Video Content Marketing: Strategy and Examples

Whenever you swipe through your social media feeds for inspiration, you’re probably drawn to a format that performs exceedingly well: video. From Facebook and Instagram Reels, to TikTok and YouTube Shorts, every platform now knows that this is the format audiences want to see. That’s what makes video marketing so appealing for businesses — including yours.

Yet, many marketing teams think that videos are overly complex and time-consuming to produce. There’s an assumption that you need expensive editing software, or to outsource production agencies. This can explain why so many companies haven't invested as much as they’d like in their marketing goals.

The truth is, video production doesn’t have to be complex or resource-intensive, and our guide explains why. We break down and outline the essential processes for effective video content marketing. You’ll learn why you should use this format of communication to market your business, how to create and distribute impactful content (with real-world examples), and how to measure your campaigns’ success.

Whether it’s to boost awareness, drive sales, or hire new recruits, your brand can use video marketing to achieve a variety of business goals.

Why do you need video for your content marketing strategy?

Great content drives better business results. Here are concrete benefits of video marketing that illustrate the importance of creating a robust video marketing plan – and sticking to it.

1. Engaging video increases brand awareness

69% of people prefer video to text when learning about a product or service. This format is more appealing because it easily evokes emotional reactions from viewers, leading them to act on these triggered emotions. 86% of marketers say that video has increased traffic to their website, and 78% say it’s directly helped increase sales.

Text, photos and images are a great starting point for any marketing strategy. But diversifying your online campaigns will drive more views, clicks, and conversions – helping you to reach a wider audience and grow your business.

2. Video content increases conversion rates

Brands are able to communicate their key messages more effectively, as it engages more senses and feelings than static text or imagery alone.

That’s why videos are highly effective at convincing audiences to take quick or immediate action. They help consumers better visualize your product or service, and also understand why they need your solution.

Studies back this up: simply including one on a landing page can increase conversion by 80%. And 84% of consumers reported buying a product after watching video content related to it.

3. Video content drives higher ROI

Many companies are hesitant to invest in video production because they’re afraid it’s too expensive or complicated to implement. But with new, user-friendly makers on the market, you can make professional videos in-house with ease – no expertise or complicated tools needed.

Implementing a video strategy is a solid investment for business growth: 89% of video marketers say this format has given them a good ROI (return on investment).

And if you’re not ready to make a series of original content, there are other strategies out there. Improving your ROI and ROAS (return on ad spend) can be as simple as repurposing existing promotional materials into dynamic video content for your brand.

4. Video drives more visibility and engagement on social media

It’s clear that this format drives stronger brand awareness and conversions. This is also because social media algorithms prioritize video content in newsfeeds.

Consumers love content that is entertaining, informative, and digestible. Therefore, social media serve their users the format they’re most likely to engage with, which is now predominantly short-form video.

In 2021, the average engagement rate for short-form content was an astounding 53.9%. That means your brand benefits from increased visibility and engagement by leveraging strategic content in your promotional campaigns.

5. Video builds trust among your target audiences

Trust doesn’t come easily in advertising. Customers are now more skeptical than ever of brands they don’t know. Yet, studies show two out of three customers are ready to make a purchase after watching a single customer testimonial.

The golden rule for building trust with video? Create value for your target market. Distribute content with a clear purpose that benefits your target audience. If there is no tangible value for your audience, such as offering an actionable tip or an entertaining viewing experience, then you may want to think twice about sharing it.

6. Website SEO is boosted by video content

We’ve written before about how to use video to optimize your SEO strategy - a dedicated SEO strategy can also have a big impact. Simply put, Google prioritizes search results that feature video content. When you include relevant videos on your website’s pages, Google adds a thumbnail next to these search listings.

This helps Googlebots categorize your site as high-quality content (also known as ‘rich snippets’), which gives it higher priority in search engine result pages. And that means more organic visibility and higher engagement on your digital content.

7. Video is compatible with long-term marketing strategies

That being said, throwing a video together here and there isn’t sufficient or sustainable. Your team should develop a thorough strategy as part of a wider marketing plan to support long-term marketing efforts. This can include:

• Incorporating more of them into your existing and new campaigns
• Diversifying the kind formats you produce — such as interviews, explainers, or testimonials — to add variety and to achieve different marketing objectives
• Repurposing other content such as podcasts or social posts into video
• Creating an editorial calendar to organize your frequency and distribution channels 
• Analyzing metrics to optimize the performance of each campaign

7 steps for an effective video marketing strategy 

Creating a winning video marketing strategy doesn’t have to be difficult. You no longer need to be an expert or hire a team of them – all you need to do is follow these 7 easy steps!

1. Know your target audience like the back of your hand

You already know that any marketing strategy, digital or not, is based on a thorough knowledge and understanding of the company's target market. And a video marketing strategy is no exception to this rule.

As a good marketer, you already have an idea of who your target audiences are. But do you have any idea of what they're expectations are for videos?

Before you start brainstorming your creative video presentation ideas, take time to consider what you already know about your target audience. Consider their:

• Preferred topics and themes of interest. Beyond your products or services, what kind of online content do your potential customers like to consume? What challenges and daily concerns do you help them resolve?

• Consumption habits. Are your target fans of long, 30-minute webinars, or short, dynamic "snack content" type videos? Would they rather watch them on their mobiles or their desktop computers?

• Consumption channels. If you're reaching out to potential B2B clients who are over 50 years old, you probably won't find them on Instagram or TikTok, but rather on LinkedIn or Twitter. The opposite would be true for someone marketing a restaurant. Think about where your target typically consumes content for your niche.

If you're just launching your video marketing plan, you may not yet have a thorough understanding of your public’s expectations or how they consume content. You can start by monitoring your competitors who are already using video in their marketing mix. You can also ask your existing customers about their expectations: for example, by offering a promotional benefit in your newsletter in exchange for a survey response. After all, maybe you'll be interviewing them in due course as part of your future strategy?

2. Determine your video’s objective

Take some time to select clear objectives for your video strategy. For example, you can launch your strategy to:

• Boost your reputation on the internet. With 87% of marketers agreeing that video is effective at building brand awareness, it’s clear that it can help you build or solidify your brand in your target’s mind.
• Improve the search indexing of your website. By integrating video into your overall web marketing plan, you've got Google in your pocket: search engines love to highlight the best ones in their search results!
• Increase the time visitors spend on your site pages. Visitors will be tempted to spend more time browsing your pages when you include videos.
• Increase your conversion rates. Many studies show that using video can increase the conversion rates of your website. For example, the king of SEO Neil Patel conducted an interesting marketing experiment: by integrating a video into a landing page, he increased his conversion rate by 64%. This micro-optimization brought $21,000 in additional sales to the company as videos offered an opportunity to finish with a very clear and persuasive call-to-action.
• Engage communities. Whether it's on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook or even LinkedIn, video has the power to bring users together and spark authentic exchanges between you and your audience.
• Assist with commercial or after-sales services. There's nothing quite like a product demonstration video to better convince B2B target audiences, or product tutorials to save time for your teams during after-sales. In fact, 86% of marketers agree that it is a powerful communication and education tool that enables for ease of knowledge sharing.

This step in your video marketing strategy is essential. Organize a brainstorm with your marketers, sales and communication teams to determine your core objectives. When teams unite around the same objectives, your plan is certainly heading in the right direction!

3. Integrate video into your current marketing mix

Armed with your best objectives and customer knowledge, you're now ready to make video a real asset for your digital marketing plan. Congratulations! Now it's time to work out how your promotional ones will fit seamlessly into your current strategy.

For your videos to truly reflect your company or brand, be sure to think about these two key elements:

• The graphic designs. How will your logo appear? Will it be animated or fixed? Do you have a music jingle in mind, an idea for an outro (end screen) or YouTube thumbnails to develop?
• The editorial guidelines. What tone will be used? Are humor and playfulness key to your style, or will your videos be strictly serious? What key messages and values will you convey about your organization?In short, even if you're just starting your strategy, your video marketing needs to reflect the style and tone of all your other communications.

4. Determine what content to create with your videos 

At this stage, you have a reasonably clear idea of where your video strategy is going to take you. So let's get to the heart of the matter: it's time to think about the different videos you’ll be able to create.

You can reuse your existing content to create engaging videos. Consider:

• If certain sections of your latest white paper can be turned into promotional videos?
• If your latest case study could be turned into an interview or a video quote?
• If your last article can be used as the basis of a streamlined 'Top 5' video?

As you browse through your back-log of content, you'll come up with a bunch of clever ideas for your video editorial plans. If that's not enough, here are some particularly effective types of content that could bolster your efforts:

• Content showcasing your products/services: If you’re looking to generate leads, putting your product front and center is the way to go. It’s no surprise that marketers attribute product videos with the highest ROI, and are producing it more than any other type.
• Content that reflects your brand's values: Audiences love content that allows the brand’s personality to shine through. This type highlights the company’s missions, what it stands for, and how its employees bring those values to life.
• Trendy content: Trends come and go, but hopping on a bandwagon often pays off. Riffing off viral internet trends, trendy content always goes down well with audiences and racks up top engagement. Jumping on trends is a great way to ensure your other content is seen to by working the algorithm to your advantage!
• Relatable content: Know your audience like the back of your hand and this type comes easy. Tapping into their preferences, relatable content tries to engage more directly with viewers and is getting more popular amongst marketers.
• Funny and interactive content: Sometimes audiences just want to be entertained. Whether it’s about getting viewers involved or just having a good laugh, this type is helping brands stand out and be more authentic.
• Nostalgic and user-generated content: This type is geared up for reaching niche audiences. And although highly engaging it should be used sparingly!

Remember, a good video marketing strategy educates and entertains its audience at the same time. So be sure to integrate video storytelling into your strategy. This step will give you a clear idea of the budget you’ll need to make available. In reality, content presenting a product will likely require a bigger budget than relatable content packed full of GIFs, or an interview, which is easy to make on your own with an intuitive tool.

5. Choose the right distribution channels

You can create the most out-there, ground-breaking videos the world has ever encountered, but if you don't manage to distribute them properly to your target audience... the only person contributing toward that view count will be you.

So remember to list all the places online where you're active, like a digital marketing footprint.

Here’s some examples of distribution channels you may want to consider:

Website

It's highly recommended to host your content on strategic pages of your website, such as: product pages, landing or sales pages and blog posts. This is a very effective way to increase how long your visitors spend on your website and boost your conversion rates.

YouTube

With over 2 Billion logged-in users visiting YouTube each month, YouTube is THE video platform to publish . However, to be successful on YouTube or ace YouTube B2B marketing, you’ll need to tune in to all the YouTube best practices such as: adding catchy titles, using relevant tags, and including a well-designed final screen – to increase how long viewers spend on your channel.

Social media platforms

If your target audience hangs out on social media, video provides the perfect opportunity to grab their attention. Whether it's Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, or Twitter – each social platform offers you the option to upload them natively, which increases visibility and distribution even further.

Online ads

On Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter Ads, video is a hit. With a click-through rate 7.5 times higher than traditional display ads, this format will give your online advertising plan a major boost and could increase your conversions.

Emails and newsletters

Even if video and email don't seem to get along so well these two formats are, nevertheless, a winning combo. By simply adding the word "video" to your subject line you can expect a 19% increase in opening rates. Attractive, isn't it? Learn more in our guide about video email marketing!

6. Plan the creation of your videos

Start by aligning your video creation with your overall marketing plan. Are any of your product ones linked to a specific product launch? Are other ones scheduled to be released at the same point as your new advertising campaigns or your next white paper? Make sure to plan the release dates so that they fit in with your wider marketing plan.

It's also worth thinking about creating an editorial schedule specifically for your video content. In this editorial schedule, create at least 4 columns:

• The subjects: this will help you visualize the variety of your content and make sure you’re covering a wide range of topics and formats.
• The resources you have at your disposal: think about your technical needs (filming equipment such as a microphone or a camera, or a specific editing tool), but also human needs (people in charge of scripts, storyboards, subtitles, and also a cameraman, video editor, motion designer...)
• The distribution channels you have chosen for each one, and the formats in which you should plan to shoot/edit them
• Shooting, editing and posting dates: the main point of building an editorial schedule is to ensure you can get things done on schedule! With a clear idea of your production and promotion timelines, you’ll be able to stay on track for hitting your video goals.

With this 360-degree approach to your video schedule, you’ll be able to produce a real marketing strategy. Vary the formats and themes, while maintaining a general coherence to the overall style of the videos.

Creating a recurrence in your content plan, such as "Thursday interviews" or "Friday's Top 5", could be a useful way to bring some consistency to the schedule. Check out this blog post to learn more about viral video marketing.

7. Analyze the KPIs of your strategy

Tracking key metrics on a daily basis is essential to determine if you're going in the right direction, or if your video marketing plan is just to please your boss – the big YouTube fan.

But which video KPIs should you choose and monitor closely? The answer depends on the goals you set out to achieve and the channels you decide to use.

Here are a few KPIs that may be of interest to you for tracking the results of your video efforts:

YouTube

• Number of views
• 'Watchtime' on YouTube
• Number of likes
• Number of subscribers to your channel 

Social media networks

• Engagement rate: likes, shares, comments, retweets
• Number of influencers reached on social networks
• Number of impressions your social ads make
• Number of mentions your brand receives

Search engine optimization (SEO)

• Positioning in Google video search results
• Increased time spent on your web pages

Conversion objectives

• Click-through rate on your ads
• Click-through rate on your Youtube videos' final screens
• Increased time spent on your web pages
• Opening and click rate of your newsletters/emails

Commercial and/or after-sales service objectives

• Number of contracts signed where the prospect has watched a video beforehand
• Number of demo requests
• Number of after-sales inquiries related to a problem using the product

Always keep these numbers in the back of your mind, and test different formats or channels, to learn what works best. The advantage of digital is that you can observe the results of the strategies you put in place on a day-to-day basis, to continuously optimize their performance.

8 examples of content marketing videos you can produce 

Now that you understand how to make an effective video strategy, let’s take a look at the top-performing types of marketing videos and examples of companies who do it right!

1. Product or service presentations to pitch your value proposition

These videos serve as product adverts and pitch deck packshots of the modern era. Guaranteeing high ROI, presentations highlight the essential benefits of your offer and what your organization can do for potential customers.

Check out this example from Google in which they introduce their groundbreaking new product, the AI-powered Search Generative Experience (SGE).

2. Interviews to build brand relatability

Interviews with your clients, employees, industry experts or partners are the best way to add a human touch to your videos.

To gain your audience’s trust, you’ll need to build relationships with them. From building brand relatability to establishing your organization as an industry thought leader, interviews can help you connect with your public more directly.

It’s no surprise that video interviews are one of the trendiest - and most effective - video formats right now for getting your message across.

At PlayPlay, we produced a series of interview videos for womens’ day to highlight our incredible employees and to express our commitment to gender equality.

3. Customer testimonials to back up your promise

Testimonial videos put your clients front and center. In an interview format, they typically discuss a problem that they’ve faced, finding your product, and how it helped them to overcome their challenge.

Your target audience would love to see the living proof of your happy clients as they recount their experience of using your product!

This testimonial video by Slack takes us into one of its clients’ workplaces, and we learn how Slack has revolutionized the way this organization communicates.

4. Product demos or tutorials to educate your customers

‘How-to’ queries are some of the most frequently asked questions on search engines. Whether it’s learning a new skill or discovering how to use a new feature, audiences will likely search for resources that show them how to do it.

For brands, tutorial videos are one of the best ‘how to’ resources out there. Not only do tutorials pique the interest of potential customers, but they can also boost customer retention by ensuring users get more out of your product.

High-quality tutorial videos usually feature visuals, screen recordings, and a voice-over to guide viewers through the process, step-by-step. Often they are product-related, but tutorials can also cover any topic that your audience cares about!

Notion’s product is full of possibilities. In this tutorial video, a Notion employee teaches us how to get the most out of a specific feature.

5. Event teasers to boost sign-ups

Your event’s success depends on how well you promote it. No matter how much time and effort you’ve put into the event itself, no one will show up if they haven’t heard about it!

Whether your event is in-person or online, video can help you maximize sign-ups and return on all the effort you put in.

You can easily produce teaser videos to build hype around your event and encourage sign-ups. Highlight key information such as the speakers and the agenda, featuring clips and photos of previous editions (if available). Don’t forget to add a catchy soundtrack and a CTA so viewers know where to register.

In the run up to Ad World Conference, the team at Ad World created this teaser video to communicate the event’s key information about new tracks and boost sign-ups on social media.

6. Social videos to maximize engagement

Social videos are short, fun videos that help your brand’s personality shine through. The goal ? To build an authentic connection with your audience, nurture an active community, and achieve maximum engagement on social media.

This type of content is all about creativity. Tuning in to trends and popular formats on social media such as TikTok and Instagram, use social videos to inspire your followers or make them laugh. Why not use entertainment to teach your audience about a new feature ?

RedBull reminds their audiences what their brand is all about : doing the unthinkable ! In this TikTok video, they’re able to showcase their brand’s core values and inspire their followers to act out of their comfort zone. 

7. Animated videos to illustrate pain points

Need to explain a process with multiple steps or cover a sensitive subject? Animated videos can help you break down complex topics into a bite-sized, engaging format.

On a practical level, the sky really is the limit for these types of videos - you don’t need any actors to depict situations your potential clients may find themselves in, and how your product or services may aid them.

That said, voice-over narration can bring an animated video to life and keep your audience engaged throughout.

Headspace has made meditation accessible for millions of people. Through animations, Headspace explains tricky meditation concepts in an easily digestible and entertaining illustration.

8. Project highlights videos to keep your community in the loop

Got new features in the works? Or recently opened an office in a new country? Get your audience up to speed with a project highlights video!

Your community wants to know what you’ve been up to. Project highlights or quarterly recap videos allow you to provide your followers with a bite-sized rundown of your organization’s recent activity.

On top of that, these videos are a great way to celebrate your employees’ hard work and give them the recognition they deserve.

At PlayPlay, we create a highlights video every quarter to show our community what projects we’ve been working on and to put a spotlight on employee achievements.

7 steps for creating engaging marketing videos 

Follow these 7 steps to create marketing videos that get your message across and make a real impact on your audience - every single time.

1. Define your marketing video goals 

Every video should serve a specific purpose. What are you trying to promote? Do you want to educate your audience? Do you want to guide them on how to use your product? Whatever your goal is, it must be singular and well-defined.

Every video you create should deliver one key message based on the specific goal you identified. By defining your goals, you’ll have a strong idea of the messages you need to get across in each video.

2. Invest in basic filming equipment 

In the age of Instagram and TikTok, anyone with a smartphone can create viral content!

While it’s easier than ever to create videos, it’s still worth investing in some basic equipment to make sure the end result is brand-worthy. Here are some must-haves:

• Camera: Consider investing in a DSLR camera for features that make filming easier, like auto-focus or a sharper resolution. 
• Tripod: No matter how steady your hand is, your audience will definitely notice if you’re not using a tripod. Tripods make your filming smooth and stable, ensuring a professional-quality output. 
• Lapel microphone: Your audience will tune out immediately if your audio has a patchy sound ! Lapel microphones are usually very affordable, easy-to-use, and perfect for recording interviews. 
• Box lighting: Good lighting should never be underestimated, and it’s especially important for interview videos. An affordable 3-point lighting setup will guarantee your scene is well-lit and make sure there aren’t any distracting shadows on speakers’ faces. 

3. Write a rough script 

What’s the purpose of your video? What do you need to communicate and what do you want your audience to learn? In bullet point format, jot down the main messages you want to get across, including a rough outline of who will speak and in what order.

As long as your interviewees get comfortable with the subject-material beforehand and know roughly what questions they’ll be asked, they should be able to respond more naturally.

4. Create a storyboard 

A storyboard is a scene-by-scene sequence of images that serve as your video plan. Think of it as a visual companion to your script, allowing you to visualize your story with greater clarity.

Sketching out your video beforehand will help you to refine your storytelling, while ensuring your filming sessions are well structured and organized. You can outline anything from camera angles and technical equipment to backgrounds and props – the more detailed, the better. That said, it certainly doesn’t have to be perfect. Like your script, you can adapt it as you go along.

In addition a storyboard will save you precious time during the editing process when you’re putting your rushes together.

5. Get organized and start filming 

To make sure your filming goes smoothly, keep these best practices in mind: 

• Reserve the location: Communicate the location, date and time of the shoot well in advance to everyone involved. 
• Set up the scene: From installing your lights to getting your microphones hooked up, ‘fence off’ the area to keep interruptions to a minimum. 
• Warm up: Practice makes perfect. A little warm up will help your ‘actors’ relax and feel more prepared for the recording.
• Record multiple takes: Get at least 3 takes of every scene. You don’t want to wrap up recording only to realize later that a take was ruined by background movement or unwanted sound !

6. Keep your video short

Once you’re done filming, it’s time to start editing it all together.

Upload your rushes and start putting them in order, using your storyboard as a reference to guide you. It’s worth scanning through all your takes to choose the best one for each scene.

Focus on hooking in the viewer early on by creating a compelling intro, such as an eye-catching visual, a sound-bite quote, or a thought-provoking question.

Then, focus on brevity. Unless you’re editing a webinar recording or a long-from tutorial, aim for the 1-minute mark, or keep it under 3 minutes. This gives you enough time to convey your key message, without losing your audience’s attention.

7. Add subtitles, music and CTA 

No video is complete without subtitles, catchy music and a persuasive CTA.

Captions help hook viewers into your story from the get-go – especially those that scroll through social media content without the sound enabled. Subtitles also make your videos more accessible to international or hearing-impaired audiences.

And for those who will hear it, adding music is a great way to set the tone for your video content. Whether you’re looking for a playful mood or a more serious, corporate feel, many content makers offer a whole library of royalty-free tracks to choose from.

And last, but certainly not least, you must finish with a call-to-action. If you’ve managed to get your audience to watch through your video from start to finish, that means they’re interested in what you’ve got to say! Invite them to follow you on social media or check out your website – the CTA you choose will depend on your objective.

Now that you’ve created a video you’re proud of, it’s time to share it with the world!

Create a marketing video in a few clicks with PlayPlay

Are you serious about reaping the benefits of video content ? Then you’ll understand that your success largely depends on having a solid video marketing plan in place.

From researching your target audience and having concrete marketing goals, to knowing exactly what kind of videos to create and where to share them – you’re now fully equipped to launch your strategy.

In fact, you’ve already done most of the work. With a video maker like PlayPlay, making the video content itself is the easy part ! PlayPlay enables anyone in your team to turn any message into a compelling video, in minutes.

With our powerful and intuitive products, the best AI technologies, and our focus on enterprise storytelling, we've enabled over 3,000 companies to make video their main form of communication.

To see what video content can do for your business, try PlayPlay’s 7-day free trial today.