think of these as modules as groupings of decisions that we can address when they are relevant to the project goals.?

For example, if we have decided to make an animated explainer video, we won’t need to spend time deciding who at your company will be on camera since it’s not needed.?

In addition, you may be creating different types of video content, perhaps a customer case study as well as a video podcast.

Those different videos may have different audiences, goals, budgets, etc.?

So, let’s get into it!?

First, I’ll add my video strategy planning checklist here so you have it handy for later and then provide a little context on each one below.

Ideally this will help you make good video strategy decisions more quickly, checking off these modules as you go.

THE AI VIDEO CHECKLIST

1. AUDIENCE, CHANNELS, FORMATS, POSTING
2. RESEARCH & TESTING
3. VIDEO CREATION PROCESS
4. CONTENT IDEATION
5. ONGOING ROLES
6. PERFORMANCE
7. MENTALITY
8. TOOLS
9. QUALITY CONTROL
10. “PREPUROSING” + PIPELINE
11. AUTHENTICITY POLICY
12. MEASUREMENT
13. BUDGETING

AUDIENCE, CHANELS, FORMATS, POSTING

You’ll need to answer questions like:? Which audiences are you trying to reach? On what platform/channel? What kind of video is it? Case study, animated explainer, product video, etc? Is it vertical or horizontal? How long is it, etc? How regularly to post? Is this a “one and done” kind of video, maybe a group of videos like X amount of case studies, or is it a series like a weekly video podcast?

RESEARCH & TESTING

Before you start creating content, it’s probably a good idea to research the competition, what others are putting out there for video content. Maybe you can also find ways to test small, learn, get feedback before spending? lot of time and money.

VIDEO CREATION PROCESS

For those less experienced in video production, they may not be familiar with the classic video production process: Pre-production (panning, scripting, etc) Production (shooting, creating graphics, etc) and Post-production (editing, revisions, color correction and sound mixing). Being aware of the process helps reduce wasted time and money.?

CONTENT IDEATION

Consider how you’re going to identify topics and create scripts or other video creative concepts, especially if you are going to be putting regular content out there. “Content fatigue” and burnout are real. The need to post consistently can create real problems after you run out of your initial ideas.?

ONGOING ROLES

You’ll need to identify “who’s doing what?” Who’s on camera, who’s writing scripts, who’s posting, who’s reviewing things before posting?, etc.?

PERFORMANCE

For many of us in B2B, being on camera was never something we wanted to do. Being on camera isn’t really acting in B2B but ‘Performing’ on camera is. You don’t want to be dry and stiff, but you can’t expect everyone to be great on camera either. You may need to plan for getting people comfortable on camera, the more you do, the easier and better it gets.?

MENTALITY

Being on camera can require a shift in mind set, it's a different thing and many people want to avoid it. The opportunity to use video is there, but it can take a transformation in attitude and roles to do so. Similarly, perfection can be the enemy of progress. Being able to look at content creation and posting as a long term experiment where the outcomes aren't known, can require a shift in perspective as well.?

TOOLS

You’ll need to consider what tools you’ll try and use. Maybe this is ChatGPT or Claude for outlines. This can be AI video editing tools like Descript, gen AI image and video creation tools like Midjourney, Minimax or Sora? AI avatars, cameras, iPhones, lighting, microphones, etc. There’s a lot out there and new stuff is coming out at lighting speed. Just being aware of what’s now available can be like a full time job.?

QUALITY CONTROL

How will you know what quality level is acceptable? Setting a ‘video standard’ can save a lot of thrash down the road, ultimately saving time and money. Your team may not all agree what is acceptable so having someone in a decision making role in times where people don’t agree can be key.?

“PRE-PUROSING” + PIPELINE

For ongoing production - and let’s face it, if you’re not posting video regularly you're not doing it right - you’ll need a pipeline, a process. Setting up a repurposing strategy from the start can extend value and savings across multiple media formats and channels. For example, a long form video can be ‘pre purposed” to also be cut into short videos, audio for? podcast and text transcriptions for posts, emails, etc.?

AUTHENTICITY POLICY

The balance between ‘being real’ or authentic on camera has a counter, being ‘polished’. In some ways, these are opposites. Are you OK with employees shooting video on their phones and posting that? Does everything need to be reviewed by legals? How polished does your content need to be? Are ‘behind the scenes or bloopers ok? They can work well, or backfire.?

MEASUREMENT

How will you know if your video content is a success? What does good vs great look like? What stats, analytics or KPI’s matter and how and when are you planning on tracking those?

BUDGETING

How much is your video content going to cost? Who will make these decisions, can they be appealed or amended?Can you afford to create all the video content that you want and need - or do you need to reprioritize? Can you afford to NOT do video content?

So there you have it, these are the main considerations I have identified.?

Some may not apply and there may be others unique to your situation.?

This list should at least give you a big head start in finding and creating answers to the main questions.?

Video isn't right for everyone and If you want some support figuring out if it could be, I have a free assessment where we can look at your goals, what you’re doing now and then explore some high level video content creation options that you could explore if you want or we can do that together.

Just reach out if you want to discuss.?

Good luck creating!?