5 steps to a successful video strategy

I’ve met with so many businesses and brands that have tried video and it hasn’t worked for them for various reasons. Maybe that’s you too?

So, what DOES make a successful video strategy?

Well, whether you’re new to video  or you’re a seasoned CMO, you need a roadmap outlining what it’s all for, where you’re going and how you’ll measure success.

This, in its most basic form, is a video strategy.

Your video strategy doesn’t need to be incredibly detailed. It could be as simple as a list of titles or frequently asked questions with bullet points to talk to. It could even be packed full of video ideas from event coverage to client case studies.

The most important things you need to remember when planning your video strategy is that your video content needs to be:

• relevant to your audience and targeted at the right persona,
• educational and tells a story without hard-selling your product or service,
• aligned with your greater marketing strategy and business goals.

Now you know what a video strategy is, here are my 5 secrets of a successful video strategy:

1. Dedicate Calendar Time

Putting time aside for the planning of your video content will ensure your video strategy has legs. It will also help keep you accountable during the production of your content.

When the time comes to create your video content, consider filming multiple videos at once in order to maximise both your time and budget. For example, for regular Thought Leadership videos I’d recommend setting half a day aside for filming rather than 1 hour per week.

Remember 👊
Practice really does make perfect. The more videos you make, the better you’re going to get. And the better you get, the more confident you’ll be on camera.

2. Target your audience

Just like any other form of marketing content, your video content should be targeted to your target audience, your client personas and created for the channel it’s intended to be viewed on.

So… it’s research time!

Start by taking a look at your current customers, and profiling them. What pain point are you solving for them? Where do they hang out online? By taking the time to do this you’ve built the foundations to understand who you’ll be targeting and what message you need to be communicating.

As part of your research, jump online and check out the different types of content created for different social platforms. Creating video for Facebook is very different to creating video for Instagram. It’s important to take the time to understand the different platforms where your audience are playing in order to create engaging content for them to interact with.

3. Nail Your Messaging

Unfortunately the rise of social media has decreased our attention span as an audience, and you have less than 8 seconds to grab, and keep, your audience’s attention.

Don’t waste valuable seconds showcasing your brand logo at the beginning of your video – it’s video suicide. Start your video with something short, sharp and eye-catching – experiment with ways to communicate your key messages in under 10 seconds.

Be sure to create a mix of video content of differing lengths:

• Short-form videos (10-30 seconds long) are great for audiences scrolling through news feeds
• Medium-form videos (90 seconds – 5 minutes) are great for audiences wanting to learn a little more, and build trust with your brand
• Long-form videos (5 mins +) are for in depth learning, and great for interviews or deep diving into how-to’s
  

Regardless of the format you choose, concentrate on the value you’re providing your customers and ensure that your content centres around the story and not the sale.

 Finally, be sure to include a call-to-action at the end (and sometimes middle) of all your videos. Not including one is one of the biggest mistakes people make. How are you going to get ROI if you don’t instruct your audience to like, follow, visit or engage with your brand? Keep your call-to-action clean, simple and easy for your audience to take action at the end of your video.

4. Create Quality Video Content

Now that you’ve done the necessary planning, it’s time to actually create your video content. There are so many different ways to approach filming your videos depending on your budget and the type of content you’re creating, my top go to options are:

Make your own (aka DIY)
Awesome for creating video on a budget, but be sure to invest time and some cash in learning the basics. My signature program The Video Accelerator is a great resource for you if you’re wanting to create DIY videos on a budget. Doors open again in June, click here to join the waitlist. 😉

Hire a pro!
Bringing in the professionals will have you covered from start to finish. They can help you create your video strategy, produce professional videos and even assist with distributing your videos online and across social media. If you’re ready to start investing in professional videos - let’s chat! Click here to book a call with me to discuss your project. 

It’s vital that you focus on creating the highest-quality video content possible – you don’t want to be putting out bad videos!

5. Go Native or Go Home

“What is native video?” I hear you say. Well quite simply it’s a video that is directly uploaded, or created within a social media platform, and played in-feed. 

It isn’t a link to videos hosted on other sites such as YouTube or Vimeo.

Native video formats are specific to each social platform and are designed to maximise your videos’ and to be very honest, it’s a huge mistake I see all of the time on Linkedin! People link out to YouTube and other platforms instead of giving a taste of what’s over there natively with an in-feed video.

The great thing about native videos is that it doesnʼt disrupt the user experience, so itʼs imperative that you create content tailored to the social platform you are putting it on.

And there you have it. I hope this is helpful for you as you move forward with your video journey!

Stay Camera Confident

Rebecca x