Elements of a Successful Marketing Video

It can be extremely frustrating to put together a marketing strategy.

If only there was a formula to follow, a step-by-step!  It turns out that there are tons of formulas, many differing drastically, so the actual question is “Whose formula do I follow?”

When planning a successful marketing strategy, you must build around your message, your audience, your offerings, and, well, you.  It’s a bit like Lego: what do I have and what do I want to make with it?

Listed below are key bricks that successful marketing videos have in common.

Here are the 4 key elements to a successful marketing video:

One Clear Message

The video must have a defined message, and it must be one message.

It’s very tempting to cram everything into a marketing video, especially when you are trying to reach a large audience.  This is, however, universally a mistake.  Your viewer only budgets so much attention to any given video, and if you try to squeeze too much in, they will glaze over and take away nothing.

Videos are the most effective when they are short, to the point, have up to four voices (preferably fewer), and have a single clear message.

Marketing Strategy

Posting a video on your website will massively help conversion, but to be used to its full potential, you need to accompany your video with a full-fledged marketing strategy which maximizes your reach.

Any strategy is more successful if it can attack multiple fronts, and video marketing is no exception.  We are no longer talking about buying ad placement time on a local cable channel.  Modern marketing strategies are multifaceted and customized, but they will always include the following:

1. 1. Optimize SEO – Use Schema marketing best practices to make sure your video shows up on the top search engines.
   2. Use Social Media – Be active on Social Media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, and use their tools to hone in on your target audience.
   3. Content Marketing – Quality content is King.  Offer consistent quality content to build credibility and authority in your field, and your audience will turn to you first when they need your offering.

An Ace is a good card to have, but it’s not much use without the rest of your hand.  Make sure that you get your Ace, but don’t forget that it needs a strong hand of placement, quality content, keyword research, branding, etc.  Hiring a marketing team or service, or using a video production company that offers these services is essential.

Show and Tell

This is the one that everyone thinks they know, and almost everyone messes up.

In a sentence: Make sure that your video is more than just hitting bullet points with a camera.
When making a brand video, for example, make sure that you tell what you have to offer, but don’t stop there!   Give the viewer a window into what working with you will feel like through testimonials or staged walkthroughs; you must show the experience you are offering.

This is where the narrative of the video comes in.  A basic narrative might look like this:

1. 1. Show who needs your offering
   2. Tell what you offer
   3. Show what it’s like to consult and work with you
   4. Tell some details that set you apart
   5. Show how their life is improved afterward

Having that story allows the viewers to see themselves having that positive experience with you.

Quality Production

I don’t need to tell you that video is about visuals.  

What I’d like to point out is that the average viewer nowadays is pretty savvy and can immediately tell the difference between your buddy who has a DSLR filming you reading a script, and a professionally filmed, produced, and edited video.  The physical tools alone do not make a professional video.

Acquiring the support of an experienced, creative video team is an essential investment.  This single point replaces hundreds of additional points I could make, because a professional and successful video production company will be able to make sure your video has everything that it needs.  The better companies will also be able to help with your overall marketing strategy.

Start with a google search or a referral from someone with a successful video and look at portfolios until you find someone with experience in your field.

If you keep the four points above in mind and approach your video with the same attention to detail you bring to everything else, you won’t have any trouble creating a fantastic video with a strategy that will yield a great ROI.
What other elements have you found to be successful in video marketing? Don’t be shy, let us know in the comments!