What’s the Big Deal About Video Content, Anyway?

In today's digital landscape, video content has emerged as a dominant force in online marketing. With the demand for online video skyrocketing, marketers must adapt their strategies to incorporate this powerful medium effectively. 

Today, we’re exploring the intricacies of video content marketing, providing actionable insights and best practices to help you maximize this trend.

The Rise of Video Content Consumption

The appetite for online video content has reached unprecedented heights. Google reports that 60% of American consumers now prefer watching video over traditional live TV. Moreover, since 2015, consumers aged 18-49 have increased their time spent on YouTube by an astonishing 74%. 

Digital marketers have noticed this seismic shift, with Vidyard reporting a 93% increase in the use of video for sales and customer conversations since 2019. Additionally, 91% of organizations are either maintaining or increasing their video content production budgets.

The Right Platform for Your Video Content

Before diving into the creation process, it is crucial to determine where your video content will be published. Each platform has certain characteristics and audience preferences, which can (and most likely will) significantly impact the success of your videos. Some of the most popular video platforms include:

• TikTok
• YouTube
• Twitch
• Vimeo
• Twitter
• Facebook
• IGTV
• Instagram Stories
• Snapchat

When selecting a platform, consider three factors:

1. Target Audience: To ensure your video content reaches potential customers, focus on platforms where your target audience spends the most time.
2. Competition Level: If possible, opt for platforms with less competition to increase your chances of standing out.
3. Team Strengths: Align your platform choice with your team's strengths. For example, if your team excels at creating polished videos, YouTube may be a better fit than a streaming-focused site like Twitch.

The Importance of Pre-Production Planning

Once you have chosen your platform, it's time to plan your video production. Thorough planning is essential, particularly for highly edited videos intended for YouTube or LinkedIn. This process may involve writing scripts and planning transitions, b-rolls, and graphics before shooting begins.

Planning remains crucial even if you aim for a more spontaneous and natural video style. In such cases, your plan could include the topic, key bullet points to cover, or the desired shooting location. Investing time in pre-production planning can significantly streamline the shooting and editing process, resulting in higher-quality video content.

Setting Up Your Studio

Your studio is simply the location where you film your videos. It can be a professional studio, your office, or even an outdoor setting like a park. The key is to ensure that your studio is prepped for filming before you begin shooting. Failure to do so can lead to a 5-10x increase in shooting and editing time.

When scouting locations or setting up your studio, keep an eye out for the following:

• Noise: Audio quality is often more important than video footage itself. Ensure that your location is free from distracting noises like traffic or construction.
• Lighting: While natural light can look great on camera, it can be unreliable. Make sure your location has backup lighting options for cloudy or rainy days.
• Reverb: Echo can be difficult to remove from audio tracks. If you're recording in a space with significant echo, consider bringing in furniture, throw rugs, or professional soundproofing material to minimize its impact.

Editing for Engagement

After shooting your video, the next step is to edit it for maximum engagement. The type of engagement you aim for will depend on the platform and purpose of your video. 

For example, a customer testimonial on a landing page may aim for lead generation or purchases, while an IGTV video may focus on likes, views, and comments.

Regardless of the platform, there are several key principles to boost engagement:

• Keep Things Moving: Move quickly between points, tips, techniques, or examples to maintain viewer attention in the face of short online attention spans.
• Utilize Transitions and Graphics: When used appropriately, graphics, animations, and lower-thirds can enhance the engagement of your video content.
• Incorporate Clear CTAs: Make your desired viewer action very clear. For example, at the end of each video, encourage viewers to subscribe to your YouTube channel.
• Avoid Being Overly "Salesy": Creating a video that functions solely as a sales pitch for your product is unlikely to succeed on any platform. Instead, focus on providing value to your viewers.

Optimizing for SEO

Whether your video will be hosted on YouTube (the world's second-largest search engine) or Facebook Watch, optimizing it for SEO is crucial. While the specific optimization techniques may vary by platform, here are some general tips to increase the discoverability of your video:

• Find Popular Keywords: Use tools like the Google Keyword Planner to identify terms people use to find videos related to your topic.
• Optimize Titles: Video platforms place significant emphasis on the terms used in titles. Make sure to include your most important keyword in your video title.
• Use Keyword-Rich Descriptions and Tags: Incorporate relevant keywords in your video's description and tag fields.

Optimizing your videos can help you gain more views on video platforms and improve your chances of ranking in Google search results. According to SEMrush, 8.96% of Google's search results contain a video, presenting an opportunity to feature your video content in these coveted spots.

Repurposing Video Content Across Platforms

While each video platform has unique characteristics, you can still repurpose some of your content across different platforms. For example, if you have a longer video on YouTube, you can extract a specific technique or tip and share it as a shorter post on Twitter or LinkedIn. 

By adapting your content to suit the preferences of each platform, you can maximize the reach and impact of your video marketing efforts.

Embrace Video Content Marketing

As the demand for online video content continues to soar, marketers must embrace video content marketing to stay relevant and effectively engage their target audiences. By understanding the nuances of different video platforms, investing in pre-production planning, optimizing for engagement and SEO, and repurposing content across platforms, you can harness the power of video to achieve your marketing goals.

Remember, the key to successful video content marketing lies in providing value to your viewers while adapting to each platform's unique characteristics. By following the best practices outlined in this guide, you can create compelling video content that resonates with your audience, drives engagement, and ultimately contributes to your business's growth.