A Guide to Planning Your Video Content Strategy

Video assets are no longer a “nice to have” in today’s competitive markets. We expect to be able to watch videos to learn and gain valuable insight into the products and services that we find interesting. In today's digital landscape, video content has become a cornerstone of marketing strategies across all industries. However, the lack of a strategic plan and a heavy dose of marketing “ADD” often leads to a scattergun approach, with companies churning out content without a clear purpose or direction. Not only does this waste time, money, and resources it may fail to deliver the desired impact and prevent you from planning for the future.

Step 1: The Foundation: Clarity of Purpose

The first and most crucial step in video content planning is establishing a clear goal for your project. Ask yourself:

1. Who is your target audience? Who is your secondary audience?

2. What are the primary messages you want to convey?

3. What is the intended impact you hope to achieve?

Having a clear goal for the project is often the clarity of purpose that serves as the north star for your entire video production process, guiding decisions on everything from script writing to visual style.

Step 2: Maximizing Interview Opportunities

One often overlooked aspect of strategic video planning is the ability to maximize interview opportunities. When you have access to key figures like CEOs or industry experts, it's crucial to think beyond the current project and consider other topics from which their perspective could be leveraged. Here's how to make the most of these valuable interactions:

First, prepare a comprehensive set of questions that covers both current and potential future projects. Be sure to prioritize the most important questions first in the event the calendar of the interview subject changes. However, with questions prepared for future videos, you’ll have the opportunity to produce videos at a later date without having to impose on that person.

Next, consider the various channels you’ll want to use clips from the interviews. For example, will the interview you’re conducting with the CEO also be cut into shorter clips for LinkedIn or Twitter? If so, you may want to create questions that will make for dynamic and insightful social posts. Be sure the interviews allow for versatile content that can be repurposed across multiple campaigns.

Finally, when transcribing each interview, create a document that can be used as a repository of quotes that can be drawn upon for various marketing initiatives throughout the year. Update the document regularly to identify quotes that have been used and use it to plan future campaigns.
This approach not only saves time and resources in the long run but also ensures a consistent message across your video content.

Step 3: Prioritizing Content and Distribution Channels

Strategic video planning ultimately means getting smart about how you organize your content. Start by deciding which footage to edit now and what to save for later. Group similar interviews together and pick out key soundbites. Think about where you'll share your videos - like social media, emails, or websites - and choose clips that fit each platform best. This way, you'll have a clear plan for turning your raw footage into effective content for different audiences. 

Once the platforms are identified, tailor your content to fit the specific requirements of each platform. Think about the use of graphics, music, and even the orientation of the clip - landscape or portrait mode? 

Finally, consider how your content will be integrated into other marketing efforts, such as pay-per-click ads or social media. Often when businesses produce a 2-3 minute video, they’ll email the video to customers and prospects. Perhaps that video can also be used as part of a recruiting campaign or on a conversion landing page. Think through the many places your new video content could be implemented.

By mapping out these details in advance, you'll ensure that every piece of footage serves a specific purpose and aligns with your overall marketing strategy.

Step 4: The Power of a Comprehensive Shot List

Armed with a clear understanding of your goals, interview strategy, and distribution plan, it’s time to take on the tough part: getting and staying organized. When trying to capture footage for multiple projects you’ll want to create a comprehensive shot list. Even the sharpest video producer can get confused when trying to capture footage for multiple projects. When developing a shot list, compartmentalize the filming session into a few buckets. First, organize the interview questions into buckets, or projects. This will help you stay focused on a specific part of the project. 

Secondly, determine what corresponding b-roll footage you’ll need for each project. Sometimes, when you’re producing a primary video that same b-roll footage can be used in shorter versions of the project. However, if you have an interview with a CEO for a company culture piece, for example, you may need completely different b-roll footage if the CEO is going to comment on the company’s quality control processes.

Finally, think about how you’d like to frame up each interview. If the videos will ultimately be used for social media, you may want to film with a 9x16 or 3x4 aspect ratio, which will give you a “portrait” mode finish. However, if the video is going to be used on the company website and in email campaigns, the interview would be captured more in “landscape” mode.

Regardless, a thoughtful and well-crafted shot list ensures that you capture all necessary footage during your filming session, minimizing the need for costly reshoots or compromises in post-production.

Step 5: Measuring Success and Iterating

Of course, producing a video doesn’t ensure it will be a success. For that matter, do you have a definition of success for the project? If not, be clear about your intent and define what success “looks like.” Setting SMART goals with clear KPIs for each video will help you know if your efforts have been fruitful. 

As you implement your video into your marketing efforts, analyze the performance against the KPIs that you’ve established. These could be anything from views to open rates to time spent on a website page. If the results are not meeting your expectations, refine your approach and create a cycle of continuous improvement. One of the benefits of digital marketing is that it’s easy to make adjustments, unlike the old “print” days when changes were virtually impossible after publishing.

By adopting a strategic approach to video content planning, marketers can significantly enhance the effectiveness of their campaigns while optimizing resource allocation. This method ensures that every video produced serves a specific purpose, resonates with its intended audience, and contributes to broader marketing objectives.

Remember, the key to success in video marketing isn't just about creating more content—it's about creating the right content, for the right audience, on the right platforms. By following this strategic guide, you'll be well on your way to producing video content that truly moves the needle for your business.