Here’s a crazy statistic: By 2022, video will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic. Frankly, if you’re not using a video marketing strategy, you’re at risk of missing the boat.
With shouts of Web 3.0 and the metaverse all around us, knowing how to do video content marketing the right way is key.
What We’ll Cover:
- What’s working now?
- Planning content for each platform
- Brand-building vs. consumer-driven content
- Develop an informed strategy
- Understanding the platform
- Understanding your audience
- 5 Steps for developing a video creation strategy
- Best practices for video creation
- Best practices for video SEO
What’s Working Now? How to Find Success with Video Content Marketing
Video ads achieve an average click-through rate of 1.84%. This is higher than any other form of display advertising. Meanwhile, blogs with videos see on average 157% more traffic than those without.
A social media video marketing strategy keeps businesses relevant, and the results are clear. A whopping 93% of businesses land new customers because of social media videos.
“Video content’s current popularity is due in part to millennial and Gen Z consumers. These age groups are more connected to the internet than older age groups, and prefer to be entertained or learn new things from online videos.” – HubSpot, How Video Consumption is Changing in 2021
TikTok
TikTok videos are taking off. Videos that are 9 seconds or less are doing, especially well right now. They serve as a short value add for users.
Videos that tell you what to expect immediately at the start of the clip are extremely effective.
Here’s a solid TikTok video example from Chipotle. They use the platform’s native features and align expertly with its audience by bringing them to a Roblox world Chipotle location.
@chipotleWe opened a virtual restaurant on @roblox. Experience the ##Chipotle Boorito Maze at the link in our bio at 6:30pm ET/3:30pm PT each day 10/28-10/31! 👻🌯 ##roblox ##robloxtiktok♬ original sound – Chipotle
Overall, Chipotle’s TikTok profile has a nice blend of professional-grade content and user-generated content (UGC).
Instagram Video Marketing Strategy
Reels are the key component of Instagram right now. As a brand, you want to connect with your consumers through your Reels.
Target is a great example of an effective Instagram Reels strategy:
View this post on Instagram
The company uses close-up shots in a 9×16 format that shows tons of details. The high-quality video can really be appreciated this way. It’s fun and connects to holiday content.
YouTube Shorts (A New Type of Video Content Marketing)
New YouTube Shorts have more reach than the normal YouTube feed. It’s a way for anyone to turn an idea into a chance to connect with new audiences anywhere in the world. And all you need is a smartphone to get started (the Shorts camera lives in the YouTube app)!
In some cases, these clips don’t even need much substance. They need to be appealing and interaction-worthy.
In general, YouTube is a winner. When you do a Google search, more videos show up in the results than ever before. In fact, 55% of U.S. keyword searches return at least one video, and 80% of those videos belong to YouTube. Google’s video search has arrived, and it caters to YouTube.
LinkedIn Video Marketing Strategy
On LinkedIn, you can post ads, product demos, or value-adds (like free classes you want to push).
A great example comes from Accenture. They keep their color scheme on point and have a clear branded template that simplifies the video creation process.
You can see this video has a lot of stock footage, Zoom recordings, and a good editor that uses a nice selection of music. You can do this even with a small business and a short timeline. Make sure to use an effective strategy and build a storyboard.
The metaverse is evolving, and Facebook (or its newly named parent company Meta) wants to be at the helm.
As Mark Zuckerberg puts it, people are after deep “digital social experiences,” and “no technology we have today can deliver that.”
Video is really just step one of the evolution, so you have to get comfortable with it. The next phase will be even more immersive video.
You can see more about what is hopefully to come in the metaverse here.
Twitter users have a super-short attention span. So, it’s important that your videos are quick, quick, quick.
Rxbar does this right. You can see how short their turnover is here:
This gingerbread man’s got muscle. And by muscle we mean 12g of protein in each serving. pic.twitter.com/E4qDUrvdRc
— RXBAR (@RXBAR) December 1, 2021
It’s also timely as the holidays approach, which helps.
Planning Content for Each Platform
As tedious as it sounds, you really want different versions of videos for each platform. If your bandwidth is limited, pick a few core channels to focus on. Don’t overextend yourself and publish poor content (because quality over quantity, always).
Here are some things to keep in mind when planning your video content strategy for each social media platform:
- Who’s your audience?
- What’s your objective?
- What length should the video be?
- What are the platform limitations?
- What are the platform’s specific algorithm preferences?
Brand-Building vs. Consumer-Driven Content: What’s Right for Your Audience?
Before you jump into video content marketing, you’ll want to establish several content pillars based on your brand’s key messaging.
However, your content should still fall under two main buckets:
- Consumer-driven content: This includes product education, fan reports, UGC, contests, giveaways, seasonal sales or promotions and interactive polls or quizzes.
- Brand-building content: This includes your brand history, blog content, staff spotlights, awards or accolades and testimonials or case studies.
Develop an Informed Video Marketing Strategy
Get to know your chosen platforms well. After all, if you’re going to do it, do it right!
Ideas for Video Content Marketing on Social Media
Facebook Strategy
Facebook remains the largest social media video site around. It focuses heavily on entertainment and inspiration. You’re after broad emotional appeal (think of videos you’ve seen that present customer stories, surprising facts, and jaw-dropping imagery).
A majority of Facebook users (85%) watch videos with the sound off. Always add captions that explain what’s being said and what’s happening in the video.
Pro tip: Add video files directly to Facebook instead of posting a link.
Facebook Video Ideas:
- Upload videos to your brand’s Facebook page.
- Add a video as your page’s cover (instead of a still image).
- Post video to Facebook stories.
- Stream Facebook Live video.
- Run Facebook video ads.
Instagram Strategy
Instagram is a visual-first platform that heavily prioritizes video. Already, 1 billion active monthly users watch Reels.
Pro tip: Reels give you the best chance of being discovered on the Instagram Explore page. Use text, music, and stickers to optimize your content.
Instagram Video Ideas:
- Post videos to your feed.
- Create Reels in-app.
- Share Reels in your feed and stories.
- Create fun video ads.
TikTok Strategy
Super-short content does well on TikTok, usually around the 15-second standard video length. The platform is optimized for vertical video, and sound is all but essential.
Pro tip: Design your TikTok video to keep people watching. You want elements that send signals to the algorithm so it gets served to others. Use a tease in the intro and have a payoff (like a reveal) in the end.
TikTok Video Ideas:
- Share short videos.
- Run TikTok ads.
- Collaborate with influencers.
Twitter Strategy
Twitter is the debate forum of social media sites. Everyone is connected and things go viral quickly! Videos with higher in-the-moment authenticity and off-the-cuff candor do well here.
There are tons of niche interest groups and hashtags, you just have to find them. Live streams are also performing well on Twitter.
Pro tip: Many types of videos work on Twitter, but a lot of videos feature someone talking to the camera or filming something with a smartphone. These videos are very short.
Twitter Video Ideas:
- Tweet videos.
- Stream live.
- Run Twitter video ads.
YouTube Strategy
YouTube is the second-largest social network and the second-largest search engine. It’s also the only place where videos are the primary form of communication.
This is a forgiving platform that’s great for beginners. You can also use it as a home for videos as short as hype reels or trailers and as long as webinars or event broadcasts.
Pro tip: Prepare to solve a problem. Focus on terms like “how-to,” “best way,” “product review,” and similar phrasing categories.
YouTube Video Ideas:
- Post videos to your brand channel.
- Stream live.
- Run YouTube video ads.
LinkedIn Strategy
LinkedIn is officially a video-friendly social network. On average, LinkedIn video posts get 20 times more re-shares than text-based posts.
Videos typically do need to be professional or career-related in nature. You’ll see lots of shameless product, company, or feature drops.
Pro tip: Use hashtags! LinkedIn loves them.
LinkedIn Video Ideas:
- Upload video to your LinkedIn feed.
- Stream live.
- Run LinkedIn video ads.
Understanding the Platform
For each site, consider the following factors:
- Video length
- Video size
- Where the user is viewing your video
- The nature of the content
- How the algorithm ranks content on that particular site
- Whether the content lives forever (evergreen) or is short-lived (timely)
Approach both your audience and platform with a persona, topic and journey position. You’ll also want to focus on creative direction, scripts and outlines, raw video, edits, and length.
So how long should your videos be? It depends on the platform.
- Stories: 15 seconds
- YouTube: Any length
- TikTok: Under 1 minute
- Reels: Under 30 seconds
- Facebook: Under 10 minutes
- Instagram: Under 1 minute
- LinkedIn: Under 10 minutes
- Twitter: Under 1 minute
How Long Should Your Videos Be?
Understanding & Warming Up Your Audience Through Video Content Marketing
“Wonder what your customer really wants? Ask. Don’t tell.” – Lisa Stone
Ask questions to better understand your audience, like:
- Who is your customer?
- Where do they spend their time online?
- Where and how do they consume video content?
- What do they search for at the beginning, middle and end of their journey? Use platforms like SEMrush, Google Question Hub, Also Asked, Answer the Public, and Google Search Console to figure this out.
- What content do they like when not looking for your services? Use Google Analytics Interest Reports, analyze influencers in your industry. Use it to check your customer’s favorite media sites, ask your customers directly and find out what is popular on social media.
Google Question Hub
SEMRush Keyword Overview
You’ll also want to consider whether the user is new to your brand exposure (meaning you showed up in search and got content pushed to new customers) or they’ve already been exposed to the brand (meaning you’re after subscribers, capturing data, and nurturing leads).
Warm-up your audience by considering your ad strategy, which can target audiences made up of new, middle, warm, hot, and past-converted customers.
Video Content Marketing
Best Practices for Video Creation, Editing & Production
Video content marketing can be an overwhelming task. Review these best practices for a smooth process.
Review your current needs and inspiration. Generate overarching ideas and concepts based on defined opportunities. Create mood boards.
Create a consistent look, feel, and color scheme for your videos on each platform and (to a degree) across platforms. Add a watermark. If your videos are short, make sure the cuts are quick and it’s fast-paced.
Start your interaction ASAP! But that’s just half of the battle. You also need to get people to dwell.
Clean up the video’s graphics, visual effects, and audio. As you prepare your final videos in the post-production phase, make final adjustments, test the platforms, export, and compress based on channel specifications.
Ranking Your Video Content On YouTube & Google
When posting videos to YouTube, you want to think about indexing and crawling. You can post on YouTube and get ranked on Google and YouTube within hours!
The more popular your channel, the likelier you are to rank. Less topic competition gives you a leg up, especially if your channel is on-theme and you’re hopping on new, timely topics.
Use niche keywords and hashtags and optimize both your page and video to the fullest extent.
The more comments, likes, embeds, and views your video get off the bat, the likelier it is to rank.
5 Steps to Build a Video Creation Strategy
The perfect video creation strategy can help you build a content library. You can use clips for YouTube videos, reels, and much more. The possibilities are almost endless.
Step 1: Find Your Customer’s Questions
The first step is to find out what your customers are asking in your industry. Your audience will have plenty of big questions to ask as they explore different topics. You can use these as starting points for your video creation strategy.
Check out these free tools:
- Google Search Console: Start your search by looking for the six question terms: who, what, when, where, why, and how.
- “People Also Ask” and “Related Queries”: On the search engine results page (SERP), look for the “People also ask” section. It will include a list of similar questions to the one you entered. These are also popular questions that people often search for on Google.
- Google Trends: Google Trends doesn’t deliver questions word-for-word, but it can help find common questions. You’ll find plenty of relevant topics for video creation using this tool.
- AlsoAsked: On the AlsoAsked website, you can select your region, language, and term. Based on this input, you can find many questions covering different topics. Unlike other tools, AlsoAsked lays questions out with visuals. You can see where one question leads to others in a kind of question flow.
- Quora: For user-generated questions, turn to Quora. People often use this website to ask many questions.
- Reddit: Some industries may also want to look at Reddit for customer questions. Look for a subreddit on this website in your industry. From there, you can see a list of frequently asked questions in the sidebar.
If these tools are not cutting it, you can review these paid tools:
- SEMrush — This tool helps you find questions around any keyword.
- Moz — You can filter keywords by question using this helpful tool.
- Ahrefs — Like Moz, Ahrefs allows you to filter keywords by question.
- AnswerThePublic — Like AlsoAsk, what sets AnswerThePublic apart is its graph of questions.
- Keyword Tool — This tool also helps find some great questions to answer.
- STAT — While expensive, STAT has plenty of data to find questions for video creation.
Step 2: Prepare to Record
To produce professional-looking videos, you need the right equipment.
- Cameras: The type of camera you use influences the quality of the video footage. Today’s standards are high with the development of 4K and even higher resolution. DSLR cameras are among the best to use and range in a variety of prices.
- Tripods: The last thing you want is a bad angle or shaky footage. Use a tripod to add stability to each shot. Your tripod should be compact, lightweight and easy to move around.
- Lighting: The lighting setup you use must make everything easy to see, but it should also be flattering. Too much lighting washes out subjects. Too little lighting casts too much shadow.
- Backdrop: Using the same or a similar backdrop for videos makes them feel unique to your brand, making them instantly recognizable. You can use a simple green screen to key in any background you want.
- Audio Equipment: Consider an external recorder. A recorder produces audio of better quality than a camera’s default microphone. A lapel microphone attached to the subject’s clothing will further improve the audio.
Once you’ve got the right equipment, you’ll need to set it up.
- Setting up your camera: First, set up two cameras for your video. Aim one camera at the video subject from the front and another on the side. This will provide some variation in your footage.
- Setting up your lighting: Three-point lighting will give you the best setup. Set up your key light to capture the subject from the front. The second light should help subjects stand apart from the background. Finally, you need a backlight that illuminates the background. This setup is perfect for interview videos with a solitary subject.
- Test Your Equipment: Make sure the video quality meets your standards with a test recording. Audio should also be crisp and clear throughout the interview. If the lighting is off, adjust it before you get started.
Step 3: Interview
Once you’ve prepared to record, you can take two main approaches to video creation.
One way is for you to give a list of 10 to 20 questions to an interviewer. This person could connect with you virtually or be in the same space. Regardless, this is a practical setup to form a Q&A-style video.
Another way is to answer the questions yourself, which may be necessary if no one else is available.
Regardless of which method you choose, you can then begin recording. With your cameras and other equipment set up, start the interview and start recording.
You’ll spend around 30 – 90 minutes to an hour answering questions. These need to be some of the most important questions your audience has. With so much footage, you’ll give yourself a lot of raw content.
Step 4: Send a Video Editor with An Example
To create a video marketing strategy that works, it pays to work with a professional video editor.
Understand that a video editor knows how to edit videos. However, they may not know exactly what you want your final video to look like. A good video editor will want to know what you want for the final results.
When sending your video to an editor, be specific with them. Let them know what kind of output you want to see. Establish how you want the editor to model the video to have a unique look and feel.
You can even model videos after other similar videos in your industry. This will help you achieve the best outcome and connect videos with your brand.
Step 5: Cut Down Your Videos
From that raw footage you collected, your editor should cut down videos. You’ll want plenty of clips that you can post and reuse.
Each clip you ask for should be between 15 and 45 seconds long. These will serve as short-form content in your video content marketing strategy. You’ll use these clips in TikTok videos, YouTube shorts, and Instagram reels. You can also use them on LinkedIn.
Your longer videos should be concise and easy to digest. They need to have cuts every couple of seconds. They also need other elements to keep audiences engaged. Some of these could include callouts and images.
Cutting your videos will take a fair amount of good video editing work. So, you must work with someone who’s experienced with editing. Doing so will help ensure you succeed with your video content marketing.
Best Practices for Video Content Marketing (For SEO)
- Choose keyword-based content topics. You can select a theme around one keyword that best describes your video and include that term in the title, description and tags. Be sure to add your company name in the long title.
- Once you shoot the video, send it to a writer. The writer will create a blog about the video. Video content is great because you can use it to produce other types of content, like transcriptions, summary blogs, infographics and more.
- Upload your video to YouTube.
- Optimize the title (60–70 characters), description (5,000 characters) and thumbnail. For the thumbnail, a human’s face helps increase clicks and conversions. Include tags that are niche, middle of the funnel and represent the overall theme.
- Add related videos using a template.
- In the description, add a date, location, links to social and links to your web content.
- Embed the video in a blog or on a landing page. Make sure we optimize the page for mobile and that the video you want to be ranked is the first video on the page. Only embed a video on one page, and create a sitemap for that video. (This helps because Google prioritizes pages with rich content, user experience, and value.)
- Use schema markup to optimize your YouTube video for Google.
- Optimize your blog for the same keywords as the video.
- Promote your video! Don’t rely solely on optimizing for getting the word out. This means ads, newsletters or other emails, press releases, external links and more.
- Add an HTML sitemap to your site to help Google find and use your videos.
- Make microclips of the video to repurpose for social media posts and stories.
Bottom Line: Start Video Now
Depending on the channels you use, you should be posting a minimum of one long video per week and 2–4 short videos a week. Frankly, short-form video is the most powerful video content marketing medium right now.
Get a good idea, use relevant topics, go off an outline or script, pump content and watch your presence grow!
Not sure if you should try your hand at videos yourself or hire a video marketing agency? Consider chatting with a video marketing agency to get a feel for what they can provide, and make your decision from there.
