Branching out to include video production to marketing campaigns can be a valuable decision brands can make to expand their social media strategies. Aside from the traditional advertising and promotions for their products and services online, brands can rely on social video marketing to help them better reach and target their targeted demographic, and to further motivate engagements.

But don’t just jump in with a camcorder in hand. Like almost everything, mapping out your strategies should be the first item on your video-geared social media marketing plans. A defined campaign will help guide you along the way, help ensure your every step is still aligned to achieve your online marketing goals, and will prove crucial when crafting your videos.

Here are some of the things you’ll need to determine when planning your social video marketing tactics.

• Define who you are
  

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  Image by Thomas R. Stegelmann

  If your brand has yet to embody an identity, perhaps it’ll be best to develop one. Generally, people will find it easier to talk to actual human beings with real personalities and preferences, and so it’s been common for brands to create corporate personas or even appoint and name actual persons to directly interact with them.

  This will help you effectively reach out and speak to your audience at a more personal level, enabling you to develop genuine relationships with them based on trust.

• Identify your target audience
  

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  Naturally, you’d need to find out more about the people you’re targeting with your video marketing steps. Find out they are and it’ll be easier for you to plan your content strategies. This knowledge will help contribute to the way you shape your content—from the language you use, the visuals, the music, and both how and where you share it online. In a nutshell, you’ll need a breakdown of your followers’ diverse background (perhaps from the impressions and site stats of your brand on other social networks), including age groups, genders, spending capabilities, and even where they usually hang out online.

• Find the right social platform
  

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  Image by Jazzyblue TR

  Where you put your videos can dictate how it’ll be shared on the social Web. Obviously, you have your social video sites like YouTube, Vimeo, and Viddler, among many others; or you can even consider hosting the videos on your own Web site.

  You’ll have to understand what posting on these sites will entail so you’ll also have to find out what their user base is and learn what features they carry. For all you know, YouTube may not even be the right platform for your desired objectives. Aside from these, cross-posting should also be a consideration, so pinpoint the best social networks for linking to your videos like Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr.

• Decide on the type of video you’ll produce
  

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  There are many forms of video content to choose from, and each one will present its own opportunities and challenges. For instance, a roundtable discussion about the latest news, issues and concerns within your industry will be great for attracting people interested in hearing opinions and solutions from experts. Your challenge here: tons of research (some references may even require a premium to procure), time consuming surveys, and dealing with the challenges of finding and scheduling those experts.

Tags: content creation, social media marketing, Social Media Marketing Strategy, Social Video Marketing, Videos