What type of content do you primarily create?
If you're not incorporating video in your marketing strategy, you're essentially conceding defeat to competitors who are. That may sound dramatic, but video isn’t just another marketing channel—in this day and age, it’s an indispensable tool for engaging your audience and making sales.
Research by Wyzowl found that of the 91% of businesses that use video as a marketing tool, almost all consider it an important part of their strategy. If you want to join their company, you need a process in place. This guide to video marketing strategy explains exactly how to do it.
What is video marketing?
Video marketing is the use of video content to promote your brand or product across different platforms. Compared to traditional forms of content marketing (which might involve static images or written content), video marketing is more dynamic and engaging. That’s what makes it so effective at capturing attention and building audiences.
In a well-executed video marketing strategy, each video is crafted with specific marketing goals—things like brand awareness, conversions, or customer engagement.
Consider a few different types of video content:
- Short-form video ads
- Educational webinars
- Livestreams
- Product demos
- Vlogs
- Animated videos
Each of these can be effective depending on your marketing goals. Metrics such as view count, click-through rate, and conversion rate will help evaluate the success of your video marketing strategy and fine-tune your content going forward.
3 benefits of video marketing
Here are a few more benefits marketers can reap from video content.
Higher engagement
One of the most compelling benefits of video marketing is its increased engagement levels. According to Wyzowl, the average person watches 17 hours of video per week, and the average retention rate for videos is around 54%.
Videos are more captivating than text or images. Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels have demonstrated that firsthand: Short-form videos posted on either platform can go viral overnight, reaching millions of people and making a lot of brands household names in the process.
Improved SEO and search visibility
Video content isn't just for social media marketing. It's also a powerful SEO tool.
Search engines like Google prioritize high-quality, relevant video content in their rankings. Google, in particular, owns YouTube—so if you make just about any Google search, you’ll be greeted by a handful of video suggestions on the first page.
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You can reach more people through your video production by implementing SEO best practices. Educational videos, how-to tutorials, and product videos will get more views if they’re published strategically for higher visibility on search engines—and it’s worth saying that Google and YouTube are the two largest search engines in the world.
Higher conversion rates
The end goal of any marketing strategy is to drive conversions, whether that’s sales, email signups, or visits to your retail store.
Video content can guide new customers through the marketing funnel more effectively than other types of marketing content. For instance, 76% of people rely on customer testimonial videos as social proof when making purchasing decisions.
By integrating video into your overall marketing plan, you're not just keeping up with digital marketing trends; you're taking advantage of a versatile marketing tool that offers tangible benefits in engagement, SEO, and conversions.
7 video marketing strategies to improve your chances of success
Many factors play into what videos you'll create, how you'll make them, and how to measure success. Here's an overview of the video marketing strategies you can launch.
- Content calendar
- Platform-specific strategy
- Audience segmentation
- Keyword and SEO strategy
- Video storytelling
- Collaboration and partnerships
- Interactive video content strategy
Content calendar strategy
A content calendar is more than an organizational tool. It helps both with strategy and with staying consistent. Content calendars are best for businesses that need to coordinate lots of video content, but they’re applicable to just about any industry.
For example, an ecommerce business can map out a content calendar for the three-month lead-up to the holiday season. That content calendar can be something as simple as:
- October: Publish three how-to videos for festive home decor.
- November: Publish four customer testimonials on TikTok to build credibility.
- December: Publish daily short-form videos on TikTok or Instagram Reels spotlighting our best holiday deals.
A video content calendar also helps you keep up with video metrics, so you know what video types performed well and when. You’ll have an easier time mapping each video to your best metrics.
For a more streamlined process, consider using specialized software like Descript. Its video editor not only helps in the video production process, but also allows you to organize your video projects, making it easier to stick to your content calendar.
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Platform-specific strategy
Don't make the mistake of creating and using one video across all platforms—if you do, your video views may suffer. Not all video platforms are created equal.
Tailor your video production techniques to the platform you're targeting. Here are some guidelines based on the most popular video sharing platforms:
- For LinkedIn, focus on high-quality, professional videos that speak to your industry.
- For videos on TikTok and Instagram, create more off-the-cuff content that’s not overly produced for a more genuine feel.
- YouTube favors long-form content that keeps viewers engaged from beginning to end.
Audience segmentation strategy
Knowing your target audience is crucial for any marketing strategy—video included. The more you know about the people you’re trying to reach, the better you can create videos that speak to them.
Many video marketers overlook audience segmentation, which is when you identify subgroups within your target audience. Consider segmenting your audience based on a few relevant demographics, including:
- Age
- Location
- Online behavior (such as which creators they follow)
- Challenges and pain points
- Purchase history
Segmentation allows you to create video content with more tailored messaging. For example, explainer videos can target potential customers with a specific problem your product solves. By helping people, you can build trust and get them to sign up for your newsletter or follow your brand on Instagram.
On the other hand, customer testimonial videos can be aimed at those nearing the end of the buyer's journey who need proof that your product actually works.
Keyword and SEO strategy
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a strategy that increases your odds of appearing in your target customer’s search results.
Here’s how to get started with a video SEO strategy:
- Do keyword research. Identify high search-volume keywords for eco-friendly products, like "sustainable living" or "green cleaning tips."
- Optimize video titles. Incorporate your target keywords in compelling video titles and use them to help guide your video creation. For example, if you come across “green cleaning tips” as a popular keyword, your next TikTok video could be: "5 green cleaning tips for a sustainable home."
- Optimize video descriptions: Use keywords naturally in the description as a way to add context and help viewers understand the content. This helps search platforms like YouTube and Google understand what your video is about.
- Write voiceover scripts. If your video includes voiceover narration, weave keywords into the script. For example, mention how your product contributes to "sustainable living."
- Optimize thumbnails. A thumbnail is the image someone sees before clicking your video. Create eye-catching thumbnails that convince people to click through with bright colors, bold text, and photos of people.
- Add tags and metadata. Categorize YouTube videos by tagging them. Use your shortlisted keywords as tags for the video and in any additional metadata fields.
For example, Grammarly optimizes this video for the keyword how to write a job description with AI. Related keywords, such as qualifications, responsibilities, and generative AI, are mentioned in the video description to help YouTube’s algorithm understand the context of its video.
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Video storytelling strategy
According to behavioral scientist Dr. Jennifer Aaker of Stanford University, stories are remembered up to 22 times more than facts alone. It’s why so many brands use storytelling as a tool to make their videos more engaging and memorable.
Storytelling could be as simple as a well-crafted how-to video based on a relatable scenario, or as complex as a series of animated videos that take the viewer on a narrative journey.
Collaboration and partnership strategy
Two ideas are better than one, especially when it comes to expanding your reach. When you combine influencer marketing with video, it makes for a powerful collaboration with the potential to introduce your brand to a whole new audience. That’s why 60% of marketers cite influencer marketing as one of the strategies with the highest return on investment (ROI).
Check out the Gymshark and Leana Deeb collaboration announcement for some inspiration. The TikTok video is short (just 12 seconds long) and teases an upcoming collection. The caption also tells the emotional behind-the-scenes story of how Leena and Gymshark came together.
Interactive content strategy
According to Wyzowl, videos are shared twice as much as other types of content. That figure gets even higher when the video is interactive.
Interactive videos are a unique way to engage your audience. With interactive elements like clickable links, embedded forms, or a simple call to action (CTA), you’re giving the viewer clear direction on what to do next—rather than leaving them to scroll past your video and onto the next one they see.
This video marketing tip is particularly effective for educational content and webinars, where viewers can take immediate action while the information is fresh. But it can also work for direct-to-consumer content on platforms like Instagram, where you can add product tags to the items in your video.
6 steps to create a successful video marketing strategy
- Set clear goals and objectives
- Identify your target audience
- Plan and create your video
- Edit your video
- Distribute your video
- Promote and track video performance
1. Set clear goals and objectives
Before you press record, know what you want to achieve with your video marketing strategy. Are you aiming for brand awareness, increased conversions, or customer engagement? Your goals will guide every decision you make, from the types of video you create to the platforms you use for distribution.
Use SMART goals to ensure you're setting ambitious and attainable objectives. For example, “Increase brand awareness by achieving 10,000 views on a new series of how-to videos within the next three months” would be a good goal because it’s:
- Specific: It relies on an exact target number of views, rather than something vague like “improve engagement.”
- Measurable: You can track the number of views, likes, and shares on each video using analytics tools.
- Achievable: You can use past video performance and current growth rates to tell that 10,000 views within three months is a realistic target.
- Relevant: Increasing brand awareness through high video views aligns with the broader marketing effort of expanding your customer base.
- Time-bound: It has a due date. The goal is to achieve this within a three-month timeframe.
2. Identify your target audience
You can only create compelling video content if you know who you're talking to. Perform market research to identify your target audience's demographics, preferences, and pain points.
Let's say you're a video marketer for a fitness app that offers different workout plans. Start by conducting an online survey and analyzing user data from your app.
From this research, you pinpoint three primary segments within your target audience. You can now tailor your video content to resonate with each audience segment's needs and interests.
3. Plan and create your video
Now that you know your goals, audience segments, and the video types you’ll create for each, it's time to plan and create your content.
Think about the topics your audience is most likely to be interested in. This is where competitive analysis shines—especially if you know the other brands, creators, or influencers your target audience already follows. What content performs best on their profile? What style of video gets the most engagement?
Create a storyboard to outline the flow of your video. Walk people through a story by giving your video a beginning, middle, and end—with B-roll mixed in to keep your audience engaged.
4. Edit your video
Quality matters, so it’s a good idea to invest in quality video production equipment or consider outsourcing the work to professionals.
In the editing phase, focus on creating a compelling narrative that keeps viewers engaged while paying attention to lighting, sound, and video quality. A tool like Descript simplifies video production by allowing you to edit or rearrange content without specialized video editing skills.
Descript Video Editing 101: From Newbie to Pro!
With Descript’s video editor, you can:
- Edit video by editing text—like a video word processor
- Fix audio mistakes by creating an AI clone of your voice
- Remove filler words in one click
- Change the aspect ratio of your video depending on where it’ll be published
- Scale and position layers of audio, video, images, and GIFs
5. Distribute your video
At this stage, the editing, sound design, and video graphics are done. But brand videos will only achieve your marketing goals if people see them.
Decide where you'll publish your videos. That could be:
- Social media channels
- Video sharing sites like YouTube
- Your website or landing page
- As part of an email marketing campaign
Each platform has its best practices for video optimization, so tailor your distribution strategy accordingly. For instance, short-form videos perform well on TikTok, while educational webinars are more suited for LinkedIn. Refer to your research in step two to know what content will be published where.
6. Promote and track video performance
Your videos are probably live at this stage—but the work is hardly over. To know whether your social media videos, SEO, and paid advertising have paid off, you’ll need to measure performance.
Track metrics like view count, click-through rate, and conversion rate to gauge the success of your video marketing campaign. With that data on hand, use your findings to refine future content and fine tune your distribution strategy.
Video marketing metrics to pay attention to include:
- Impressions and views: Impressions are the number of people exposed to your video; views are how many times it was played. A high impression to view ratio signals your video was interesting enough to stop viewers from scrolling past it.
- Engagement rate: The percentage of people who see and interact with your video (such as liking or commenting). This metric measures the effectiveness of each video in keeping the audience's attention.
- Conversion rate: The percentage of people who convert after seeing your video, by doing things like making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter.
4 video marketing examples
Product demos and tutorials
Use video to showcase how your product works and solves specific problems for the user. Apple frequently releases product tutorials and demos—like this one for the iPhone 15—to help users get the most out of their devices.
Customer testimonials
Feature real customers sharing their experiences with your product or service. In this example, Tesla uses customer testimonials to build trust and show potential buyers the real-world benefits of owning one of its cars.
Educational videos
Video is a great format to educate people on your industry, product, or service. Moz's Whiteboard Friday series, for example, teaches viewers about various aspects of SEO, establishing the brand as an industry authority.
Live streaming
Engage with your audience in real time to answer questions, showcase products, or offer a glimpse behind the scenes. In this video marketing example, Adobe Creative Cloud hosts live video streams to demonstrate how professionals use their software for creative projects.
All-in-one video production: record, edit, and publish with Descript
Video editing can be complicated and overwhelming. But if you can edit a document, you can create professional videos in Descript.
Descript helps with the heavy lifting required to produce online video. With it, you can:
- Use Studio Sound to remove background noise
- Make videos more accessible with automated subtitles
- Create shareable pages for your video in one click
- Remove filler words like “um” and “uh”
- Export files in various video formats suited to popular distribution channels
Take a tour today and see why thousands of creators love Descript.
Frequently asked questions
Why are videos a good marketing strategy?
Compared to text alone, videos engage multiple senses simultaneously, making content more memorable, persuasive, and digestible. Video can also convey complex ideas or stories concisely, building emotional connections with viewers and encouraging greater interaction and sharing.
How do you run a video marketing campaign?
- Outline your goals
- Identify your target audience
- Produce your video
- Use video editing software
- Share your video
- Engage with your audience
- Track video metrics
How do you present a video strategy?
When presenting a video strategy, provide clear objectives and target audiences, and explain how the video content will address specific pain points, desires, or interests of those audiences. Include a distribution and promotion plan, which shows how and where you’ll share content so it reaches the right audience.
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