Video Content Marketing Guide

Video Content Marketing Guide: What I Learned as a Video Marketer

Ah, video marketing. This concept shouldn’t be new to any marketing professional. With 86% of marketers saying that video helped them generate leads, this is a strategy that all brands should implement. I use video marketing a lot for one of my websites.

While I think the success of your video marketing depends on your brand and your audience, video definitely increased my reach. For reference, my website is in the music industry.

Are you new to video marketing? Creating and implementing a video strategy can be difficult. I understand because I was in the same position as you. In my video content marketing guide, I will explain what I learned about video for business and how you can create the best strategy for your brand.

Bottom line up front:

Video marketing is a great way to introduce your company, enhance your brand awareness, and increase sales. In order to have a successful video marketing campaign, you must know the types of videos you want to upload, know where to post them, know how to optimize your videos, and track the right metrics.

Why Is Video Marketing Important?

Video Marketing

Before I explain what I learned in my experience as a video marketer, I first want to explain why I think video marketing is important. First, many people watch videos and consume them on their smartphones. In the US alone, nearly 245 million viewers watch videos regularly.

What makes video stand out? People are more likely to pay attention to a video. Video encompasses all mediums that can get an audience member’s attention, including visual elements, the background music, and even text that appears on the screen. This is different than standalone forms of content, such as written and audio content, where audience members are more likely to skip and skim through sections.

Because of this demand, it’s easier to upload and promote videos than ever. There are also limitless resources for brands to create high-quality videos. I will cover all of this in later sections.

In addition to the brand recognition that video can offer, video marketing has other benefits. Since platforms like YouTube have powerful search engines (and YouTube is owned by Google), video marketing can boost your SEO.

These are all reasons why I decided to implement video marketing into my website. I’m a natural writer, but I knew I would be restricting my audience if I were to only rely on writing. I create my own videos and taught myself video editing. I upload my videos to my YouTube channel and website. Because of this, I have followers on both channels, and Google has responded positively to my efforts.

At the same time, I saw this success more in some areas than in others. Video content was very successful on my music website, but I also write books and have a website about writing, horror, and promoting/reviewing other authors. I created a YouTube channel for that website, but the written content on my website still performs better. That’s why I also suggest knowing your audience and creating videos that are right for your brand.

Types of Marketing Videos

There are numerous types of business videos out there. I noticed that some work better than others, depending on your audience, niche, and brand. Oftentimes, you may not know which videos perform better, so there’s a lot of trial and error you must do on your part.

Before creating a video marketing plan, familiarize yourself with the different marketing videos out there.

Brand Videos

 

Brand videos are intended to introduce your company. The goal of brand videos is to build company awareness and attract a bigger audience. With a brand video, you can explain your company’s mission, vision, or simply explain the products and services that you offer.

Product Demos

If your goal is to promote your products, a product demo video is a great way to educate your audience while promoting your offerings. Product demos are great tools for audience members who already purchased your product since the demo will teach them more about using the item.

There are different types of product demo videos, depending on what you’re selling. If you make a physical product with many components, an unboxing video will inform your audience what your product includes. You can still create a product demo video if you make something digital, such as software or an app. Record a tour of your digital product, so your buyers or subscribers know all of the capabilities of your product.

Interviews

Interview

These are videos that are most successful in my niche. Music fans want to see interviews with their favorite bands to learn more about them and the music that they create. Even if this isn’t your niche, you can still film interviews. Interview the owners of the company and other team members. You can also interview other experts in your industry. This is an easy way to build authority so your buyers trust you.

When conducting interviews, try and go deep with the questions. This ensures your content is unique, since the industry experts likely appeared in other interviews before.

The video itself can be as simple or intricate as you want. If you’re doing an interview over Zoom, you’re limited as far as the filming is concerned. But if you’re filming an in-person interview, you can add several cameras for different angles.

If you’re filming and editing DIY, there’s nothing wrong with having a simple camera set-up and basic editing. That’s what I do for my interviews. People tune in to the interviews for the conversation, not to be wowed by the cinematic experience.

Events

Events

Will your company be attending or even hosting an event? If so, bring your camera crew. Some great event video ideas include a roundtable discussion, filming the speakers at a conference, and even a highlight reel. You can also combine some of the types of videos that I mentioned previously, such as interviewing some key members who will also attend the event.

Explainer Videos

Explainer videos aim to solve a problem that your buyers have, and the solution is your products or services. These are likely videos that you’re most familiar with since these are videos most commonly seen in ads. While you’ll want to keep ads short, you can make organic explainer videos as detailed as you feel is necessary.

A popular explainer video storyline is taking your customer on a fictional journey. Craft a story that they can relate to.

Let’s say you own a restaurant that serves healthy yet affordable meals that fit all diet and allergy needs. You also have convenient pick-up and delivery options, utilizing all major services such as Uber Eats and Doordash. Most of your customers are busy work professionals who want to eat healthy and parents whose kids have severe allergies. You can create a fictional narrative, hiring actors to represent your most common customers.

You could create a video representing the busy CEO who has no time to cook but notices the number on the scale is increasing due to all of the fast food they’re eating.

The struggling parent is also a relatable character; your parent could have a child with severe allergies, and finding a restaurant that meets their dietary needs is often difficult. For both of these scenarios, your restaurant could serve as the solution.

How-To Videos

How-To Videos

How-to videos are similar to product demos since they aim to teach your customers something. However, how-to videos don’t need to center around your products. Instead, they supply your customers with general knowledge about the products you sell. You can still include a CTA to invite customers to buy your products.

I write a lot in the beauty industry and see most how-to videos in that niche. Let’s say you sell hair dye. You could offer a product demo on using your hair dyes, but a general how-to video can inspire your buyers more. Let’s say you want to teach your buyers how to do their own highlights.

You can have a professional stylist demo different hair highlighting techniques using your hair dyes. The CTA will be to encourage buyers to use your products and recreate the look that the stylist did in the video.

Case Studies

A case study is an in-depth examination of a particular scenario or issue. Case studies are beneficial to businesses because they can provide the solutions to your customers’ problems, are a great way to promote your products and services, can boost your SEO, and provide evidence that your products and services truly work.

How do you publish your case study? Publishing the written details on your blog, website, or a PDF is crucial, but you can also deliver the results on a video. Be sure to include customer interviews and testimonials to make your case study more relatable and less academic.

Animated Videos

Don’t want to feature real people in your video? Don’t worry, animated videos aren’t just for kids. Animated videos are engaging and entertaining. Cartoons and animations are a solution if your business is in a complex industry, you have intricate products, or it’s a topic that’s not fun to cover.

I personally see these used a lot by nonprofits. Let’s say your business creates a product that can reduce environmental emissions. Climate change is a scary subject, so an animated video can explain the importance of your product on the environment in a way that’s honest but still engaging.

360 Videos

360 Videos

A 360 video is one where users scroll to see every angle of the video. These were really popular a few years ago, but I haven’t seen them as much recently.

Still, 360 videos are unique and can work for certain brands. I like these best for location videos. Let’s say you’re a travel company and are promoting a certain location. Take a 360 video so your viewers can scroll around it, looking at every angle as if they were there.

Live Videos

Nearly all major social media outlets let you film a live video. There are many benefits of live videos, and they’re more engaging than other video types.

You can also record a live video for longer than other social media video types. Live videos are best saved for major events, such as conferences or conventions. Some other great ideas for live videos include presentations, interviews, and ask me anythings (AMA).

Where to Post Your Videos

Do you know which videos you will create? Now you’ll have to know where to post your videos. Here are a few recommendations.

Website and Blog

Blog

Posting your videos on your website and blog is beneficial because you control these sources. Plus, with the SEO power that video generates, you can see an impressive traffic boost. There are different ways to add video to your website.

You can add organic videos to your blog with corresponding text. If you make product demo videos, you can add these videos to your product pages for more education and engagement.

Ads

Video does more than drive organic traffic. The right video can be an exceptional advertising tool. The key is to be smart about your video advertising strategy and know where to post your video ads.

There are different types of video ads, including:

  • Outstream video ads
  • Display ads
  • Interstitial video ads
  • Instream video ads
  • Native advertising

The ad format you choose also depends on the platform where you post your ads. For example, if you want to post your ads on YouTube, instream ads will be your best option. Instream ads are part of video content and can play before, during, or after a video. These ads are great because your viewers are already tuning in and you’ll catch a wider audience.

You can also post your ads on various websites as part of Google’s advertising platform. You have more video ad choices, such as display ads and interstitial video ads. Display ads are exactly what they sound like — video is displayed on a web page. Interstitial video ads are pop-ups that a user can click out of.

If you want to post your video ad on other social media channels, you’ll likely invest in a native ad. Native ads look like organic content and reach your target audience better. Let’s say you sell purses. Your ads will reach purse and fashion enthusiasts, mingling with the rest of the organic content on their feed so your ad blends in better. This results in higher conversion rates.

YouTube (Organic)

YouTube

As far as organic videos are concerned, YouTube is a necessity. There is no other platform that makes it easier to upload and view videos.

Plus, your buyers can subscribe to your channel and engage with your videos. With over 2 billion monthly users, your YouTube videos have the means to reach a wider audience. The more subscribers, viewers, and engagements your videos have, the more YouTube will push your brand.

I personally have had the most success posting my videos on YouTube, though I’ve also gained leverage by posting on social media.

Social Media (Organic)

Social Media

No one can ignore the impact that TikTok has on this generation. TikTok is a video-sharing app where users post short-form videos. And with one billion users worldwide, your brand can definitely gain exposure on TikTok.

While videos of users lip-syncing and dancing are popular, TikTok’s content is versatile. Businesses can benefit by posting some of the videos I mentioned previously, such as how-to videos and product demos. 52% of TikTok users say they search for products and shop on the platform, which can result in high-quality leads for your brand.

We also shouldn’t forget about some of the classic social media platforms. Facebook and Instagram offer many video opportunities for businesses. Over one billion people search for videos on Facebook. I post all of my videos on Facebook, and they receive more engagement than my other types of content.

I will say that Instagram is my winning platform. From Instagram Stories to Reels, IG gives you many places to post video content. I have especially found Reels to be beneficial for me since I engage my current following while also attracting a new audience. Uploading Reels plus using the right hashtags has helped me expand my audience.

Steps to Creating a Video Marketing Strategy

You have all of the knowledge you need. You know the different types of video content and the channels where you can post your videos. Now it’s time to create a video marketing strategy.

Identify the Best Video Type

Before making business videos, you’ll want to have a vision of the video. The best way to organize that vision is to fit it into one of the main video types. When I first created a video strategy, I identified my target audience and what they wanted. I knew that musician interviews interested that niche the most, so I stuck to that vision.

If you’re unsure which video type will appeal to your audience, look at which social media channel is the most popular among your consumer base. If your customers are mainly on TikTok, shorter and direct videos will capture their attention the most.

Find Video Professionals

Find Video Professionals

I bought a professional-quality video camera and DSLR to create my own videos and taught myself video editing. I understand that not everyone has the time for the DIY method, which is why the next step is to find video professionals.

If you plan on executing a regular video strategy, hire full-time employees. But if you only want to occasionally make videos, hiring a freelancer or outsourcing to an agency may be your best option.

Make Your Videos

From here, it’s time to make your videos. I suggest keeping a few things in mind during this process. Know how long you want the video to be.

If you’re uploading to TikTok or a similar platform, you must know specific time restrictions. If you have any questions about video requirements on different social media and advertising platforms, your video professional can help you navigate them.

From here, you can create an outline of a video with a script, if applicable. This ensures that there won’t be any challenges or inconsistencies with your video.

While you’ll have the best results with the help of a professional, you should at least set a budget if you’re freelancing or outsourcing to a video company. Try and plan a price ahead of time with the third party to ensure you stay within budget while getting a high-quality video.

Upload Your Videos

From here, you can upload your videos. But posting your videos involves more than just clicking the Upload button. You’ll want to craft a clever title, write an SEO-rich description, and attach a compelling thumbnail. All of these efforts will help your video reach a larger audience.

Tracking Your Video Marketing Success

Video Marketing

I always track metrics after I post my videos. Tracking these metrics ensures your videos are successful. If one video isn’t as engaging, you can always go back and see what you did differently. You don’t have to track all of these metrics, but these are some of the most common metrics to track.

Views

Views are the number of people who have seen your video. This is the main metric I track. YouTube and Facebook offer this metric underneath every video, so it’s easy to revisit each video to see how many people are consuming your content.

If more viewership is your goal, this tells me that brand awareness is your main priority. If your goals are more intricate, then I suggest following one of these other metrics.

Engagements

Engagements are how your audience responds to your videos. For most, this can be liking and commenting on your video. One video may be enough for a viewer to subscribe to your channel. If a viewer likes your video enough, they will share it with their own following.

There’s a reason why you should track your engagements. This metric tells you how relatable and compelling your content is to your target audience. And if your audience is sharing your content, your reach can multiply.

Play Rate

While you may have people who engage with your content, not everyone will leave a comment or share your video. That’s why it’s also important to know the percentage of viewers who go the extra mile to leave some feedback or engage with your brand. This percentage is called the play rate.

To get this figure, divide the number of views the video received by the number of engagements your video has. This metric is important because it shows whether or not the video is appealing.

Let’s say a video received 1,000 views, 75 likes, and 10 comments. We’ll add the likes and comments for simplicity’s sake, so 85 engagements and 1,000 views. That’s an 8.5% engagement, meaning you’ll want to re-optimize your video to increase your engagements. You may want to rework your titles and descriptions, conduct more behavior research into your target audience, and even respond to more viewers.

Completion Rate

The completion rate is how often your viewers watch your entire video. It’s not surprising for a viewer to watch only 30 seconds of a video that may be 20 minutes long. This happens when the video didn’t live up to the viewers’ expectations. To find videos that are successful, track videos where viewers watch the entirety or close to the entire video. See what you did differently for those videos.

Click-Through Rate

Are you attaching a CTA to your organic or advertising videos? If so, you’ll want to track the click-through rate. The click-through rate measures how many people clicked the CTA link versus how many people viewed the video. This metric shows if your video’s CTA was effective or not. If your CTR is low, revisit the message of your CTA.

FAQs

Question: What is the best video marketing strategy?

Answer: This looks different for everyone. I suggest keeping these best practices in mind when creating a video marketing strategy:

  • Stay on brand
  • Understand your audience
  • Focus on the channels that attract your audience
  • Set a video budget
  • Only invest in ads if you think it’s worth it
  • Revisit and re-optimize your videos when necessary

Question: What’s an example of a successful video marketing campaign?

Answer: There are lots of them. I have two of my favorites: the #LikeAGirl campaign from Always and Dove’s Real Beauty Sketches.

Previously, being told you do something “like a girl” was an insult. The feminine hygiene company Always is redefining the term, so it’s empowering rather than insulting. In this campaign, they ask two groups of people, post-puberty and pre-puberty, what it means to run like a girl, fight like a girl, etc.

The pre-puberty crowd had a more empowering and equal view of femininity versus the post-puberty group. Always is proving that a woman’s confidence dips during puberty, so they’re aiming to instill feelings of confidence in young girls.

The next one I love is the Dove Real Beauty sketches. We all have our insecurities, but we let them define us. With this campaign, Dove proves that these insecurities are in our heads, and others around us see our beauty, both internal and external.

Question: What makes a good video ad?

Answer: At the core, a good video ad highlights a problem and shows that your products and services are the solution. At the same time, a relatable ad can be just as successful, as we can see in the videos that I just attached. Regardless of your chosen strategy, plan out your video ad and optimize it for the most success.

Video Content Marketing Guide: Bottom Line

Video marketing really improved the reach of my little music website. Though video marketing may not be the solution for your business, most brands across various niches have also found success when using video. Video encompasses all mediums — visuals, text, and audio — to capture your audience’s attention.

In order to create a video marketing strategy, choose the types of videos you want to create, know where to post them, how to expand your reach, and track the right metrics. Understand that video marketing success varies by brand and niche. Test and optimize your videos to know what works for your company. I hope my video marketing guide helped you create a winning strategy.

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