Visual content has really taken over the marketing world, and it will continue to be important in 2017. The awesome part about video marketing is that the content stands out to viewers without overwhelming them with text. You can use video production in a variety of ways, including website use, social media posts, and even in digital marketing materials. You can create videos for the purpose of branding, showcase profiles of chief officers and executives, create advertisements, use content for promotional purposes, develop explainer videos, and more.

However, the problem many encounter is not actually WHAT to use a video for or what kind of video to create, but rather, developing a strategy for the production itself. In this post we will cover all of the aspects that are important for how to design and execute a video production strategy. As an SEO company, we are increasingly advising our clients to use video content to their advantage.

  1. Design a Budget

Yes, unfortunately we do need to start with the monetary aspect. In order to produce quality professional videos, for any purpose, you are going to have to dedicate some of your marketing funds. Now, you may not have a million dollar budget, or even the ability to purchase your own equipment, but you can certainly hire a videographer if you can dedicate the funds. According to MarketingLand, you can typically hire a videographer to shoot and edit all of your footage, and produce one video for your company per week for around $1000.

If hiring a professional is absolutely not an option, then you can purchase a nice camera yourself and have it for weekly or monthly video productions in-house. Shooting right in your own office will give the feeling of authenticity and give your viewers a sense of where it is that you work and what your company culture is like. Purchasing the camera, audio equipment, and software are expenses to consider so long as you have someone in-house who can edit and produce quality videos.

  1. The WHAT and WHY Questions

Video production in marketing is something that can be applied across business industries, and as mentioned, there are so many different ways you can use this kind of content to your advantage. However, before you begin you will need to figure out (A) WHAT kind of videos you will make and (B) WHY you are going to make them—what is their purpose to your audience? As with all content that you produce, you are putting time and effort to engage your following and make your digital presence more meaningful to them. Whether it is weekly explainer videos and tutorials, or presenting employee feature pieces, you need to treat every piece of content you create as something that will spark interest and enthusiasm, and ultimately, conversion.

HubSpot’s VP of Content Joe Chernov explained the relationship between content like blog posts and videos well: “Content drives search, search generates traffic, traffic yields readers, readers become leads, and leads fuel sales. Without content, that very fundamental process stalls.”

Content itself has inherent value, but in order to keep this “fundamental process” well-oiled and fine tuned, you need to make sure that what you are producing is what your audience wants to view.

  1. Design a Schedule

Any good marketer knows that you are really only as good as your own content schedule. The same goes for putting together a video production strategy. It is incredibly important to plan out video content and schedule it for two reasons:

  • Deadlines: You need to have deadlines if you want to have shooting, editing, and post production work done on time. Video productions take a lot of people working together and planning, and having declines assures that things get done in the order and time frame that they are suppose to, so that you can release your content in the order and consistency you want to.
  • Sequence: You may want to release videos in a certain order, with information coming first before later videos. Planning for sequence is a key part in designing a video production schedule, so you can plan for the order you want to release content.

  1. Always Include a Call-To-Action

A key part in planning a video for a marketing campaign is including a call to action (CTA). While you do want to focus on providing valuable content that viewers will learn and benefit from, you also want to keep in mind that you want people to take action after they view your video. For example, you could include a coupon code to visit your e-commerce store, offer an incentive for sharing the video on social media, or even encourage them to visit a product page. In any case, if they consumer feels like they benefited from the content that you shared, they will be more likely to take the action you want them to take.

  1. Short and Sweet is Best

Keep in mind that as much as you love a particular video, you may not always have an audience that wants to engage in a 10 or 15-minute video. For most business videos, it is a good idea to keep a 3-5 minute rule so that you can hold you audience’s attention and make sure that viewers are going to get to your call to action at the end. This can be done, partially in the editing process, but having a script and an idea of what you actually want to get across is also key. Focus on what you really want your viewers to achieve in a given segment, and remember that you can always break up the videos into shorter, more consumable pieces.

Below is a wonderful video from Lynda.com that goes through practical tips to video production that we feel any small business owner could use:

What kind of videos are you hoping to make for your business in 2017? How are you intending to use them and what did you get out of this article? Let us know in the comments section below, we would love to hear from you.