Four Ways to Super Charge Your Video Strategy in 2018

2018 is officially underway. After a few days of R&R, we’re recharged and back to work. We don’t know about you, but over the past couple of weeks we’ve been thinking a lot about our strategy for the new year and what we want to focus on. For us, digital marketing is at the top of the list. Being a production company, video trends are something we keep a close eye on. If you want to super-charge your video strategy in 2018, consider these four trends.

1. From blogs to vlogs

Blogging is a part of most companies’ SEO strategy. By creating quality posts and optimizing them with all the right keywords, you’re helping your website get in front of more people. But, as video continues to show higher engagement levels than other mediums, large digital media companies like Vice and Buzzfeed are leaning more towards video as their preferred format and will continue to do so in 2018. Whether or not you’re already running a weekly blog on your website, you may want to consider a vlog instead.

Spend an hour each week discussing a topic that is relevant to your business, sharing an update about your company or sharing tips and tricks for other professionals in your field. Edit this down to 2 minute video, and you’ve got a super sharable and engaging piece of content about your brand. By uploading your vlog to video sharing sites like Youtube and Vimeo, you still have plenty of opportunities to use keywords and tags. For added SEO optimization, always upload a transcript of the video as well.

Our personal favourite vlogger is Gary Vaynerchuk. His no-nonsense entrepreneurial tips get straight to the point and are always on brand with his business.

2. Create a “social series”

To take your weekly video content to the next level, create your own mini-show about a topic that is relevant to your business. Sometimes referred to as branded content, this type of video can range in budget from macro, like Harley Davidson’s trip across Canada, to micro, like a single DSLR camera setup in your office space.

If, for example, you’re a small business that specializes in a particular food product, consider creating regular cooking-show segments that incorporate your product. Where a vlog is often done straight to camera, you can get more creative with this type of video, using graphics and music to add production value and intrigue. If you’re sharing on Facebook, make sure your content is playable on silent—85% of Facebook video content is played without sound.

There are two keys to making your social series a success: Content and consistency. You need to ensure the content you are producing is engaging in and of itself, not just a vessel through which to plug your product or service. You also need to make sure that every segment you produce is consistent with your brand and the series.

3. Use live video

Facebook Live was made available to all users in April 2016, but it really began to take off in 2017. We expect this format to become even bigger in 2018 thanks to its cost-effectiveness and immediacy. Live video is cost effective because it doesn’t require any upfront investment from the user. No need to invest time and money into high-end gear and video editing. The format lends itself to off-the-cuff spontaneous content. All you need is a Smartphone and something interesting going on around you.

This format is particularly useful for event planners and PR strategists. Are you putting on an amazing launch event for your client? Stream it live! There is nothing more effective than showing a great time unfold in real time. This is a great way to show potential clients what working with you is all about.

Live video is a great way to connect with your audience in an authentic way. Scripted videos provide professionalism and polish and will always have a place in your strategy. But sometimes, it’s good to go out on a whim.

To really show off your company’s true colours, consider going live for a “day-in-the-life” video. Welcome your followers into your space and show them around. Introduce your team and your workspace in a genuine and unedited way. The more authentic your video content is, the easier it will be to build trust with your potential clients or customers.

4. Use video as an internal tool

Video is probably not a new addition to your marketing and social strategy, but in 2018, consider how you can use it to benefit different departments within your company. One place where we saw a huge growth in video use in 2017 was training and development and HR departments.

There’s a good chance you’re going to hire new employees in 2018 and you’ll definitely need to provide them and your current employees with training and development tools that set them up for success. Video is a time-effective way to express your company values, expectations and culture to many people at once, whether for recruitment purposes like in this video we created for Kraft Heinz, or as part of the on-boarding process. For current employees, you can use video to help explain new initiatives you are planning and get your team excited about them.