In today’s digital era, the power of video marketing is indisputable. Engaging visual content captures attention, facilitates understanding, and inspires action like no other medium. Among the various forms of digital marketing, video production stands out as a compelling strategy to reach and engage a target audience.
Understanding the Basics of Digital Marketing Video Production
Understanding the basics of digital marketing video production is the stepping-stone to your journey.
By employing a narrative-centric approach, businesses can convey complex messages in a relatable and impactful way. A framework that effectively combines these principles is Donald Miller’s StoryBrand framework, which presents a unique perspective on crafting compelling brand stories.
The StoryBrand framework is predicated on the timeless power of stories. Its central premise is that every good story, and by extension every successful brand, includes seven key elements: a character, a problem, a guide, a plan, a call to action, potential failure, and success. By aligning your brand messaging around this narrative structure, you can effectively position your brand as the guide who helps the character — your customer — overcome a problem and succeed.
But should you invest in video? What kind of ROI can be expected? Well, according to a recent survey by OptinMonster, video marketing continues to drive traffic and sales for business owners:
- 96% of video marketers say video marketing has increased customers’ understanding of their product or service
- 95% say video marketing has helped them increase brand awareness
- 91% say video marketing has helped them increase internet traffic
- 90% say video marketing has helped them generate leads
- 87% say video marketing has helped them increase sales
- 92% say video gives them a good return on their investment
Identifying the Best Platforms for Video Production
The best platforms for digital video include:
YouTube: YouTube, with its long-form content, is a storytelling haven for comprehensive narratives. It lets you dive deep into your brand’s story, offering an intricate and detailed overview of your products, company ethos, or customer testimonials. Utilize this space to portray a series of events or an educational journey, presenting your brand’s message within a complex, layered narrative that evolves.
Facebook and Instagram: Platforms like Facebook and Instagram offer an opportunity to tell bite-sized yet impactful stories. Instagram reels provide a creative space to captivate a younger audience with snappy, catchy content.
LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a professional platform where your stories can take a more formal and industry-focused angle. Here, your narratives can revolve around thought leadership, industry trends, or success stories, resonating with professionals who are seeking valuable insights and updates within your sector. In addition, LinkedIn’s environment encourages narratives that establish authority and expertise, making it a go-to place for B2B marketing.
TikTok: TikTok, a platform known for its vibrant and engaging content, offers an opportunity to share fun, entertaining stories. With its viral nature, your brand’s narrative can reach far and wide, especially if it taps into trending topics or challenges. On TikTok, your stories can convey the more lively and human aspects of your brand, appealing to a younger demographic eager for content that is as entertaining as it is informative.
In essence, the selection of the right platform for your digital marketing video production should consider not only the demographic match but also the narrative structure best suited for the platform.
Exploring Different Types of Digital Video Content
The type of digital video content you produce significantly shapes the story you are trying to tell. Whether it’s a story of enlightenment, transformation, heroic product feats, or educational growth, the video type sets the tone and structure for your narrative. By selecting the right video genre for your story, you can ensure your message is conveyed in the most compelling and impactful manner.
Explainer videos: Explainer videos are the ‘how-to’ guides of the digital world, perfect for sharing knowledge or demystifying complex concepts. These videos narrate the ‘journey of understanding,’ starting from the point of confusion or ignorance and leading to clarity and enlightenment.
Testimonial videos: Testimonial videos are the realm of personal stories, offering an opportunity to showcase narratives of transformation. These stories are incredibly powerful and can resonate emotionally as they depict real customers sharing their experiences with your brand. Use these narratives to paint a picture of before and after, highlighting the journey your customers have taken with your brand and the difference it has made in their lives.
Product demo videos: Product demo videos are the ideal space to tell the story of your product in action. This is a chance to depict your product as the hero of its own tale, showcasing how it overcomes challenges (the customers’ pain points) and saves the day. Through this narrative, customers can visualize themselves using the product, enabling them to see the real-life benefits and value it can offer.
Educational videos: Educational videos, while similar to explainer videos, can delve into broader topics, presenting extensive knowledge within your brand’s field of expertise. They tell the story of learning and growth, offering value to your audience and positioning your brand as a thought leader in your industry. The narrative arc for these videos often follows a journey from curiosity to wisdom, making the viewer feel empowered and informed.
Developing a Video Production Strategy
Crafting a video production strategy is akin to plotting a grand narrative arc. It’s a strategic story where your brand, audience, and content intersect, creating a path toward achieving your marketing goals.
Understand your audience: Understanding your audience is the first chapter of your strategic narrative. Think of your audience as the protagonist in your story. Their needs, desires, and pain points should guide the trajectory of your plot.
Define your objectives: Defining your objectives lays out the climax of your narrative, the peak where the protagonist achieves their goal, which aligns with your brand’s aim. For example, it might be brand awareness, lead generation, customer retention, or sales conversion.
Align your message: Aligning your messaging creates the voice and tone of your narrative. This is the dialogue in your story, conveying your brand’s values, offers, and unique selling propositions. This messaging should resonate with your audience and drive your narrative forward.
Plan your budget: Planning your budget defines the production value of your story. For example, a higher budget might allow for more dramatic cinematography, professional actors, or advanced animation. Conversely, a tighter budget might demand a more minimalist approach, focusing on clever scripting and authentic, low-budget visuals.
Decide on the frequency: Lastly, deciding the frequency of posting creates the rhythm of your narrative. It’s the pace at which your story unfolds to your audience. A regular posting schedule keeps your audience engaged and anticipating the next chapter of your brand story.
Optimizing Digital Marketing Video Production for SEO
Next, it’s time to think about optimizing for SEO. Simply producing high-quality videos isn’t enough. You need to ensure they’re discoverable by your target audience.
This includes optimizing video titles and descriptions with relevant keywords, providing transcripts for accessibility, embedding videos on your website, and leveraging the power of social sharing to increase reach and visibility.
Creating an Engaging Digital Video Production
McCully Media Group has a skilled team that knows how to tap into the heart of your brand’s story, translating it into a captivating visual journey. By weaving the principles of the StoryBrand framework into their video production process, they transform your message into an engaging story, one that positions your customer as the hero and your brand as the guide who helps them overcome challenges and achieve their goals.
However, their expertise doesn’t stop at just creating compelling videos. McCully Media Group understands the need for businesses to see a tangible return on their investment. That’s why they focus on producing videos that don’t just tell stories but also drive action. Their team carefully crafts each video to ensure it leads viewers toward the desired outcome, whether it’s increasing brand awareness, driving website traffic, or converting leads into customers.
In essence, McCully Media Group serves as your partner in turning your brand’s voice into a powerful marketing tool. Their StoryBranded video production process is not only about creating visually compelling videos but also about constructing narratives that engage your audience, communicate your message, and drive ROI for your business. By entrusting your digital marketing video production needs to McCully Media Group, you can be confident that your brand’s story will be told in a way that captivates, engages, and drives action.
