6 Steps to Success in Video Content Marketing

The digital realm has been saturated with quotes touting the success of video content marketing. In recent, videos have been attributed to KPIs such as lower bounce rates, higher conversion rates, increased ROI on B2B campaigns and more.

The trouble is, with all of the recent success from video content, many marketers are throwing in slapdash projects and expecting astronomical results. As a result, we often see uncomfortable, off-base explainer videos, product shots that look like they were taken with a cellphone camera and stop-motion whiteboard animations that have no traction and certainly no wit. As with any type of content marketing, especially complex and creative avenues such as video, the processes require careful planning and strategy. Here are six steps to consider before cannonballing into the video pool.

Audience

First, it is essential to nail down your audience when adding video to your content marketing mix. Identify your target personas through best practices or our 6 Little-Known Steps to Creating Buyer Personas. These tips will help you segment your audience and cater content to specific demographic and psychographic niches. This step is designed to assure your video resonates with the target audience and connects to consumers with greatest potential of converting into a paying customer.

Format

The following step is formating your video. Once the audience is identified, it’s time to evaluate the persona’s willingness to make a purchase. For instance, if a persona just entered the buyer’s journey, you don’t want to overwhelm them with a detailed, deep-dive product demonstration-type of video. For the top-of-the-funnel, a high-level “Who We Are” culture video or explainer is typically more successful. The key is to pinpoint the stage in the buyer’s journey you want to target; this will give you a concrete foundation on which you can build your implementation strategy.

Trends

Keep in mind, not all companies are ready to experiment with new trends and technologies on the market today. However, if you are comfortable with your video-making capabilities, consider testing the waters with some popular video types to give your content more traction and encourage positive engagement. Some examples of emerging trends and original video ideas are:

•      Virtual reality
•      360-degree video
•      Educational or tutorial videos
•      Animation videos
•      Behind the scenes look at your product or service
•      Live video streaming

If you intend to jump into a new format or trend that is unfamiliar to your production team, be sure to research and thoroughly understand the medium. Audiences can be unforgiving when it comes to poorly made video, so it’s important to do your homework.

Create and Edit

After planning for your audience, format and trends, you’re ready for the production phase. Investing in good equipment and professional videographers is key to creating quality videos. If you don’t have access to these resources, evaluate local outsourcing outlets and team up with professionals who are capable of meeting your video goals. Regardless of who films, always check that your end clips match your intended messaging, the audio is clear and the visuals are succinct.

Channels

Now that you have your video content, where does it belong? Is it released through social channels, does it live gated on your web client or is it digitally-delivered to a client or business partner? The proper channel to distribute your video depends on content and format. Generally, top-level content is shared on social media while more detailed, premium videos are positioned behind a form on your website.

Partner Up

Unless they get incredibly lucky, an amateur cook won’t make the same dish as an executive chef, even if all of the ingredients they have to use are the exact same. The same principle applies to producing strong video content. If these steps seem difficult to comprehend or the prospect of planning, scripting, creating, strategizing and implementing videos is daunting for your business, consider the idea of bringing in a partner for video production or seeking consultation for your strategy.
Pyxl is a great option for your video needs. Contact us today for more information!

Updated: Jul 26, 2022