How to Create a Content Marketing Strategy That Involves Video

Here are a few sensible steps to follow when looking to add video to your online marketing mix, including;

• Know your market and the competition
• Understand what your audience wants
• Ensure you add written content
• Create a video content funnel

Know Your Market and Review the Competition

To get a good idea what you’re up against when thinking about content marketing and video presentations, look at what your peers are already doing;

• Are they including recorded videos in the posts on their web pages?
• Do they have a YouTube or Vimeo channel and do they update it regularly with new content to spread the word about their business?
• How well do you think the competition are doing with their video content?
• Is it well-produced using quality camera equipment and professional microphones?
• Can you see the images and hear the audio presented clearly?
• Is it edited well, haphazardly put together or not edited at all?
• What does the video thumbnail look like?
• Does it match with their brand image?
• Are they doing anything wrong?
• Is there a gap in the market that they’re not addressing that your company could improve upon?

What Does Your Audience Want to See or Learn?

Before putting together any video content, you must know what you’re going to present and in what way.

What’s the purpose of your video channel and how will video expand beyond what is already being said in the articles on your blog or other existing media?

Take a look at the most popular YouTube video channels for the business niche(s) that you’re competing in. Check out which videos are the most popular from the recently posted ones. The YouTube audience will tell you what they want to see by their viewing habits.

Tools like vidIQ Vision for YouTube provide useful statistical insight into individual videos, which is worth installing to dig deeper into what is working well for your competitors.

Develop buying personas for different groups of viewers and decide which video content would appeal to each group. Then develop a content plan that speaks to each group with one video aimed at each persona per week.

Adding Written Content to Video Presentations

It’s often useful to accompany a video with further written information. This can be additional background information or sources to refer to.

When discussing a product or service, the information can link out to extra sources for viewers to click to learn more.

YouTube has the facility to add a description below each video where extra information and relevant links may be added. When embedding a YouTube-hosted video on a post on the company website, be sure to preface the video with an explanation about it and include any references or follow ups below it.

Do not leave readers unclear as to why they should view the video; explaining why will encourage them to click the “Play” button.

Create a Video Content Funnel

A video content funnel is a step-by-step plan for what videos should be presented at each stage in the sales funnel, from initial customer capture to eventual sale conversion/email sign-up.

Each video should flow consistently to the next with a similar presentational style. If using text overlays to emphasize key points or a professional voice-over artist, be sure to use the same text style or speaker.

Plan videos around key information that is better shown in a video than written in a blog post or long sales letter. Compliment any written content with video to help convey points faster or more clearly.

Incorporating video into an existing content marketing strategy isn’t that difficult. It does require developing some new skills, but once acquired, it’s an excellent way to attract new customers to the business.