Marketing, at its most basic, is connecting with people — and video is a huge part of many successful campaigns. What’s more, by the year 2019, Cisco predicts that 80 percent of all consumer internet traffic will be video. Below I will share with you what I have learned as the founder of a full-service video production company to help you get started with your new video content strategy.

Educate Yourself

The first step is to educate yourself on video production. Before you start thinking strategy, you should understand the video production process. The best way to learn is to watch videos! Look at competitor video content and see what type of video gains your attention. Marketing departments may understand the value of video content, but they most likely don’t know where to start. Educating yourself will give a clearer idea of the video that you want to produce within your budget.

Know Your Budget

The No. 1 question asked at True Film Production is “How much for a video?” We follow up with “How much is a house?” The answer depends on several factors like location, number of rooms, baths, etc. The same principles apply to video: length of the video, shooting locations, and crew size all matter. Understanding what product you expect to receive and how much you want to spend will make collaborating with your production company of choice a lot smoother.

Set Your Goals

Unfortunately, many marketers and companies base success on the virality of the video, which has a slim chance of happening. Going viral takes a lot of luck. Your goals should be more focused, like reaching your target audience or telling your story uniquely to stand out from competition. Talking facts, telling a compelling story or engaging your audience will help you come up with the best strategy to reach your goals.

Identify Your Target Audience

Creating a video in order to repurpose it for different audiences is an ineffective way to utilize your content. We strongly recommend creating several short videos that target specific people and specific channels. Creating content to please everyone is a waste of money. By putting together a plan and schedule, you will set yourself up for success. Keep things short and sweet for specific people. Understand where the video will be posted and how those viewers will consume content.

Figure Out the Right Message

Now that you understand who you are trying to target and where, it’s time to focus on your message. Sometimes companies have an idea or reference that might not fit the tone they should be sending out. For instance, a five-minute corporate video may not be the best choice when a 3D animation video would be better suited.

Reference videos are by no means a bad thing, but it’s important to keep your brand message and delivery in mind. Being innovative by creating new and original content will help you stand out in all the noise.

Find the Right Opportunities

Now that you’re ready to build your strategy, some questions you should ask yourself are: How will video work with my current content strategy? How can I implement to social media? What pages on your website get high volume traffic? And are those pages converting leads?

Let’s talk about some specific video types that have worked for our clients:

• Brand videos (This is your flagship video, the one every brand needs for their content strategy — it tells about who you are or what you do. Put it on the homepage so it will be seen right away.)
• Video testimonials
• Video blogs
• Product videos (Use these to promote your new product while educating the audience on how it works.)
• Explainer videos
• Social media videos, 15-30 seconds each
• Television commercials

Hire the Right Company

Usually, marketers look for the cheapest company to produce their content. You should be more concerned with finding the right company to showcase your brand properly. Research companies to find one that understands your market and can create robust content for your video content strategy. Remember, at the end of the day, you’re looking to build a relationship and partnership to make your video content strategy successful.

Market Your Video Content

Creating amazing content is just one part of the equation. The other part is being able to use the right platforms to get it out in the world. Put your video on your website to increase your SEO efforts and decrease bounce rates. If your content can provide value, pitch it to publications and influencers so they can share it. Post about your new video on your blog, and send out an email to reach new and old contacts alike. If your content is relevant and exciting, have your sales team send it to potential clients. Put a call to action in your email signature to help potential clients understand what your company does.

Measure Success

The easiest way to measure the success is in numbers. The goal is to see an increase in views, followers, shares, page views, website traffic, etc. Trust the hard work that you have put in and market it to see positive long-term results.

Follow Up

It’s up to you to build on your success by continuing research, adapting to trends, and creating new ideas to make your brand stand out. Like any content strategy, if you focus on consistently putting out great, innovate, educational content (and making sure you interact with everyone who is discussing it), you’ll be seeing results in no time.