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While consumers are all about online video content, brands have been slow on the uptake. After all, video content takes more time to produce than a quick blog, and it requires more tools and skills that brands often don’t have internally. 

It might seem like more work, but every ounce of effort you put into video content marketing is worth it. In a marketing environment where your biz is starved for mindshare, video content grabs attention and stops thumbs.

If you still aren’t sold on video content, we get it! Learn why video content marketing is so valuable and follow our five expert tips to get more ROI from your investment in video content. 

Why Is Video Content Important?

Do you feel left out because your brand isn’t making videos, but it seems like everyone else is? FOMO might not be a good enough reason for your boss to approve video content marketing, but the stats don’t lie: Video content is crucial to building trust and growing your business. 

Video content marketing matters because:

• Consumers want to see more videos: Shoppers don’t want to see a huge wall of text on your website or social media feed. In fact, 54% of consumers want to see more videos from the brands they support.
• Videos generate leads: Marketing is all about generating more high-quality leads and brand awareness. When you go all-in on video content marketing, you’ll see a 66% boost in qualified leads. 
• Videos encourage engagement: Videos get 2x more engagement than any other type of post on Instagram. The same goes for Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks. So, if you want higher conversion rates and improved engagement metrics, video is a must. 
• Video boosts SEO: That’s right! Users share video content 3x more than any other type of content, which leads to an influx of inbound links to your website. Over time, this translates into better SEO.

5 Tips for Brands to Create Compelling Video Content

Video content marketing is a must for boosting engagement, generating leads, and improving SEO. But if you’re new to video content, planning an effective campaign probably feels overwhelming.

Don’t sweat it. Just follow these five tips to create compelling video content that entertains your followers while promoting your business. 

1. Make a Video Content Marketing Strategy

First things first, you need a plan for how you’ll use video content to market your brand. Every good marketing campaign starts with a strategy, so sit down with your team to make a plan. 

Make sure your video marketing strategy covers: 

• Target audience demographics: Create customer personas if you haven’t already and dive into what, exactly, your followers want to see in your videos. Where in the digital marketing funnel will each video fall? You’ll want to use different videos at different stages of the customer journey, so map this out before you begin filming.
• Goals: What does your business need to accomplish this year? How will video content get you across the finish line? For example, if you want to grow your social media following, add a section to your video content marketing plan that touches on how video will boost your followers. 
• Platforms: You’re probably doing social media marketing, right? Your video content marketing strategy needs to detail which social media platforms, specifically, you’ll share video content on. For example, you might only share one video a month on your website while you focus your energy on churning out Instagram videos instead.
• Topics: YouTube is the world’s second-largest search engine, so it’s a treasure trove of information when it comes to choosing your video topics. What are people searching for? What do they like to watch? See what videos are already out there and how you can put your own unique spin on certain topics to build a following. 

Yes, a video content marketing strategy seems like an extra step. Why does this matter? 

It matters because your strategy will inform the types of videos you make for your biz. 

For example, if you have a direct-to-consumer model, a how-to or tutorial video helps potential customers picture themselves using a new product. But if you have a B2B model, you might need to focus on storytelling or testimonials instead.

2. Amplify Your Videos on the Right Social Channels

When you create a video for your brand, it needs to engage viewers. The thing is, you have to share the right type of video for each video platform. 

Every social platform has its quirks, which means you need to tailor your videos to user preferences on: 

• YouTube: The ideal length for YouTube videos is 7-15 minutes. You can also use YouTube Shorts to upload TikTok-style vertical videos that are no longer than 60 seconds. 
• Instagram: Instagram users prefer short videos. The platform allows 60-second videos to live on your feed, but to get the most engagement, you’ll want to keep the video around 30 seconds. 
• TikTok: TikTok allows you to upload three-minute videos, but 9-15 second videos perform best.
• Twitter: Tweets with videos are 600% more likely to be retweeted compared to tweets with just an image. Twitter videos can be up to 140 seconds, although they perform best if they’re 45 seconds. 
• Facebook: Viewers tend to watch 1-3 minutes of Facebook video content before tuning out. 

Aside from tailoring the video length to each platform, you should also diversify how you share videos. So, if you frequently post in-feed videos on Instagram, you should try Instagram Live video, Stories, or Reels to jazz things up. The same advice applies to Facebook—do a Facebook Live from time to time to keep your followers engaged.

3. Optimize Video Content for SEO

Because more and more people are making video content, it’s harder to get ranked on Google’s video results or on YouTube—but that doesn’t mean you can’t try to become number one in the algorithm!

Search engines like Google aren’t able to “see” video content, but that doesn’t mean you can’t optimize your videos. In fact, some of the most successful brands make a few small tweaks to their videos for a big SEO boost. 

Follow these quick tips to optimize every video you upload for more search engine visibility: 

• Optimize video metadata: Add your target keywords in the name of the video file itself, its header, in the description, and in the video tags. This is an easy win that most brands overlook!
• Add captions: This is a must for accessibility purposes, but it also allows search engines to “see” your video content thanks to the text. 
• Prioritize one video per page: If you’re adding videos on your website, keep in mind that search engines usually only index one video on a landing page. If you really need to put two videos on one page, make sure you place the one you want indexed higher on the page. 

4. Partner With Influencers to Create Content

Is your head already spinning? We understand. Creating video content is a lot of work, especially if you have a small internal marketing team. 

That’s why so many brands partner with content creators and influencers to make their video content. Not only do you work with an expert who already knows the ins and outs of video production, but you also get immediate access to their audience. It’s a win-win!

Influencers know what consumers want to see. As long as you partner with the right influencer, you can lean on them for: 

• Video ideas
• Scripting
• Filming
• Editing
• Promotion and marketing

Whether you want to do an account takeover, an explainer video, demos, or behind-the-scenes sneak peeks, influencer video content will help you master video marketing for less hassle. 

Need help spotting the right influencer? Markerly’s full-service influencer campaign management platform matches your business with influencers who are already masters at video content.

5. Use the Right Video Content Marketing Tools

Whether you make content internally or rely on influencers for an assist, you still need a handful of tools to do video content marketing right. Everyone’s tech stack is different, but these seven tools are a great starting point: 

• Filming equipment: You don’t need a lot to start filming, but you do need the basics. Make sure someone on your team has a high-quality camera on their phone. You also might want to buy a microphone and ring light for filming. 
• TubeBuddy: TubeBuddy is a must for growing your YouTube channel. It has a free browser extension for optimizing your videos, but the paid version also includes helpful keyword research, templates, and analytics.
• Adobe Premiere Pro: Sure, you can use a free video editing app on your iPhone, but if you want a lot of firepower with your video content, go with Adobe Premiere Pro. 
• Vidyard: Vidyard has a free option that allows you to capture your face, screen, and mic all at once. It’s great for recording webinars or software demos. 
• Vyond: If you don’t want to be on camera yourself, you can use Vyond to create animated videos.
• Adobe Stock: Adobe Stock has a library of royalty-free stock footage that you can buy to create more professional-looking video content. 
• Otter.ai: Otter.ai transcribes video or podcast audio, which is perfect for accessibility and SEO.

The Key to Better Video Content Marketing: Influencers

Who says video content has to be a hassle? With the right approach, you can boost engagement, connect with more new customers, and even boost SEO with quality video content. 

Follow these five tips to ramp up your video content marketing efforts. If you need help with the filming or promotion process, lean on Markerly’s network of pro content creators and influencers. See how we help brands recruit the best influencers for video content marketing.