From the fastest-growing app– TikTok to the second-biggest search engine– YouTube, videos are making a big splash online. This type of content format has now become a go-to for businesses to expand their reach and stay relevant.

Today, more than 86% of businesses have integrated video marketing strategy into their overall campaign. Entertaining product videos, educational landing page videos, and bite-sized social videos, more and more businesses come up with content ideas to keep their target audiences engaged. 

In fact, according to stats, 97% of marketers say video has helped increase user understanding of their product or service. And 99% of respondents agree that video is a key part of their marketing strategy.

With its growing popularity and effectiveness, you may be considering starting TikTok marketing or a video marketing campaign for your business. Before you start creating videos left and right, it’s important to first understand how to properly execute a video marketing campaign. 

Here are some essential steps on how to start a video marketing campaign for your business:

Video Planning

A great marketing result, in general, starts with a well-structured plan. After all, the video marketing campaign is so much more than video creation itself.

A solid video marketing plan helps you ensure that you hit your target audience, achieve your business goals, and deliver a return on investment (ROI). 

There are three main stages of video planning that you need to go through before starting to create your videos. 

1. Determine objectives

The first stage is understanding what you want to achieve with your video marketing campaign. This includes setting measurable objectives and targets that you can track throughout the campaign. 

Some common objectives for businesses include:

• Increasing brand awareness
• Boosting website traffic
• Generating leads or sales 
• Engaging customers or improving customer satisfaction

When you know what you are creating the videos for, it will be much easier to track whether your video marketing campaign is going to be successful. 

2. Define your audience

The second stage is to identify who your target audience is. After all, you can’t create videos without knowing who you’re talking to. 

To help you zero in on your target audience, consider the following factors:

• Age 
• Gender 
• Location 
• Interests/hobbies 
• Profession 

You can also use social media platforms and Google Analytics to gather data about your website visitors. This type of information can help you get a better understanding of your target audience and what they are looking for.

3. Keep an eye on the competitors

Find out how your competitors are going with their video marketing campaigns. Take a look at their video content and try to understand what’s working for them and what isn’t.

Then, use this information to improve your own campaign by providing something different or even better for the audience.

4. Set your budget

The last stage in the planning process is setting your budget. This includes how much you are willing to spend on video production, distribution, or promotion. 

It’s important to set a realistic budget for your video marketing campaign. This will help you avoid overspending and ensure that you are getting a positive return on investment (ROI).

The good news is that now you can jump into a video marketing bandwagon without having to spend a penny. With out-of-the-box ideas, a smartphone camera, and a straightforward video editing app, you can start creating videos that are both creative and cost-effective. 

Creating Your Videos

Now that you have a plan in place, it’s time to start creating your videos. A thousand-bucks budget video with 8K resolution doesn’t guarantee the success of your video marketing campaign. Here are a few things that you need to keep in mind.

1. Choose the right video style

From entertaining cartoon animation style to a more serious, educational documentary style, there are many different video styles that you can choose from. 

The key is to find the right style that matches your brand identity and resonates with your target audience. So, when an audience sees your video, they should be able to easily identify that it’s from your brand. 

You can also use your objectives to help you decide on the right video style. For example, if you’re looking to increase brand awareness, then an emotional or funny video might be more effective. 

2. Optimize for search engines

Videos that are optimized for search engines are more likely to show up in related searches. This means that potential customers who are looking for videos like yours are more likely to find your videos. 

To optimize your videos for search engines, make sure to include relevant keywords in the title, description, and tags. You can also include a video transcript so that viewers can read along as they watch. 

3. Make it mobile-friendly

Videos are 1.5 times more likely to be watched on hand-held devices. That means you need to make sure that your videos are mobile-friendly. 

This includes ensuring that the video size is smaller so that it can load quickly on a mobile device. You should also use closed captioning to make it easier for viewers to understand the video without sound. 

Video Distribution

The way you make sure that the video gets the limelight it deserves is just as important as the quality of the video itself. 

Well, no matter how brilliant your content and video quality, if it just gets buried in the sea of digital content, it might as well not exist. 

1. Choose the right video platform

There are many different video platforms that you can use to host your videos. Some of the most popular platforms include YouTube, Vimeo, and Wistia. 

Each platform has its own benefits and drawbacks. For example, YouTube is great for reach but doesn’t offer as much control over who sees your videos. 

On the other hand, Vimeo is a more premium platform that gives you more control but has a smaller audience. 

The key is to choose the right platform for your needs. If you’re looking to reach a wide audience, then YouTube might be the best option. But if you’re looking for more control and higher quality videos, then Vimeo might be a better option. 

2. Create a video sitemap

A video sitemap is an XML file that tells search engines about your videos and helps them get indexed. This is similar to a regular sitemap but includes additional information such as the video title, description, thumbnail image, and duration.  

Creating a video sitemap is a great way to improve your chances of ranking in search engines and getting your videos seen by potential customers. 

After It’s Live

After you hit the publish button, your work is not done yet. You need to make sure that your video is performing as you want it to. 

1. Monitor the analytics

Tracking your video analytics is essential to see how your video is performing and whether it’s achieving your objectives. 

Some of the social media metrics you can track include views, likes, shares, comments, and click-through rates. You can also track how long viewers are watching your videos and where they’re dropping off.

This information will help you to understand what’s working and what’s not. It will also help you to improve your future videos. 

2. Engage with viewers

Another important thing to do after your video is live is to engage with viewers. This includes replying to comments, liking comments, and sharing the video. 

This helps to create a community around your video and makes viewers feel more connected to you and your brand. 

It also helps to build relationships with potential customers. 

3. Re-purpose the content

Another great thing about video content is that you can repurpose it in different ways. 

For example, you can turn a recorded webinar into an ebook or create a blog post from a video interview. Or, you can create an infographic from a video tutorial. 

This helps you to get more mileage out of your videos and ensures that they keep working hard for you long after they’re published. So, not only will it save you a lot of time for content creation, but it will also help you to reach a wider audience. 

Over to You

A high-performing video marketing campaign is a lot more than creating videos and making them available on the internet. 

You need to put in the time and effort to create quality videos that are mobile-friendly, well-distributed, and properly tracked. By following these essential steps, you’ll be on your way to creating a successful video marketing campaign for your business. 

One thing to keep in mind is that the video marketing campaign is not a one-time digital marketing strategy. It’s an ongoing effort that should be a part of your larger marketing strategy. 

By making video a regular part of your content mix, you’ll be able to keep your audience engaged and coming back for more.

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