4 Steps to Video Marketing Consistency
Many small business owners and solopreneurs struggle with using video content in their marketing. Actually, an overwhelming 72% according to my latest poll!
There might be a variety of reasons for this being the case, but what I often find is that even if people get to learn some of the technical skills, which they can do easily online or even by attending one-off workshops, and produce some amazing video content… they then don’t keep up with producing video content over longer periods of time.
They fail to apply those new skills regularly and therefore don’t post consistently.
So, the issue is not necessarily not having enough knowledge, but often struggling to apply it on a consistent basis.
If you’re stuck in the same boat, I’ve got four simple steps to help you conquer posting video content consistently.
4 Steps to Consistency with Video Marketing:
Step 1 – Define the purpose of your videos.
Ask yourself: “Why do I want to use video marketing?”
This step may seem tedious or even obvious – but you won’t believe how many people use the wrong motivation or don’t know at all why they’d like to use video as part of their marketing strategy.
However, it’s crucial that you don’t skip this step.
It will be the basis for all the other steps on your way to posting consistently (additionally, if you ever find yourself becoming inconsistent AGAIN – go back to your ‘why’, in most cases it helps resolve the issue).
The answer to the question above will become your “Why” and will be the driving force for you to continue to create video content. Be sure it is something you feel passionate about. Something like “Because it’s good for social media.” isn’t going to be a strong enough reason for you to continue posting consistently.
Step 2 – Look at the big picture and plan out all your content.
Take some time to map out or review your marketing strategy and look at the big picture. Locate what role social media plays in your overall marketing. From there, figure out where your video content fits in.
Are you planning 3 posts for Instagram per week with 1 of them being a video? Or are you posting every day twice a day and want to have at least 30% of your content in the video format? Make sure all of that is written out and added to your content calendar as non-negotiable pieces of content. (More on how to actually do this later…)
Understanding the big picture will give you clarity and meaning for your videos – which will give you more motivation to create them. Instead of seeing them as a chore or task you want to put off.
As an added step – you may want to reflect on the purpose of each individual video and be sure you know what the roles of your video posts are. That way you can also filter some of the ideas based on how people respond to the content.
Step 3 – Define the right frequency of posting for you.
Do not base your frequency of video posting on what other people tell you. It should depend on what works for you, your schedule, your marketing goals, and your business.
If, for example, social media is one of your main pillars then consider posting videos at least once a week to begin with.
Once you feel more comfortable, increase that to twice a week and keep checking whether it’s enough or if you’d like to increase the amount of videos you post. I recommend revising this quarterly.
If social media is there just for the purpose of online presence and maybe as a portfolio without any particular hopes of getting clients, then consider posting videos once or twice a month. That way you’ll have some pieces that introduce yourself as a person that stands behind the business without overwhelming you with creating unnecessary videos.
Be sure you always come back to your “Why” before you start planning your videos – remember being unclear about the objectives of your video will prevent you from posting consistently, even if it’s just once a month.
Step 4 – Set aside time for producing videos in your calendar.
“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”
I’m not talking here about adding videos as another thing on your to-do list. These tend to grow and overwhelm us. Actually adding a block of time in your calendar will make your plans to create video content concrete.
Divide this into 3 parts: brainstorming ideas, filming, and editing. I recommend doing all 3 in batches – it saves you time and energy. Batch filming, for example, saves you time on setting up and getting into the mood for every single video. Once everything is filmed, your whole month’s video content will be sorted!
How do you approach planning? For example, on January 15th you spend an hour and a half on picking a theme, brainstorming ideas for videos and outlining bullet points for each of the pieces. On January the 19th you allocate 3-4 hours for filming up to 4 videos. Finally, January the 21st is your editing day – up to 2 hours should be more than enough to sort this out.
Remember, the key is to pick a very specific time slot and put the task into your calendar. Once the day comes, treat it as a client meeting – you wouldn’t skip that one to leave it for later, would you?!
As an added bonus of this blog – I’m sharing my custom content calendar – available for you to download here.
Why Do You Need to Post Consistently?
Not posting consistently can really hurt your overall marketing strategy and actually results in your missing out on many amazing opportunities, like getting to know your audience!
When you don’t post videos on a regular basis – you don’t get to see how your audience is interacting with your content. It’s vital to see exactly how they react to your content, like what they comment, how they engage, what perks their interest, etc…
This is how you start to understand what they actually like or enjoy, what they’re most interested in and what they want to learn about.
You also miss out on your audiences getting to know YOU! When people see you on video, they start to feel like they’ve actually met you and eventually they feel like they really know you. That’s the power of video that you need to harness for your business.
On top of that, there is the “Rule of 7” you should follow, which states that prospects need to hear or see an advertiser’s message at least 7 times before they’ll take action to buy a product or service.
The more people see you on video, the more likely they are to engage with your content and thus, increase your chances of successfully converting your audiences into clients.
Finally, there is no denying how powerful video content is performing on social media right now.
Not only are platforms like Instagram and Facebook favouring video content over static posts, leading to more views and father reach, but on top of that, people are also more likely to interact with videos AND stay engaged with them for longer.
Still Feeling Overwhelmed?
I get it.
Video marketing can be a tough skill to learn how to incorporate into your business.
So, I’ve developed a signature DIY course called Visibility Matters.
The main objective of this course is to help you overcome any fears or blocks around posting video content consistently. Plus we polish off your technical skills!
On top of that, you’ll master the technical skills you need to create fabulous videos, create 5+ pieces of video content with expert guidance, and walk away with a custom strategy to post videos consistently that will build an unbreakable relationship with your audience.
If you’re interested in joining the programme – be sure to sign up here.