Creating a single creative campaign can be challenging, but turning it into an effective video content strategy can be even more daunting.
When you’ve put your heart and soul into creating that brilliant hero piece of content, it can seem overwhelming to think about what comes next. A recent Statista survey conducted in the US found that many content marketers feel their organisation isn’t using video to its full potential, with 43% claiming a lack of in-house skill (filming, editing, etc.) as a challenge.
However, with a solid plan, a trusted creative agency and careful execution, it is possible to maximise the potential of your initial campaign and create a video marketing campaign that engages your audience and achieves your strategic goals.
In this article, we will explore practical steps and tips for transforming a single video campaign into a successful video marketing strategy that can help your marketing team drive growth and increase brand awareness.
How do you create a video marketing strategy?
At Content Creatures, we have extensive experience working with numerous brands to develop comprehensive and effective video content strategies.
Our collaborative process enables us to focus on the crucial steps needed to develop a winning content marketing strategy. These include:
- Identify the core message, target audience, and brand values
- Define your video content goals
- Expand your campaign concept to create a broader range of video content
- Diversify your video formats and optimise for each platform’s best practices
- Incorporate user-generated content to foster engagement and loyalty
- Track and analyse your video metrics to refine your strategy over time
Step one: Identify your core message, target audience and brand values
A good video marketing strategy begins by reviewing your single creative campaign and assessing its core message, target audience, brand values, and objectives. This will help you to create a more effective video marketing strategy that resonates with your audience and supports your business goals.
Your video marketing strategy mission
Having a clear understanding of your core message or mission statement is essential, and it should align with your brand values. Your core message serves as the foundation for every piece of content, so it’s crucial that it’s clear, concise, and accurately conveys your intended meaning.
Who is your video ad for?
Once you have evaluated your campaign’s key elements, it is important to define your audience. If your campaign is for social media, ask yourself which is the best platform for your message.
Building a detailed understanding of your targeted audience allows you to create video content that is appealing specifically to them. You should determine your audience’s demographics, interests, challenges, and preferred channels for watching content.
Step two: Define your video content goals
When developing a content strategy, it is important to determine the goals you want to achieve. These goals should be aligned with your overall marketing objectives and could include increasing brand awareness, driving website traffic, generating leads, or boosting sales.
Create a schedule for your video marketing strategy
Once you have defined your goals, the next step is to plan a content calendar. A content calendar is a schedule that outlines when and how often you will release new video content. This calendar should map out the blog post topics, formats, and distribution channels for each video. It’s important to ensure consistency in terms of branding, messaging, and quality across all videos.
By planning your video marketing strategy, and with your trusted creative agency, you can optimise your resources, stay on track with your goals, and build a more cohesive and effective content strategy.
Step three: Expand the campaign content to create a broader range of video content
One of the key steps towards developing an effective video content strategy is to expand your central concept or message into a broader range of videos.
Rather than simply creating one video based on a particular campaign, you can develop ways to present different angles, stories, or formats that can engage your target audience in different places, like your website, social media channels or real-world sites.
Will multiple versions support your video strategy?
For instance, if you’re promoting a new product, you could create a series of videos that showcase different features and benefits, as well as customer testimonial videos and how-to videos.
Or, if you’re highlighting a particular social issue or cause, you could create a variety of social media videos that feature different perspectives, experts, or community members who can bring the topic to life in a more impactful way.
By expanding your campaign content, you can keep your viewers engaged and invested in your brand, while also building trust and loyalty over time.
Step four: Diversify your video formats and optimise for each platform’s
To keep your video content fresh and engaging, it’s essential to explore various video formats and platforms. This includes explainer videos, behind-the-scenes footage, customer testimonials, interviews, how-to guides, product demos, or animated videos.
When watching videos online, audiences have different expectations depending on the format. This knowledge can be used to achieve different objectives, educational videos inform, brand films build trust, and promo videos help sell products or services.
Optimising for different video marketing channels
In addition to experimenting with different formats, it’s important to optimise your marketing videos for different social media platforms to maximise their reach and impact. Each platform has its own best practices and audience preferences.
Adapt for the best social media video experience
For example, YouTube is great for long-form videos, Facebook is ideal for short and shareable videos, Instagram is perfect for visually stunning videos, LinkedIn is great for professional and educational content, and TikTok is ideal for short-form, trendy videos.
Adapting your video content to different social media platforms will ensure that it is optimised for each platform’s unique characteristics and reaches the intended audience. This will maximise engagement, views, shares, and ultimately, the success of your video content strategy.
Step five: Incorporate user-generated content
One of the most effective ways to engage your audience and add authenticity to your video content is by incorporating user-generated content (UGC).
By encouraging your followers to create and share videos related to your campaign or brand, you not only build trust and loyalty but also boost engagement and social proof.
On social media, marketing is multi-faceted
UGC can take many forms, such as testimonials, reviews, challenges, or behind-the-scenes glimpses. For instance, if you’re promoting a new product or service, you could ask your customers to share unboxing videos, reviews, or tutorials on how to use it. Or, if you’re running a social media campaign, you could invite your followers to submit videos that demonstrate how they incorporate your brand into their daily lives.
By incorporating UGC into your video marketing strategy, you show your audience that you value their voices and experiences, while also creating a more dynamic and relatable brand image. Plus, it saves you time and money on production costs while showcasing your reach and impact.
Step six: Track and analyse the performance
Tracking and analysing the performance of your video marketing efforts is crucial to understand its effectiveness and optimise your strategy accordingly. Measuring relevant metrics such as views, engagement, click-through rates, conversions, and social media shares will help you to determine how your content is performing.
Review and tweak your video marketing campaigns
Analysing data will help you gain insights into what works best for your brand. You can use this information to improve the quality of your videos, target your audience more effectively, and refine your overall video content strategy.
For instance, if you find that your audience prefers certain formats, topics, or platforms, you can tailor your approach accordingly. By paying attention to the data, you can make informed decisions about your video content strategy and adjust it to achieve better results.
Can Content Creatures help realise your video marketing strategy?
To find out more about how we can work with you to transform a single creative into a winning video content strategy, get in touch with us today.