It’s easy to see why video content marketing is increasing in popularity these days. For one thing, video content is in an easy-to-digest format that requires little to no textual information––making it easy on the eyes and brain. This is why it’s not surprising that one statistic shows the world reportedly watches one billion hours of YouTube videos per day.
If you’re trying to market your business online, you must understand the power of video content as a marketing tool. Creating good video content isn’t about aesthetics; it’s about connecting your audience through meaningful, emotional videos that empower and inspire your viewers.
If your previous video content marketing strategy has fallen flat––try this instead.
Know the Message You Want to Convey
Before you can start creating stellar, thought-provoking video content, you need to know what message you want to convey to your audience. Take some time to ask yourself these questions before you begin the video-making process:
- Who is this video for?
- What is the message you want to tell your audience?
- What emotions do you want to provoke in your audience? Do you want them to feel excited? Scared? Surprised? Inspired?
- What does your video teach your audience?
Essentially, people don’t watch videos; they watch stories. With this in mind, try to use your content to tell a story.
Create Original Content
Although video content is easy to find on social media––just open your app––it’s hard to find original content. Content that makes you stop mindlessly scrolling and pay attention. Original content also means original ideas. Reusing the same concepts over and over again is not original, and your viewers will not engage with it.
Consider your audience:
- Who are they?
- What is important to your audience?
- Are you speaking their language?
- Do they find your information useful?
Knowing your audience is an important part of creating original, effective content.
Create a Storyboard
Once you have a clear understanding of the content you want to create, come up with a visual storyboard to flesh out your ideas. Think of a storyboard like a skeletal structure of the video-making process; it helps keep your ideas organized sequentially so that the video-making process becomes a lot simpler.
While you’re creating a storyboard, keep these key elements in mind:
- A strong introduction to hook your audience.
- Obstacles that get in the way of the goal.
- The turning point where everything turns around.
- The resolution or happy ending of your story.
While the above ingredients are usually the key to great, thought-provoking video content, you can switch around certain aspects or adjust the structure depending on the type of video you’re making. You can use a storyboard to sell a product, inspire change, offer solutions, and showcase your company.
Make Your Audience Feel Something
Content that sparks strong emotions among users is most likely to go viral. Why?
Many studies have shown that emotions like happiness, anger, or sorrow have the power to engage people online. Be careful only to use emotional content when necessary, as insincerity can backfire and cause a negative reaction among your audience.
But, when emotional moments are necessary––be sincere, be honest, and be empathetic.
