Just like all other content, videos will provide the most value when they are planned and produced in the long-term and with clear goals. Each video you produce for your business must have a clear purpose, goals and fitting distribution channels to provide value by reaching the intended audience and prompting them to take action.
We've put together this 6 step guide to help you stay focused as you plan out your video productions for the future.
Table of contents
3. Define the distribution channels
1. Define the goal
What are you hoping to change by using video? Are you looking for an increase in incoming leads, or to improve your top-of-mind positioning?
In order for video to be useful for your business goals, you must define which goals they're to help you with. A good rule of thumb to producing videos is that a single video should only attempt to solve a single problem. The more concrete your problem, the easier it gets to build a video to solve it.
Without a goal, any money you pour into the production will mostly be wasted. One way of defining a goal for your video production is the SMART-framework.
SMART stands for:
Specific. The video (or marketing action) needs to have a clear and exact goal. Without one all the time and money spent will be in vain.
Measurable. The goal needs to be something that can be measured. Only by measuring results can there be an evaluation if the video was a step in the right direction or not.
Attainable. The goal needs to be realistically attainable.
Relevant. The goal needs to support the business and be part of a larger whole. It also needs to take into account channel specific details - for an example on social media it's rarely useful to measure how many viewed the video to the end.
Timely. The goal should have a clear deadline, for example end of quarter or end of year.
2. Define the target audience
Who is the target audience of your video? What is important to them, and how far are they in the purchasing process?
It won't matter how high-quality the final video is, if it doesn't reach the target audience's eyes. By defining your target audience you are also simultaneously defining the distribution channel and tone for the video - where your target audience is will be your distribution channel, and the distribution channel will be setting limitations to the tone and format of your video.
To figure out your target audience, consider these questions: What challenges or troubles do we solve for the customer? What details does the customer consider before purchasing? Can we communicate those details about our product? What are things the customer appreciates or doesn't appreciate?
Your target audience could also be found by observing where in the purchasing process they are. The purchasing process is typically split into the following stages:
- Awareness – The customer has noticed a need or problem
In the awareness stage, your video should aim to communicate that you have a solution for this particular problem. You will be aiming for reach and engagement, so your brand will stay in the customer's mind as they move on to the consideration stage. - Consideration – The customer is actively looking for a solution
You want the customer to consider you as the provider of the solution. You will offer them something in return for their contact information - a phone number or email - so you can continue to communicate your solution to them so they will take action.
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Action – Comparing solutions and making a purchase
You continue to communicate your offering to the customer, convincing them to choose you over your competition. When the time is ripe, you'll target the customer with an offer they don't want to miss. -
Nurturing – Keeping in touch and delighting
You've landed the sale, and now you want them to stay with you for as long as possible. You offer guidance, tips, tricks and stories from other users in hopes of delighting the customer.
3. Define the distribution channels
Once you know your target audience, you'll have some insight of where they spend their time. Are they actively watching tv, or instead do they scroll YouTube and TikTok? Are they the type that silently watches, or do they engage with other people on their platform of choice?
Understanding the features of different distribution channels is a key factor for the success of your video. Thinking that you can handle several different channels with a single video is not only outdated, but a dangerous misconception. As you decide on the most important distribution channels you'll also figure out other important details - the format and tone for your video.
A quick look at different channels
Different distribution channels offer different options for showing your video. These can typically be split into skippable and non-skippable formats. Non-skippable formats tend to be more expensive to run a campaign on, and they can also vary in the limitations they set on your video's story arc. Some channels will also offer other elements that will surround your video, such as copy text and CTA buttons.
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YouTube: 16:9 aspect ratio, 6 seconds non-skippable, 10 seconds or a minute and over
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Web-tv: 16:9 aspect ratio
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LinkedIn: 16:9, 1:1 or 9:16 aspect ratios with copy text and CTA button options
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Twitter: 1:1
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Facebook & Instagram Story: 9:16 aspect ratio, 60 second maximum per story, limited copy text and CTA button options
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Facebook & Instagram feed: 1:1 or 4:5 with copy text and CTA button options
4. Define the call-to-action
Your call-to-action is deeply intertwined with the stage of the purchasing process that you're targeting. Pushing for conversions when your target audience is still in the awareness stage won't help you reach your goals.
Your call-to-action also depends on the distribution channel and what it offers you. On social media platforms it will make sense to prompt the viewer to follow or subscribe, but not so much when the video is being shown on television or web-tv. Similarily, if the call to action is within the video itself, its' design will depend on the distribution channel. The viewer can click a button-like element overlaid in the video and land on the landing page when they see it on their feed or as a website ad banner, but with a television ad you will likely need to go with a audio-visual prompt, such as "learn more on our website" or "call us".
Tactful, whimsical or downright abstract? There are multiple options for your video's tone of voice.
Defining the tone can be hard, but there is a method to the madness. By having defined your video's goal, target audience and main distribution channel, you've already built the foundations. Your goal will guide you to the main format of the video.
- For awareness, you should have a brand film that conscisely communicates who you are, or explainer video that clears up any questions regarding your product or service.
- For consideration, you can produce testimonials with existing users and demos to showcase how to use your product or service.
- For action, you'll be doing more tactical videos that speak to the viewer's need; for example their sense of urgency of getting their car checked up or that new pair of winter shoes.
- For nurturing you'll be less pushy, providing supportive content in the form of instructions and FAQs, maybe even some user generated content will make it's way to you for you to share.
Another thing to consider is emotions. Your video should aim to evoke some kind of emotion in the viewer. Understanding your target audience will guide you to finding the best tone for your video. For a cumbersome chore like getting the car checked up, you could directly speak to that feeling of frustration. In the case of winter shoes, you could provide a slightly comical glimpse into a future where a blizzard has frozen all footpaths, causing people to slip around like a deer on ice without proper winter shoes to support them.
Understanding what you offer and how your product or service is perceived and more importantly, experienced, by your customers is a key thing to defining the tone and format that suits your goals.
6. Define your metrics
In today's metrics filled world it's easy to think that all you need are the numerics for impressions, reach and engagements. However, your metrics should always be defined by your primary goal. Looking at impressions when your goal isn't to increase awareness for your brand is a waste of your time and resources.
Defining your metrics should usually come easily if you've cleared step 1 where you define your goal.
Increasing awareness for your brand
Awareness campaigns aim for one thing - leaving a lasting impression in the target audience's mind. For this you will want to reach your target audience as widely as possible. To gain an understanding of how well your video resonates with your audience, you'll be looking at how many viewed the video, as well as for how long. Engagements can also give you an idea of how your video was received.
Influencing your target audience
When it comes to influencing, you will be needing a long-term plan and actions. One way of measuring your influence is customer research. Has your image changed within your target audience compared to last year, or the year before that? What are your customers saying about you in feedback forms and on the internet?
Increasing sales
When your goal is to increase sales, you'll be looking closely at conversion percentages. Depending on your specific conversion setup, the conversion point could be directly on the landing page or, typically in the case of B2B sales, somewhere in the future. It will be important that your link and click trackings are top notch so that you will have visibility whether or not your video truly did drive people to convert.
Improving customer experience
Improving customer service starts with figuring out which part of the experience can be improved with video. Are certain questions constantly being asked from your customer service team, which could be answered in video format instead? Could you share tips and tricks for using the product or service with videos you send via email to the customers?
After figuring out all these, you should have a rather clear idea of the video you're going to be producing, regardless of if you're having it produced externally or internally. We also warmly suggest using our handy Video Brief template for communicating all these details to your team and higher-ups.
As Finland's only full-service video agency we can help you not just with the production, but all the steps leading to it and after it. Let's keep in touch!
