Integrating video into your content marketing strategy

Video is increasingly integral to content marketing due to the growing consumption of online video and the positive impact this has on internet searches. In addition, video is a highly effective way of telling an impactful story and conveying your business’ personality.

Research last year by the US Content Marketing Institute revealed that video saw the largest increase of any content marketing tactic, rising by 70 per cent. However, unless you have in-house expertise, getting the most out of video content requires careful planning.

Set a clear goal

Ask yourself what are you using video for? Is it to introduce your company, sell a product or service, or position yourself as a thought leader? Being clear from the outset about the purpose of the video will help you to determine its approach, emphasis and tone of voice.

Understand your audience

All effective communication tools are tailored to their audience, so it’s essential to establish who you are dealing with. For example, if you are aiming for a technical audience you can go into some depth, while senior executives will expect a more corporate feel. A sales-focused approach reflecting ‘what’s in it for me?’ is best for customers, and chatty, accessible content will appeal to consumers.

Choose the right style

To some extent this will flow from your goal and audience, but will also be influenced by your technical resources, budget and the personality of your business. For example, if you’re a law firm specialising in family law and divorce, it would not be a good idea to make a funny or quirky video. Similarly, if your clients are international businesses you probably want to avoid a ‘DIY-style’ smartphone video with little or no editing.

Consider the attention span

If you are explaining a technical concept you will need longer than if you are producing a video testimonial from a new client. Keeping the video as brief as possible and using plain language is advisable. And while it’s important to express your passion, you should take care not to get carried away. You need to coax your audience with bite-sized chunks, not serve up your whole menu.

Think about storyboarding

Before picking up a camera, make comic book-type sketches of your key sections. This will help you understand how best to translate your story into video format. If it is about an event, you could intersperse interviews with crowd shots. Remember that a video of one person speaking, with no visual aids, will test the attention span of viewers – that’s why TV presenters use visual illustrations.

To find out how our specialists can help you to produce video as part of your content marketing strategy, contact us on 01772 888 400 or e-mail hello@freshfield.com.