Video content is one of the top forms of content being consumed globally. This has led it to quickly become a must-have.
Video has transformed how businesses communicate both internally and externally. Video content creators need to have a strong understanding of who their viewers are. Knowing their interests, where they are from, their likes and dislikes, their concerns, and even their sense of humour will help you create appealing videos that are relatable to them in both content and context. This humanises your brand and helps you form a relationship and personal connection with your viewer - something which you as a creator could only otherwise achieve by meeting in person.
Any business can create video content as a part of their marketing strategy – it just needs to align with your objectives. The video can be a simple brand message, product reveal, or have any other messaging that resonates with your current and potential customers. What’s more, you don’t need to have a large budget to achieve all of this. You can create high-quality video content using your smartphone and readily available video editing tools.
If you're yet to get started on utilising video marketing or are looking to level up your current video content strategy, here are some tips to make sure you get the most out of it.
1. Consider the big picture before you begin shooting your videos
Before you even pick up a camera, decide what video content means to you and your brand. Map out all the steps you’ll have to take, from start to end. This will help you decide whether or not adding video content is worth it. Do you have all the technical, human and other resources you need to keep the content flowing reliably? Have you already identified which platforms your viewers are consuming content on? Remember, putting out content is one thing, but getting people to engage with it is another. Here’s a template to help you build your viewer persona.
2. Define your video marketing goals
Keep your goals in mind as you start out. Making the video with no clear end goal can end up being pointless. Is your goal to promote a product or service? Is it to launch a new product? Is it to raise your brand awareness? You need to be very clear on what you want your viewers to take away after watching your video.
3. Have a great story
One of the most important keys to great video content is storytelling. You need to create videos that people want to watch and even share. Do your research on what people want to know more about – create videos about that. Most importantly, create and maintain your authentic voice in these videos. A great story with poor delivery could be to the detriment of your goals.
4. Determine the right orientation
On platforms where people consume content on the go, you may want to consider shooting in portrait or vertical orientations. This allows for a better viewing experience as your viewers can watch it without having to take that extra action of rotating their device. Your viewers will be more likely to view your video for longer. It is great for stories, Snapchat, and native video for most social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.
5. Create for specific platforms
Different platforms have different audiences and benefits. You have two options: to host or to post. You can host your videos on your website and/or by using video hosting platforms like Vimeo or YouTube. On the other hand, you can post them on the social media site of your choice. The choice of platform to use will be guided by your goals for the content and your capabilities.
6. Optimise your title
Picking titles is a delicate craft. The message you convey through your video title is the first deciding factor for whether your audience will watch your video or not. Your title must be creative, catchy, and functional. Do some keyword research and integrate the relevant words in your title so that searchers can find your video.
7. Add a call-to-action (CTA) in your video
Get your viewers to take action after they watch your video. Tell them to ‘visit your website’, ‘subscribe to your channel’, ‘like your page’, ‘buy your product’. Lead them towards the direction you want them to go. You can do that by using a call-to-action button that leads them to a specific landing page or mentioning it in your video, or any other appropriate method.
8. Include your video transcript
Your transcript is the written content of your video. Your transcript tells search engines what your video is about so that it can be returned as a searcher’s results. Additionally, your transcript will allow people to better understand what your video is about, particularly if they cannot understand your accent.
9. Tag your work
Tags, captions and descriptions, like any piece of metadata, add context to your video. Including these in your videos gives context to it. It allows search engines to understand what your video is about and categorise it appropriately. Relevant tags will allow your videos to be discoverable in a search, while improper tags will bury your videos.
10. Amplify your video content by cross-promoting it
Once your video is uploaded, be sure to share it beyond where you hosted or posted it. Announce your new video to your audiences on the different platforms that they are on, referencing where your video is.
11. Ask for feedback and adapt
Ask your viewers to share with you their thoughts are on the video. Ask them what you should stop doing, start doing or continue doing. With this kind of actionable feedback, you can create more of the content that your target audience actually wants to see. After all, what is the value of creating the content if it isn’t delighting your target viewers?
12. Track and analyse the engagement data.
This will help you better understand the preference and behaviours of your audience. Use this data to refine and customise your video strategy.
