Did you know that there are at least 720,000 hours of fresh video content uploaded on YouTube per day?
That soaring number shows that internet users are attached to videos. Gone are the days when businesses use those bulky, text-heavy paragraphs to give their audiences an idea of what they’re selling. Videos can do it so much better without annoying them.
It makes sense why more than 86% of marketers have jumped into the video marketing bandwagon to take their overall campaigns to a whole new level. But, just like any other marketing strategy, high-converting video marketing campaigns need to be well-prepared and well-thought.
A poor, amateurish video campaign can do more harm than good. it will scare away your potential customers and even hurts your online reputation.
At this point, one burning question would be, “so, how do you create a video marketing campaign that converts?”
In this guide, we’ll show you how to create a solid video marketing campaign from start to end that converts your viewers into paying customers.
Step #1. Define What You Want to Achieve
Every digital marketing strategy needs one specific goal to work. The same goes for your video marketing campaign.
You can’t just produce a bunch of random videos, upload them on the internet, and cross your fingers– hoping that they will do any good, whether building brand awareness or increasing your conversion rate without having any metrics to track.
Defining your goal is the first and most important step in planning a solid video marketing strategy because it will shape every other element in your campaign.
Are you trying to increase brand awareness? Drive more traffic to your website? promote a new product or service? Get more leads and subscribers?
You need to be very clear about what you want to achieve with your video marketing campaign before moving on to the next steps.
Step #2. Find Your Target Audience
Now that you know what you want to achieve, it’s time to identify your target audience.
Your target audience is the group of people who are most likely to be interested in your products or services.
You need to understand their needs, wants, and pain points. Only then can you produce videos that speak directly to them and offer solutions to their problems.
There are a few ways to find your target audience:
- Look at your customer data (if you have any)
- Use social media listening tools
- Conduct market research
Step #3. Come Up With an Intriguing Content Idea
Now that you know who your target audience is, it’s time to start creating engaging video content.
Your video content must be compelling enough to grab your audience’s attention and hold it until the very end.
The most important thing to remember when creating your video marketing campaign is to focus on quality over quantity. It’s better to produce a few great videos than a bunch of mediocre ones.
Here are a few tips for creating engaging video content:
- Keep it short and sweet
- Make it visually appealing
- Tell a story
- Use humor
- Be authentic
Remember that your content quality is crucial. That’s the reason why viewers stay and watch your videos until the end.
Step #4. Bring the Ideas to Life With a Solid Script
You can have the best video content ideas, but if they’re not well-executed, your videos will flop.
That’s why you need to write a solid script before starting to film anything.
A good script is the foundation of any great video. It will make sure that your videos are on point and stay on track. It’s also a great way to ensure that your videos are clear, concise, and easy to understand.
You might think that creating a script means that you have to be a great writer. All those flowery and fancy words are not necessary. As long as it’s not hard-selling your product or service, your script doesn’t have to be award-winning material.
Keep in mind that a salesy and boring script can make even your brilliant ideas sound dull. So make sure to keep it interesting and engaging.
What you need to do is to write a simple, straightforward script that outlines the main points of your video. Once you have the outline, all you need to do is to fill in the blanks with natural dialogues and conversations.
Step #5. Live-Action or Animation?
There are two types of videos many marketers use when it comes to video marketing campaigns; live-action videos and animated videos.
Animated videos are often used in training videos, explainer videos, social videos, or any videos that are quick to create and consume. Meanwhile, live-action videos are used for product videos and customer feedback or testimonials– where human’s expressions and emotions are needed.
Of course, both have their own set of benefits and drawbacks, so it’s important to choose the right one for your campaign.
Here are a few things to consider when choosing the right type of video:
- Your target audience
- Your budget
- The message you want to deliver
- The overall look and feel of your brand
- The level of production value you want to achieve
Step #6. Ready, Action!
Once you’ve decided on the type of video, it’s time to start planning and filming your video.
When you want to go for live-action videos, there are a few things you need to take into consideration:
- The location
- The props and equipment you’ll need
- The people you’ll need to help you with the filming
- The actors or actresses you’ll need to hire (if any)
On the other hand, if you’re going for animated videos, you need to start thinking about the style of animation you want to use.
Do you want to go for traditional hand-drawn animation? Or do you want to create something more modern with computer-generated graphics?
You also need to think about the voice-over. Do you want to hire a professional voice actor? Or are you going to do it yourself?
Step #7. Optimize Your Videos for SEO
It’s a fight for eyeballs out there. This is important because you want your videos to be easily found by your target audience.
No matter how brilliant your content idea is, when none watches the video, what’s the point? This is why optimizing videos for search engines is crucial.
Optimizing here means that you ensure that the videos are more accessible and visible to search engines.
As a result, your videos will rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs), and more people will be able to watch them.
Here are a few tips for optimizing your video marketing campaign for SEO:
- Use keyword-rich titles and descriptions
- Use transcripts
- Add annotations and closed captions
- Create a video sitemap
- Create a customized thumbnail
Step #8. Promote Your Videos
Creating marketing videos is one thing. Promoting them– making sure that everyone can see it is another. Now that your video is all set and ready to go, it’s time to start promoting it.
No digital platform is created the same. Each one has a different algorithm with different demographics, so it’s important to tailor your marketing strategy for each platform.
For instance, when you create videos tailored for B2B companies, there’s no better place than LinkedIn. Meanwhile, when you create scrappy videos for younger crowds, TikTok is an ideal platform. In another case, when you want to grow your email list and subscribers, the newsletter is the best way to go.
Step #9. Evaluate and Adjust Your Video Marketing Strategy
Creating and promoting your marketing videos is a half battle. The other half is to track the performance of your videos and see what’s working and what’s not.
The best way to do this is to set up Google Analytics for your website. Many social media also come up with built-in analytics features that allow users to track the performance of their posts.
From there, you can start to see which videos are getting the most views, engagement, and conversions. Those analytics also make it much easier for you to track how many people are watching your videos, where they’re coming from, how long they’re watching, and which parts they’re rewatching. You can then use that data to improve your future marketing videos.
Step #10. Stick to a Schedule
There’s no such thing as an overnight success when it comes to video marketing campaigns. You can’t expect your videos to go viral instantly. Consistency and patience are the keys here.
The best way to keep your audience engaged is by sticking to a schedule and posting new videos regularly. You don’t need to post new videos every day. Once or twice a week should be enough. But make sure that you’re consistent with the release date, so your audience knows when they can expect a new video from you.
When you have a schedule, it would be much easier for you to build an audience base and grow your channel organically. Video series with a specific theme or target audience in mind can be a good idea to maintain engagement.
Wrapping Up
Creating a successful video marketing campaign is not a one-time thing. It’s an ongoing process that requires planning, effort, and most importantly, constant optimization. By following the handy steps above, you’re well on your way to creating a video marketing strategy that converts.
