Read any article about marketing and content from the past few years, and you’ll see people advocating for video as though it’s a two-for-one ROI machine. But if you dive into video without understanding how it earned its throne, you’ll only leave frustrated.
Video gained its popularity by earning more and costing less. As trends in technology have evolved, video has become less expensive to create. At the same time, promotion and tracking tools have made major strides, making it easier for marketers to turn cheaper content into more successful collateral.
Successfully integrating video into your marketing strategy requires more than a budget shift. Before you drop everything and start filming, outline a strategy to get the most from your visual content.
Walk before you run to make thoughtful video content
Just as your bottle of cleaning solution recommends testing a small area first, your video strategy shouldn’t debut as your top investment without careful preparation. Although search engines and social media trends are rewarding video more than ever and pushing marketers toward the platform, a deliberate approach will beat a rash one every time.
Unless your content is well-designed, brand-friendly, and part of a larger message, its effect will be limited. When that happens, video marketing can’t deliver on its promises of high ROI, leaving you and your team to wonder whether video is really as valuable as everyone says.
Don’t get caught up in the crowd of subpar video content. Set up your videos to succeed by following these four steps to align them with your current strategy:
1. Update your documented marketing strategy.