We get the ‘who’, ‘what’ and ‘why’. Now for the ‘HOW’…
By now, most marketers are well convinced that video is the way of the future. They’ve read dozens of articles about how video is the end-all-be-all solution for lead nurturing, engagement and conversions. And every expert stresses the importance of strategy. But the word “strategy” is often used in such a vague way; it leaves us wanting more.
“Before you produce awesome video content, develop a strategy for how your video assets will drive results.”
Ok…Thanks a heap, ominous advice-giver. What about the how?
When we talk about video content strategy, we mean coming up with a plan that details:
What kind of content you will create at each stage in the buyer’s journey.
What channels you will use to maximize reach and connect the right people with the right content.
What insights you will use to measure performance and identify your most valuable pieces of content.
How you will expand your ability to produce awesome video content without increasing budget.
How to Develop a Video Marketing Strategy
Your video marketing strategy begins with a self-questionnaire. Why are you creating video? What specific goals does your video content need to help you reach (e.g., awareness, number of leads in the pipeline, etc.)?
The video library you create can be broken down into two types:
1. Core Journey Videos
These videos don’t have a single objective; they support the entire buyer’s journey and sales funnel. To understand what core journey videos you need, do a gap analysis.
What videos (if any) do you already have at each stage of the buyer’s journey?
Where are the gaps in the content?
What videos do salespeople need to be more effective (e.g., product demos, testimonials, etc.)?
Once you identify the gaps, you can narrow down the types of content you need to create to bring buyers into the marketing and sales funnel and drive them to convert.
2. Video Campaigns
Video campaigns are assets that support events that “spring up” throughout the year. For example, a product launch. The best way to strategize video campaigns is to create a set of guidelines for what types of videos will be created for what events, and who is responsible for leading different kinds of campaigns. It’s important during video campaign planning to have priorities, but also to remain flexible as new projects come in.
In any case, you must have guidelines in place; a video style guide for how all videos will be created to support brand consistency, no matter who is in charge of producing the video content. Click here to learn more about how to create a video style guide.
The Production Pyramid
Next, you need to define your production pyramid. A production pyramid is a way of thinking about who will take the production lead depending on the type of video. Here’s the breakdown:
High-Level Awareness Videos
Production leader: 3rd party video marketing agency, hello!
Focus: reaching as many people as possible and building brand reputation.
Types of videos to produce: branded videos, how-to videos, about us videos.
Quality is a huge factor in high-level video success, which means production value should be greater than average. Partner with a professional video marketing agency to tell a stunning visual story. Albeit more expensive, this content is evergreen, and you don’t need as many to support your content marketing strategy.
Mid-Funnel Education/Nurturing Videos
Production leader: Your internal video marketing team; but partnering with a video marketing agency is also effective.
Focus: to educate audiences who are already familiar with your brand on specific aspects of your products or services.
Types of videos to produce: product demos, explainer videos.
Mid-funnel videos require input from the people who understand your products or services best — your team. However, if you market a complex or confusing product, lack creative, or require special environmental effects, work closely with your video marketing agency, who will help bridge resource and experience gaps in your team.
Bottom Funnel Conversion
Production leader: Mostly your internal video marketing team.
Focus: helping prospects make a purchasing decision.
Types of video to produce: video testimonials, product comparison videos.
Once again, your internal resources are largely dependent upon the production of bottom-funnel conversion videos. All assets should focus on convincing prospects that your product or service is the best solution for them.
Video Distribution & Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)
The final part of your strategy is planning for distribution. Once again, you must create a set of guidelines; a pathway that you will consistently follow to connect the right audiences with your video content in the right place. Refer back to your production pyramid and gap analysis to determine where it makes sense to publish. For example, an About Us awareness video will perform well on social media channels. If it’s compelling enough, it might even inspire social signals! Middle and bottom funnel videos work well in support of specific pages on your website, or social media ads.
Once you decide how to distribute your videos, how will you measure success?
Marketers frequently get hung up on the number of views, but this metric doesn't really tell us if the video content had an impact. Instead, keep an eye on the following three areas.
Length of view (how long did they watch?)
Engagement (did they interact? How?)
Impact/ROI (Pull information from your sales system to identify which videos influenced sales, and, consequently, how much revenue each video generated for the company.)
The quality and accuracy of one’s video strategy are what separates the top brands in the industry from those still fighting for spotlight. But unfortunately, there is no exact formula. Strategic thinking is also not a skill that will develop overnight. Think of strategy as a marketing muscle. If you want it to get stronger you need to push yourself; practice and learn from your past experiences to lean down in some areas and target others. If you have the will and want, but lack the resources to strengthen your online presence, a video marketing agency can help. Like a personal coach drives fitness success, avideo partnerwill push your team in key areas and teach proper strategy form. With consistency and perseverance, you can learn how to build a lean, mean, competitive strategy that delivers serious results.
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