While it may be overused, the old adage, “content is king,” still rings true — perhaps more so than ever. According to eMarketer, a total of $118.4 billion has been spent on content marketing in 2013 alone and, as we allocate more and more of our budget towards content, we must contemplate new ways to keep the information we produce fresh and engaging.

Many marketers are seeing video as a prominent player in the future of content marketing — it’s a quick, consumable and provides a creative way to tell a story or communicate ideas without exhausting an audience. It can offer a refreshing, laid-back alternative to the large quantities of text we consume on a daily basis, not to mention it’s likely your competitors have not implemented video into their marketing strategy yet, giving you an advantageous leg up.

Traditionally, video content has been very difficult to measure and analyse, making it impossible to justify via ROI. But with new advancements in video content analytics, you can see who is watching your video, for how long, what parts are being skipped and what parts are being re-watched.

Once you decide that video content marketing is the right move for your company, how do you implement it successfully? Here are a few tips to make video as engaging, compelling and cost-effective as possible.

1. Don’t Break the Bank

You don’t need to throw your entire budget into one, high-production video to bait followers. Make your video part of a wider content marketing campaign that aims to generate ongoing, sustainable outcomes. Over time, when/if your goal changes, you will have the funds to be able to produce additional videos to meet your evolving needs. It is also important to note that it is unlikely at best that your video will be completely optimal your first attempt. If you make a pig’s ear of the first one, your economical approach will allow for changes and improvements to be made withinyour remaining budget.

2. Make Use of What You Have

Have any of your company members spoken at an industry event? Been on TV? Maybe you’ve filmed some product testing or development in the past? If so, there is a good possibility you’ve got some compelling footage already on hand. And if there is still not enough to put together an engaging video package, there are plenty of inexpensive ways to generate content that will give your customers an inside look into your business (think staff interviews and office tours). A tight budget doesn’t have to stop you from putting together a great video that connects with your audience.

3. Leverage Events

Holding events provides you with an abundance of subject matter for video footage. The key is to be resourceful and creative; use these opportunities to collect a wealth of content in one go. Interviews with international staff who would otherwise be unavailable, visiting speakers at the event as well as your own company speakers can all be accessed in one location! Now would also be a prime opportunity to gather some time-lapse footage depicting the buzz generated from your product or service at the event in question.

4. Assure Your Video Works Across Mobile Platforms

As more and more people access content on the move via iPads, tablets, and smartphones, it’s important to be sure your videos are optimally displayed when viewed from mobile devices. When choosing your distribution channels, make sure that at least one is properly formatted for responsive design and will support video playback on a variety of devices (remember: Flash is not accessible from iPhones/iPad).

5. Make it Interactive

There are tools that are now allowing for more consumer interaction within video. Dynamic content and maps as well as an ability to ask for responses within a video’s frame are just a few of the new capabilities available. Mozilla’s Popcorn is a good tool to look into to and find out more about video interaction.

The opportunity for your brand to creatively engage with its audience is constantly progressing and expanding. Video has undoubtedly shown a vast upward trend in the past two years alone and the best part is there is no one way to incorporate it into your marketing strategy. Whether you are a multi-million dollar brand or a mom and pop shop, video can be business and budget friendly.

If you think your business is ready to introduce video into your marketing strategy, contact our Managing Director, Steve Ballantyne. p: 09 950 2140