Creation

Video Content Marketing: 7 Tips to Get Started Today

According to a study by HubSpot more than 80% of companies use video content marketing.

Want to take a closer look at how you can integrate video formats into your marketing, too?

Very good! To help you get started, we've put together 7 tips to get you started today.

{{divider}}

What is video content marketing anyway?

Content marketing describes the production and distribution of content. In contrast to classic advertising, the goal is to create content that adds value for potential customers.

So with content marketing you can reach users on different channels (website, social media, ...) in a non-promotional way to build trust and a long-term relationship with your prospects.

At the same time, you can also reach out to existing customers to turn them into returning buyers by using engaging videos to inform them about new products.

Since content marketing is used on completely different channels, it is also possible to use different types of content, such as texts, podcasts, images and even videos.

Videos are an effective way to reach a larger crowd with your product and narrative. Compared to traditional content, videos have the advantage that information is much easier to absorb.

{{divider}}

Video Content Marketing Tips

Below, we'll now introduce you to a series of practical video content marketing tips.

#1 Customize your video to your target audience

When creating content, it's always critical to plan content in detail before you start producing. You should be clear about who you want to reach with your video.

If your goal is to reach men over 50 with an interest in hiking tours, the content and design of the videos should obviously be different than if you want to reach young women interested in fashion.

So adapt the design and message of your videos to your target audience to get more clicks to your products or landing pages in the end.

Tip: Set up short online surveys to learn more about your target audience and their preferences. You can use tools like Typeform or SurveyMonkey and post the surveys to Facebook or LinkedIn groups. This is a cost-effective way to conduct market research.

#2 Define your video goals

Creating content that appeals to the right audience is the first important step. Next, you should clarify what you want to achieve with your videos.

When doing content marketing, you should always have (at least) one goal Maybe you want to reach more users to make them aware of your own brand. Maybe you want to promote a new product or have a special offer you want to make people aware of. Or maybe you just want to expand your email contact list to reach more people with your newsletters.

The goal should be considered at every point in the production process. Many companies make the mistake of creating great videos, but get so lost in the process that the video then ends up not fitting the actual goal. That's why it's important to identify the Prioritize tasks and stepsthat get you closer to your video goal.

Tip: When setting your goals, you should be as specific as possible and also define your goal quantitatively. Define not only that you want to gain new newsletter subscribers, but also how many and in what time frame.

Source: Filestage

SMART goals can help you to define your goals in detail and clearly enough. Also use suitable project management softwareto help you keep track of tasks and goals.

#3: Tell a story with your videos

With your videos you want to grab people and inspire them. So much so that they become customers (or whatever your goal is).

The best way to do that is to tell a story. A video that simply promotes a product is probably less likely to be clicked on and viewed.

But don't worry. Your stories don't have to be Hollywood blockbusters. It's about presenting a story to your target audience that they can relate to and that speaks to them.

Tip: A classic form of videos that tell a story are. Explainer videos. These are used to tell about a problem and then show how to solve it. This provides users with informative and helpful video content that adds value. A great example of a successful explainer video is provided by Buffer:

#4: Get to the point quickly

The first few seconds of a video are crucial.

You can probably relate to that. For example, if you're scrolling through your Facebook feed and a video doesn't really seem interesting after a few seconds, you close it again and watch another one.

That's how most people feel. That's why it's important to make the first few seconds of a video as interesting and engaging as possible. It's important to convince users in the first few seconds so they stay tuned. After that, you can provide them with more informative content.

Tip: Check out how other successful videos are structured on YouTube and what methods, companies use to convince you from second 1.

#5: The thumbnail can be crucial

To motivate users to watch a video, a gripping thumbnail is crucial.

For example, would you want to watch this video?

Or this one?

Probably! Both videos have admittedly simple, but gripping thumbnails.

Before you as a user actually click on a video and take a closer look at it, you only see the title and thumbnail of the video.

Therefore, you should put as much work as possible into your thumbnails and make sure that they stand out and generate attention.

Tip: Again, look at examples of successful YouTubers and find out which thumbnails appeal to you. It doesn't always have to be super-stylish and professional thumbnails. Sometimes simple but effectively designed thumbnails are much better.

Source: Canva

With tools like Canva or Visme you can then easily recreate them and adapt them for your video without much graphic knowledge.

#6: Do not forget optimization

Depending on where you upload your video, it may make sense to optimize it for search engines. If you upload the video to your website or to a provider like YouTube, you can optimize the video title and description.

This way you can make sure that your video is found organically without having to place ads, for example. For example, if your video is displayed at the top of YouTube for search queries that are made frequently, you can get a lot of views without having to actively do anything.

Tip: If you want to optimize your YouTube video, consider the following points:

  • Search matching keywords with a tool like TubeBuddy
  • Use your target keywords in the title, description and as tags
  • Create a sufficiently long video description (at least 250 words)
  • Make sure that your video is commented on quickly, for example, have all team members leave a comment.
  • Make sure that your Target keywords to be pronounced in the videoso that they appear in the YouTube transcript.

#7: Assessments are good, tests are better

Anyone who wants to launch multiple video campaigns should definitely not neglect this point. For example, many companies run Facebook ads to promote their videos and test their titles and thumbnails. But they do not test the videos themselves.

Besides titles and thumbnails, you can test different conversion targets, but also different VIdeos against each other. The possibilities are endless.

So if you have different videos, feel free to test their designs and content against each other to see what resonates best with users.

Tip: It can take a lot of effort to create variations of a video. Especially if you are not yet very familiar with Video editing and cutting can use tools like Rocketium or Lumen5 can help.

Source: Lumen5

They allow you to quickly and easily produce different versions of the same video, as they provide a number of useful templates that you can use.

{{divider}}

Video Content Marketing - My Conclusion

Producing good videos is not as hard as it used to be. So don't be afraid to make mistakes and just start producing. Just follow our tips and learn more with each video. You'll see it's easier than you think.

{{divider}}

You want to learn more?

Then we recommend our Content Marketing Academy, where you can train to become a certified Content Marketing Manager in just 6 weeks. Click here and apply!

Share:

Book your demo now

Learn best practices and uncover your content marketing potential!
Book a demo
- free of charge

contentbird.blog

Ended
Ended

Key Take Aways

More contributions