Introducing video production into your marketing strategy is a crucial step that allows you to shift the way you deliver your brand awareness. Devising a strategy is not as simple as it sounds since your team will have to measure the budget and return on investment (ROI) potential using different media platforms. Marketers will also need to weight the benefits of the video content your team wants to produce, the target audience who hope to capture and the right platform to share your video content. Video can be an excellent tool for your business throughout the entire buying journey and can increase customer engagement. When making a video marketing strategy, you should hire an agency with a long experience and an excellent reputation to take care of the entire process; they will make sure to create high-quality content for you.
As video marketing is a balance of branding and technical video production, defining concepts like formatting, screen resolution, sizing and budgets are all critical components. Defining a project’s criteria will also lead to the right approach needed to publish marketing data that attract large audiences. A production team will eventually find it easy to create videos that translate to different demographics. As Generator Productions advises new clients, a successful video production campaign comes down to having a blend of experience, qualified staff and tools.
1. Begin with Market Research
If your focus is on message but skips over who it is for, you are missing a vital part of video production marketing as you need to identify the demographics like gender, age, income level and geographic location to establish a vision for your brand. You also want to identify any competitors before you will release your video, so you know how to stand out to consumers. Once you know who you are creating a video for, it is easier to develop a marketing strategy as you know your team’s strengths. You will know your team’s weaknesses which give you time to brainstorm ways to overcome the challenges.
2. Identify a Video Format
All video production initiatives must start with choosing the correct video formatting compatibility for the platform you intend to publish. If you skip this step, it will cause problems when you need to upload, download or input or output which includes color, resolution, coding and frame rate. While you will never come across a perfect video format, you will find that there are a few that works best with specific platforms.
Commonly used format extensions include:
- AVI (audio video interleave)
- FLV (flash)
- WMV (Windows media video)
- MOV (Quickframe)
- SWF (flash)
- MP4 (audio and video files)
- MKV (Matroska)
- QT (Quickframe)
- AVCHD (advanced video coding in high-def)
3. Long-form, Short-form and Live Streaming
From a short Snapchat video to a 20-minute YouTube series, it will be a benefit to analyze each platform and decide how each one will be used to market videos.
Short-form videos are any content that is less than 10 minutes in length. They are popular with consumers as they are easy to digest and factor in well with busy people and short attention spans. The platform you choose will define video length, so you want to choose the one that best represents your messaging guidelines. Facebook video is more user-friendly for mobile users while Instagram allows videos that are less than 15 seconds in length. Define the parameters of each platform before starting any production. This medium works well for how-to videos, service hacks or product teasers.
The long-form video became much more popular in 2018. While there is no standard time length for long-form videos, platforms do set limits. It is important to weigh the complexity of a video’s subject before determining the time frame. YouTube is a leading platform for long-form video as it attracts billions of monthly users that prefer extended digital videos that go in-depth about topics, promote brand awareness or showcase product features in detail. One of the most difficult decisions a marketing team will need to establish is if a quality-made long-form video will be more attractive to consumers than a short two-minute video that covers the primary points.
Live streaming is also a trendy tool on some platforms like Twitter and Facebook. It is an interesting way to promote brand awareness and consumer interaction. It is also ideal for companies who want to showcase their talent, address consumer complaints, or connect with their followers.
Social media stories have also been on-trend with corporations. Instagram Stories is a valuable tool that companies can use to build corporate and brand awareness while also using call-to-actions (CTAs) for direct sales. Facebook and Snapchat also have similar features which allow users to create short videos or snaps that fall in a sequenced line of events that help build followers.
4. Screen Sizing
Research shows that there are about 150 million mobile users on social media and will rise to more than 186 million by 2020. This is critical data as it lets video marketers know that content must be user-friendly, which includes mobile-optimized video formats. Understanding the difference between square and vertical formats will allow video production marketers to achieve higher accessibility ratings and completion rates.
5. Measuring ROI
If your team lacks the ability to analyze market share and video effectiveness, it will be impossible to know which videos are popular. When you take the time to research the market as noted above, you know your demographics as well as how they react to the particular subject. Collecting video metrics like impressions, views and completion rates will not tell you how effective your video was. You will also need to consider ROI which looks at lead generated by click-through rates, sales or embedded CTAs. There should also be special consideration given for follower interaction in understanding consumer behaviors, video reactions and revenue potential based on new followers.
Your budget will play a crucial role in the quantity and quality of the videos you publish as it will determine how well you establish your voice on social media platforms. Take the time to plan your marketing strategy to give you a clear vision of brand messaging, budget and platform parameters. Will you need equipment? Who is your target audience? What message will drive traffic to your website? What is your CTA? The more you know about video production, the more successful your marketing strategy will be.
