7 Steps for Building a Stellar Content Marketing Strategy
If you’re reading this piece, you more than likely know that that video content is a critical component of your overall marketing strategy. After all, it can boost social media engagement, amplify brand awareness, and influence purchasing decisions—and that’s just scratching the surface.
But while there is little debate over whether or not video content is essential for online (and offline) success, many marketers and business owners aren’t sure how to get started. For that reason, MenajErie Studio wanted to outline seven steps to craft your video content marketing strategy to help you kick off the process and ensure a return on your investment.
Identify Your Goals and the Steps to Achieve Them
Without a clear goal, it’s pretty hard to determine your initiatives’ success rates. So first, determine what you’re trying to achieve with your video content. By and large, every business wants to boost sales.
However, effective goal setting requires more than just stating, “I want to make more money.” You need to consider the various steps that lead you to higher sales. From building brand awareness and consumer trust to search engine ranking and community relations, there is a whole lot to consider. We recommend thinking “SMART” to determine what you want to accomplish:
Specific: What exactly do you want to accomplish?
Measurable: Can you assess/measure your progress?
Achievable: Is your goal within your reach?
Relevant: Is it relevant to your business's purpose?
Timely: Is there a deadline for completion?
If your ultimate goal is to increase sales on your new product, the first step is making people aware that it actually exists. Therefore, a clear and achievable goal for video content creation may be, “Increase product page traffic by 200% in three months.”
2. Discover Your Audience
After you have identified your brand’s goals, the next step is to determine your intended audience. Creating content without a specific group of people in mind may lead to the subject matter being too surface-level, which, in turn, causes your content to fall flat or inform people of what they already know.
In order to begin discovering your audience, determine:
Who your product/service is for
How your audience would benefit from your product/service
The main purpose of your video
What social media platforms your intended audience uses
Once you begin producing content that targets your key audience, you may then begin to use analytics and other collected data to improve upon what content you should be creating regarding your audience’s specific needs and interests.
3. Solidify Your Brand
There are several ways in which you can make a name for your brand. However, one of the most crucial steps is to first establish your company’s values, message, and overall authority. This strategy entails conveying to your audience what it is that you do, what unique perspectives you offer, and how your company intends to solve a problem with its products or services.
Furthermore, identify what your brand specializes in. For example, go further than positioning yourself as a video production agency. Instead, declare that your company is an agency that specializes in storytelling, video production for car dealerships, or even broadcast commercials. If your company has more than one area of expertise, create a landing page on your website for each individual service. That way, customers will be brought to your website based on their Google or Bing searches that align with their specific needs.
Finally, make sure the content you are producing is meaningful and substantiated. When deciding to move forward with a business to solve its problem, customers often look for honesty. Research conducted by Stackla, a marketing platform and asset manager, has found that “86 percent of consumers say authenticity is important when deciding what brands they like and support.”
4. Create a (Realistic) Content Calendar
Time management can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. By using applications such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, you can create an efficient calendar that details your content strategy and day-to-day operations. You can also use the content calendar to identify which social media platforms you are publishing your video content on, the date and time it was published, and any further information you would like to include. In doing so, you will keep track of what content has been posted, and what still needs to be published.
A content calendar may also indicate where you are falling short, and you can use this information to adjust accordingly. If you are unable to keep up with publishing content on specified dates, you may want to reconsider your content strategy and determine what areas can be improved upon. This strategy will also help you keep track of how your content is perceived, and what publishing frequency yields the best results.
5. Determine Your Video Budget
Yes, equipment, time, and location can be significant factors in how much video production costs. But what really determines the price tag is the “concept.”
Do you want a selfie-style video? Should there be actors? Lighting? A full set?
The Cheap, Fast, and Good Triangle is a great way to put your budget in perspective.
By and large, in-house production is probably going to be your cheapest route. Although, if you’re paying your employees by the hour—and they still need to learn the fundamentals of video production—this approach can still add up fast. Further, the results will likely be lower-quality than content filmed by a seasoned production team.
You can also hire a college student or freelancer. This method will probably yield better results, cost a bit more, and have a more predictable timeline than filming in-house.
If you're looking for an expeditious turnaround and eye-catching quality, then you'll want to hire a video production company. They'll be able to capture your concept and vision fully. Of course, this option is more expensive. But if it aligns with your goals, brand content calendar, and audience expectations, then it's more than worth it.
Of course, there is one final option: Speed at any cost. While this is rarely a good option, there are instances where your business needs to prioritize speed over everything else. For example, maybe you need to promote a last-minute event, or you're trying to leverage a time-sensitive current event. A production company can get you on the air the quickest, but be prepared for rush fees and limited customization.
The reality is, the most effective video content takes time, but your video content also needs to align with your needs and goals. So the sooner you choose a strategy and the more comprehensive it is, the better!
6. Optimize Your Videos
Whether you are outsourcing your content or producing it using your own tools, video optimization is crucial and varies according to different platform guidelines. Therefore, it is important to first determine where you will be publishing your content before you begin. While there is no single answer for the best video platform, YouTube, DailyMotion, Vimeo, and Instagram are among the most popular—and you can publish your content on more than one!
To optimize your videos:
Determine the video’s purpose prior to filming
Consider adhering to a script
Include a call-to-action
Include a transcript for broader accessibility
Save as the appropriate file type and size
Add key SEO information upon posting
Title
Descriptions
Keywords
Hashtags
Use engaging thumbnails that attract viewers
7. Get Help When You Need It
Building and executing a robust video content strategy internally can be challenging. Whether you’re having a difficult time determining a direction for your content or producing the actual video, remember that you can reach out for help. Find a video production company that specializes in your industry and/or has the ability to match your brand’s aesthetic.
Making Video Content Strategy Simple
Video content strategy and creation can be challenging but it doesn’t have to be. At MenajErie Studio, an industry leader in commercial and narrative video production, we align with your business goals, budget, and brand to craft immersive multimedia experiences that deliver results. If you’d like to learn more about your services and how we can help you succeed, visit our contact page and reach out today.