With 61% of businesses using video as a major part of their marketing plan, it’s too late to become an early adopter of video content marketing.
However, with the right strategy and consistent execution, any business can leverage the powerful benefits of video content as a marketing tool.
Whether or not you’re familiar with video marketing, this ultimate guide will tell you everything you need to know to get started and drive business. We’ll cover:
- What video content marketing is
- Why it’s so effective
- How to create your video marketing strategy
So let’s get started by reviewing the fundamentals…
What is Video Content Marketing?
Video content marketing is the process of creating valuable and engaging videos that attract, nurture, and convert business leads. To do it successfully, you must:
- Understand your audience’s needs, problems, and goals
- Create videos that address their needs at every stage of the sales funnel
- Promote your videos so they reach your target audience
Getting started with video content marketing can be challenging. However, there are some simple steps you can use to grow your business.
And we’ll get to them.
But first, let’s discuss why video content is so powerful.
Why is Video Marketing So Powerful?
A quick search of video marketing statistics will produce near endless proof of the power of video marketing.
It enables you to effectively reach, engage, nurture, and convert your target audience for the following reasons:
1. Videos Boost Your Google Ranking
Video-based search engine optimization strategy (video SEO) works well for two main reasons:
- YouTube videos can rank for keywords in Google searches
- Videos in website content can increase its ranking
Also, videos in your content cause visitors to spend more time on the page. This signals to Google that the content is more valuable.
According to research from Brightedge, pages with videos are 53x more likely to rank on Google’s first page.
Plus, they increase your click through rate (CTR) by 157%.
2. Videos Engage Your Audience
With so much content on the internet, there is significant competition for your target audience’s attention.
Fortunately, videos help you capture your viewers’ attention.
Start with a compelling promise (i.e., a headline such as “How to increase site traffic by 300% in 2 months”).
Then make sure to hold their attention throughout the video with engaging visuals.
Video content works so well because it is easier to consume than written content.
Plus, many people prefer video as an educational format, particularly for queries that require visual learning. Some examples of educational videos are do-it-yourself videos, instructional content, and product explainers.
3. Videos Build Trust
While you can use many writing tactics to build loyalty with your audience, videos are better for building trust.
Our culture prioritizes what we can see. As a result, people who watch a video by your company are more likely to:
- Believe in your product
- Trust your review
- Buy your product or service
But viewers aren’t the only people who appreciate videos…
52% of marketers believe videos help build customer trust, and 68% believe that trust increases return on investment (ROI).
4. Videos Increase Conversions and ROI
Videos don’t only help you convert more leads. They also help you retain customers and increase customer lifetime value (LTV).
Statistics show that:
- 84% of customers have made a purchase after watching a video ad for a product or service
- Landing page videos could increase sales by 80%
Also, product explainer videos help customers get more value from your products and increase the likelihood that they’ll continue to use them.
In 2022, companies that used a video marketing strategy to engage, nurture, convert, and retain customers grew revenue 49% faster than those that didn’t.
So, how do you create a strategy for your business?
How-To Create a Winning Video Content Marketing Strategy
Video marketing builds on the principles of content marketing strategy.
Once you learn these principles, you can use them to refine your video marketing strategy and improve your results.
The Principles of Content Marketing
To apply the principles of content marketing to video marketing, ask the following questions:
1. Who is Your Target Audience?
Start by defining your target audience and creating buyer personas for each of your market segments.
Specifically, study their needs, problems, and goals.
Buyers in each market segment have different needs, so you’ll get the best results with content that speaks directly to each group.
2. What Does Each Stage of the Sales Funnel Look Like For Them?
A sales funnel has three stages:
- Awareness
- Consideration
- Conversion
Prospects in different market segments move through these stages in different ways.
To learn more about sales funnels, check out our article about creating a content strategy.
3. How Do They Search for Solutions to Their Problems?
In order to fill your marketing funnel with prospective customers, get your video content in front of as many viewers as possible.
Video marketers do this by using social media and ranking for keywords in search engines.
So identify the keywords your target audience members search for in each stage of the sales funnel and use those to brainstorm content topics.
Video marketers also ask questions like:
- What online social media platforms and communities do they use?
- What publications do they read?
- What information do they need to move to the next stage in the digital marketing funnel?
Once you know how they search for answers to their problems, promote your content on the channels where they’re most likely to find it.
Video Content Marketing Channels
To give your videos the best chance at success, you’ll need to share them on the right channels.
Yet, sharing your videos on every possible social media platform takes time — and is unnecessary.
Instead, video marketers pick the platforms where their videos are most likely to reach their potential customer and bring them into the marketing funnel.
Here are some great channels to consider:
1. Your Blog
Before using external channels, consider sharing videos on your blog.
You can create an introductory video on your homepage to introduce visitors and help them find your best content.
You can also include videos in your blog posts to make them more engaging and increase their chance of ranking in search engines — as people spend 2.6x as much time on blog pages with videos than those without.
2. Facebook
With roughly 3 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the most popular social media platform and the best for video marketers to reach a general audience.
Also there are also 4+ billion video views on Facebook every day!
Facebook video marketers take advantage of this popular and active social media platform by creating Facebook videos, Facebook Stories, and Facebook Live.
3. YouTube
YouTube is the second most popular search engine in the world (behind Google) and users watch more than 1 billion hours of online video each day.
Like Facebook, a YouTube channel is great for reaching your potential customer, especially since YouTube videos can rank in search engines for targeted keywords.
YouTube video marketers use YouTube videos, stories, and/or live video to engage with their audience.
4. Instagram
Instagram videos generate 38% more engagement than image posts.
Since over 60% of Instagram users are between ages 18-35, it’s a great social media platform for reaching young audiences.
You can reach your target audience by modeling successful Instagram video creators. They use Instagram Stories, Instagram Video, Instagram Reels, and/or Instagram Live.
5. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a great social media option for business-to-business video. And while it’s less popular than other social media sites, its organic reach is higher than most other platforms.
So even if you’re new to LinkedIn, you’ll have a greater chance of building a large following.
Here are successful LinkedIn video creators who know how to build a following. When you’re ready to grow your business with LinkedIn, you can use four different video formats: embedded video, sponsored content, native video, and live streaming.
6. Twitter
While Twitter is primarily known as a social media platform for short-form written content, it’s also great for sharing video content.
There are 2+ billion video views on Twitter each day, and tweets with videos receive 10x more engagement than those without.
Twitter is also a great social media platform for reaching celebrities, bloggers, and other content creators — making it excellent for influencer marketing.
In addition to the many social media platforms for video marketing, there are many types of video content. Let’s look at some examples.
Video Content Marketing Examples
To help inspire you, here are some types of videos you could create for your marketing funnel:
1. Attention-Grabbing Introductory Video
Video marketers use these videos to increase brand awareness by introducing site visitors to a company’s brand and all it has to offer.
Encourage prospects to engage with your content by telling them who you are, what your brand mission is, and how you can help them.
Here’s an example from Digital Artha:
2. Product Explainer Video
These videos have two benefits for marketers: they enable you to demonstrate how your products work and they help prospects get the most value from those products.
They also help video marketers increase brand awareness and convert leads.
Here’s an example from Canva:
3. How-To Videos
How-to videos show viewers how to do or accomplish something.
Video marketers use them to increase brand awareness, educate viewers, nurture leads, and create brand loyalty.
Here’s an example from Ahrefs:
4. Customer Testimonial Videos
Video marketers use these videos to provide social proof and increase conversions.
And as stated earlier, video testimonials work better than written testimonials.
Here’s an example from Yum Yum Videos:
5. User-Generated Videos
These videos created by your customers provide social proof, increase conversions, and fill out your video content strategy at little or no cost to you.
Video marketers can prompt customers to create these videos by asking them to demonstrate how they use a product or by creating video contests.
Here’s an example from Krafts by Katelyn:
6. Easily-Scalable Videos
Most videos require lots of prep work.
But video marketers can fill out a content calendar with digital video formats that are easy and quick to produce, such as:
Here’s an interview example from Barstool Sports:
After you know the types of videos you’re going to create, focus on making them interesting.
How Do You Make Video Content More Interesting?
Creating great video content is similar to writing great content — the key is planning.
So before you film, write an engaging script.
For example, if you want to inform, use the elements of a great blog post.
For a sales pitch, use copywriting principles.
And to tell a story, create an engaging plot with relatable characters.
Next, create a storyboard that matches your script to the visuals that appear on-screen. For more info on storyboarding, check out this 4 step guide to the storyboarding process.
After you’ve created a great script and storyboard, it’s time to produce your video.
Video Production 101
Most beginner video creators experience the same problem:
They visualize an amazing video, but the final product after shooting and editing is nothing like they imagined.
To avoid this pitfall and create professional-looking videos, pay attention to video production elements, such as:
Sounds
Will your video contain music? Will you use sound effects (swooshes, crashes, jingles, etc.) to grab the viewer’s attention, highlight specific moments, and for other creative tactics? Just keep your sound effects consistent, and avoid using too many different sounds.
Lighting
Proper lighting is critical to the quality and mood of your video. Plan out what kind of lights and lighting set up you will use to light your video like a pro. Lighting effects can create ambience as well as draw the viewer’s attention to certain on-screen elements.
Visuals
Where will you shoot your video? Will you use graphics and other on-screen effects? You can use title cards to separate different sections of your video and let viewers know what to expect. You can learn about using visuals by studying instructional video content.
Transitions
These are often overlooked but critical for great videos. How will you shift from shot to shot (dissolves, swishes, hard cuts, etc.)? How often will transitions occur to keep viewers engaged? Properly planned and executed transitions separate professional-looking videos from amateur content.
After you plan out your video, it’s time to shoot your masterpiece.
Shooting and Editing the Video
The equipment you use for this depends on your video’s nature and complexity. But here are the basics:
Some video platforms contain in-app software for editing your videos (such as TikTok and YouTube).
But tricky editing techniques or video effects will require professional video software like Final Cut, Adobe Premiere, or Adobe After Effects.
Once you shoot and edit your video, publish it on the right platforms.
Publishing the Video
While this is the last and easiest step, it involves important details that you need to pay attention to. As covered in the section on video content marketing channels, the first step is to choose the best platform to increase brand awareness.
Next, make sure your video is uploaded in the right video format, displays correctly on the platform, and is optimized to reach the most people.
Before uploading your video, research best practices for publishing on each platform. Here they are for Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Vimeo.
Once you publish your video, track its key performance indicators (KPIs).
Video Content Marketing Statistics
To gauge your video’s performance, consider these important benchmarks:
- The average video length was 9:58, but 56% of all videos are less than 2 minutes in length.
- Roughly half of viewers finish watching a video, but viewer engagement peaks in the first 10% of runtime. So put the call to action (CTA) and other important content at the beginning.
- A YouTube video’s average click-through rate (CTR) is 4-5%.
That said, the success of your videos will depend on the strategy you execute, your goals, and how you improve your strategy over time.
Here are some KPIs to use:
- Video impressions
- Video retention (how long viewers are watching)
- Click-through rate
- Conversions
- Conversion rate
- Which videos perform the best
Most social media platforms enable you to download spreadsheets containing video performance metrics.
You can tailor these reports to focus on your videos and the KPIs you want to track, then combine them into a single spreadsheet.
Smart video marketing tactics and data help you constantly improve your video content strategy and grow your business.
Grow Your Business with Video Content Marketing
Video content marketing is a powerful tool for reaching, engaging, and converting your target audience.
While getting started with video marketing can feel overwhelming, you can make things easier by taking one small step at a time.
Start with the content marketing principles above to outline your strategy and pick the best promotion channels. Then use the list of video types to brainstorm video content ideas.
By hammering away at your strategy bit by bit, you’ll soon have a video content marketing operation that ignites your brand!
