How to create an outstanding video marketing campaign?

There are plenty of misconceptions about video marketing – not to mention that it is not one right way to build it. However, many people believe that video marketing strategy can be something of a side help. When it is the other way around – brands need video marketing as a leading strategy.

From 2015 up to now video become the essential marketing element. From all types of content that are in trend now, people prefer video more than anything else. Many customers say they would watch a video about the product before actually buying it. It remains a question how to build a campaign that will be not only original but very stable too.

When building a video marketing campaign, you’re giving a voice to your ideas and creating a backstory to your brand.

What to start with?

Let’s push away the litany of clichés about video marketing and start from the very beginning – you have to define your goals, calculate your budget and understand your current position. If you are already running your business for some time, you can omit the fear every newcomer has – how to start successfully and to experience major fail from the start. If you are a newcomer, you have to do the same things and leave your fear behind.

To define your goals, we recommend making them measurable and as specific as possible. Don’t think of something blurry, because you wouldn’t understand your real pace later. Besides, it has to be realistic: rational goals at the beginning of a video marketing campaign will not slow it if something won’t work.

Divide your goals into different sections. For example – for the brand, for income and the engagement rate. That’s a standard set when you are only planning your video marketing strategy. If you have in mind something else, don’t be afraid to add that, too. If you can see your goals clearly, it will make the real scale of your campaign only bigger.

After that, you have to figure out how much time you have to achieve these goals. Creating timeframe if actually very helpful. According to many studies, it will make your efforts and energy more focused.

To plan your budget is vital. Your finances more than anything else will affect your entire campaign. Calculate how much money you have for each stage of production.

When you have passed these stages, you must clarify what kind of video content you are going to deliver. Of course, you already know it, but it’s never a bad thing to make one more revision.

Plan your videos according to your budget and your current position (experienced brand/new brand).

Know your audience

The first thing you have to know when you are making creative content is who you expect to watch it. In other words, who is your targeted audience? Even if you are working for a rather small group of people (could be a few thousand) it is people that are going to watch, share and make your audience bigger.

One of the major flaws many new brands making is their efforts to attract as many people as possible. Remember that the audience must be really interested in the subject. If you already have a brand wouldn’t be the harm in learning their behavior and preferences.

The biggest problem here is that everything is changing all the time. In a matter of weeks, one trend replaces another, customers’ preferences change radically; the pace of marketing is extremely fast. This is why it is necessary to know what is going on with your targeted audience. If you don’t know these people, you will probably never get them interested in your product.

Make sure your equipment will not fail you

Your first impression on the audience will be impactful and eventually shed light on your brand. Before you deliver a message, people will have to encounter the quality of a video. Make sure your equipment is capable of providing you with high-quality video.

The problem for many young brands is the cost of video equipment. That’s understandable: it is costly. Besides, not only do you have to know what to buy but also not miss anything of great significance. In such a case, we would recommend hiring a professional team who would do all the work with equipment.

Some brands get risky (you never know whether it’s worthy or not) and use smartphones to film a video. It’s a bit show-offy sometimes, but that brings (to some projects) nothing but very fruitful results.

Before you decide to act this way, make sure your idea of the brand is somehow close to such a tool. There are no limits in doing creative business projects, but even a bit of tastelessness could change the mood of the audience radically.

Determine what type of video marketing will work for you

Something that will work for you is not only a thing that brings you success, it is about the story you want to tell and the best shape for it – the best type of video. To find the right kind of video is the same as finding a language and a structure to narrate.

Typically, there are the following types of marketing videos:

Brand video – its primary intention is to show what kind of products and services a company is providing, as well as tell about the brand’s values.

Demo video – it is more about the product than the brand. Traditionally in a demo video, you explain how to use the product and understand its functions.

How-to-video – one of the most popular forms of video overall in the world at the moment. In these videos, brands educate customers in their area or teach them something useful.

Explainer video – This is something you can’t build your brand awareness without. In explainers, you show people the strong sides and advantages of using your product. What kind of problems will they help to overcome? These types of videos are made to help the audience decide whether they need a product or not.

Case study. To convince your clients that your product worked (and if it is working at all) the best way is to film how it worked for some clients – on a real example.

360° Videos – it is another trendy type, but still worth trying – maybe it will exactly match your content? In such a video, viewers can control their experience of watching it by choosing where to watch on the location, for example.

Don’t be afraid to create a unique, unusual content – experiment with video formats, if you feel it can help your brand to attract new customers.

Type of video chosen for a marketing campaign is an aesthetic form for the story you want to tell. Different solutions on a video type will get you to different outcomes.

Decide who will be making a video

To film a single video is a work for a bunch of people. It requires professionals from different areas. Besides shooting a video, you have to decide who will be responsible for making a script, video, concept making, and so on.

The process could take weeks – that is why you have to plan all of it before the beginning of actual work.

There are plenty of questions to be asked when you are only planning the content of a campaign. Undertake an interlocution with your team and find the best solution for the question.

Create a strategy

As you can see, the crucial thing about a video marketing campaign is how thoroughly you plan every step. Determine how long you want to run a campaign. Evidently, you have a specific purpose why you decided to create a video marketing campaign in the first place.

Some campaigns take shorter periods of time, some – longer. There is no universal length for it, so you have to calculate for yourself. But, if you want the content you are making for a campaign now to serve you in the future, you can rely on one explainer or case study videos. If your goal is more specific, a short period will be the best way to play it.

Find a perfect length to your videos

Now you have to think about some particular moments about videos – filming style/animation, whether you need to hire actors or a professional company to make a video. It is essential to find a perfect length for videos – not too long and not too short.

The ideal duration for a marketing video is 2-3 minutes. If you want to engage a viewer, consider these boundaries as the best possible length.

Use tags

Search engines won’t find you just because you exist. To help them place you fairly use keywords. Title, description, tags – all these things are critical if you want people, as well as search engines, could discover your content. The best approach is to include keywords to the title of a video.

Track your success

Always reflect on how the campaign went: what has worked and what is better never to use again. Learn conversion and the engagement rate. The majority of people outside marketing think that the essential thing is the number of subscribers. If you didn’t get enough, your campaign has failed. But nothing can be further from the truth. What matters is the engagement rate.

At the beginning of this article, we discussed how important it is to set measurable goals. When your campaign is over, you have a clear opportunity to learn whether you achieved them or not.

Once you finished working on a marketing campaign, your results will be something that will convey your product, team and brand.