Setting clear video strategy objectives is essential even in the best of times. But with a rocky economy putting the squeeze on budgets, it’s more important than ever. Every video you’re putting out there should move the ball forward in reaching your business goals. No matter what those goals are, achieving them in this environment of constrained purse strings requires extreme diligence in planning and execution.
Without the right process, the strategic goals for your videos will be hard to define and even harder to accomplish. Objective setting, progress tracking, and outcome measuring are key parts of that process. We recently discussed each of these steps at length with experts for our new guide, “How to create a contemporary video strategy”.
When setting your video strategy objectives, the first major step is putting a framework in place. That framework shouldn’t just communicate what your objectives are, but also how to measure success. Storyblocks and many other businesses use the SMART methodology. Using this approach, your video strategy objectives must be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. SMART is a helpful way to approach your goal-setting with clear eyes. There’s more elements to consider when it comes to goal-setting, including communication, which our experts shared some perspective on during our exploratory interviews.
Diving into expert advice on video strategy objectives
To create this guide, we picked the brains of Storyblocks’ in-house experts as well as marketing and video production leaders from two of our enterprise partners at the front lines of innovation in video marketing, HubSpot and Descript. These wide-ranging conversations unearthed so many valuable insights that we couldn’t fit them all into the guide. But the knowledge they shared was far too important to leave on the cutting room floor. In this series of blog posts, we’ll dive even deeper into those discussions.
Among those sharing their expertise for our video strategy guide are:
- Kyle Denhoff, Director of Marketing, HubSpot
- Lara Unnerstall, Video Producer, Descript
- Ryan Vig, Marketing Leader, Descript
- Lauren Zoltick, Director of Performance Marketing, Storyblocks
- Kaitlyn Rossi, Senior Producer, Storyblocks
Want to learn more about how marketers are retooling their video strategies in a shaky economy? Download Storyblocks’ How to create a contemporary video strategy guide.
Failing to plan is planning to fail when setting video strategy objectives
Tighter budgets mean marketing and video production teams are keeping a close eye on strategic planning. They want to make sure the videos they create are achieving their goals. A big part of that process has been a push to more clearly articulate those goals from the start.
“I’ve seen so many promising video programs or campaigns fall flat because the return on investment just wasn’t there. So I think really having a plan in place is essential to avoiding that as much as anyone can.”
– Lara Unnerstall, Video Producer, Descript
Planning your projects meticulously will also save you a ton of production time, a precious resource in a down economy. Goal setting not only helps keep projects on track, but also gives you a baseline against which to compare a video’s success.
“If you don’t want to spin your wheels creating video, you have to know what you want to achieve. And that can be really high level, like what do you want to achieve overall with your business goals. Or it can be very specific to different channels. But really, you will continue to make creative and not know why it works or why it doesn’t work if you don’t have that set goal or plan in mind,” says Kaitlyn Rossi, Senior Producer, Storyblocks.
Having that level of clarity helps teams deliver on what they set out to do with their videos.
“I need to know what the goals are, who we’re marketing this product to right now, or who is our primary audience. All this kind of stuff that allows me to then decide how we’re going to achieve that through video,” adds Lara.
Communication is key
Another central aspect of effectively setting your video strategy objectives is communication. That includes internally with team members, as well as external project stakeholders. More open and frequent communication will reduce the chance of misalignment down the line.
It’s a good idea to invest some time in setting expectations with senior marketing and video production team members. There’s a chance they may be looking at different metrics when measuring a video’s success. As Ryan Vig, Marketing Director, Descript points out, some objectives for your videos can’t always be measured in raw numbers.
Ryan tells us that he’s seen misalignment between a team’s goals “way too many times.” The key to success, he emphasizes, is “making sure that you’re having strong communication with those who are gonna care about the impact of this to the business goals.”
For even more expert takes on the importance of setting and sticking to goals, check out episode 3 of our Beginner’s Guide to Creating Video series, “Set Goals and a Distribution Strategy”, available free to watch right now.
Want to hear more advice from experts at Descript and HubSpot? Download Storyblocks’ How to create a contemporary video strategy guide.
Don’t forget to brag about your wins
Communication is also an important tool for showing off your wins. If a video campaign knocks its objectives out of the park, you should shout it from the rooftops to anybody who will listen. Post it in a slack channel, send out a company-wide email – get the recognition you deserve!
Creating content is an investment, and eventually whoever’s been footing the bill is going to want to see a return. An important skill to learn as a video marketer is how to sell your wins. You need to know how to show how your videos are helping meet the company’s business objectives (along with your video strategy objectives).
“If you’re able to prove that that video investment led to traffic and overall awareness of your brand in that market, your leadership team and finance team are going to be very happy,” says Kyle Denhoff, Director of Marketing, Hubspot.
Kyle explains that, “If you’re a marketer who wants to do more video, put it in language your leadership and finance team understand: ‘My video is going to help us drive X business objective and here’s how I’m going to measure its impact’. You’ll actually start to get more investment from the business as you have more wins with video.”
Doing more with less to meet your video strategy objectives
A common misconception is that only flashy, big-budget productions are the only way to market effectively through video. The truth is that any good content will get traction. Do you really need a whole production with special effects? Or can you accomplish the same goal with just a single shot of a speaker?
“The way that [Kaitlyn] Rossi and I have approached things over the last year is, let’s actually just get scrappier and figure out how to do the things that we want to do in a cheaper and more effective way. So like, maybe we don’t need a full video production. Maybe it can just be Rossi talking to camera and just using Storyblocks overlays and things like that,” says Lauren Zoltick, Director of Performance Marketing, Storyblocks.
Another clever way creators are stretching their video marketing dollar is by re-editing old content for new platforms. It costs virtually nothing to chop up a YouTube video into a 60-second clip for TikTok. Plus, it can help introduce your brand to a whole new audience. An easy way to slice and dice old videos is to use a video editor that automatically formats them for a specific channel, like Maker.
“We’ve often found that those types of lo-fi videos or repurposing old content in new ways can be really effective. And the reach we get from those can be higher than if we put together something that’s more formal. So I think we’ve learned a lot from needing to be a little scrappier in these moments,”
— Lauren Zoltick, Director of Performance Marketing, Storyblocks.
How constraints can inspire creativity
Perhaps counterintuitively, being forced to do more with less can actually fuel the creative fire. As Lara points out, having constraints can often lead to more creativity.
“Because if the playing field is too wide open, and somebody is like ’make great videos!’, you’re like, I don’t know what to do with this. But if you have really specific goals, or a specific audience in mind, that’s what can drive your mind toward better ideas. I often think the best ideas come under very specific constraints,” says Lara.
That thinking can be applied when it comes to monetary resources as well. Creating video under a smaller budget also doesn’t necessarily mean less time and effort went into it.
“Video is an investment regardless of the quality of it; it takes time to produce, it takes equipment. And you can do it in a really lo-fi way, or you can do it in a really hi-fi way. But either way, it’s definitely something that you have to put effort into,” says Lauren.
She points out that setting video strategy objectives can be key to maximizing the impact and reach of your videos.
Lauren emphasizes that “a video strategy can be essential to driving the impact effectively. You know, understanding who your audiences are, where they are, where they’re spending their time, what they’re hoping to get from you, and how you can incorporate your own goals into it in a way that reaches them and engages them. If you just kind of scattershot and do things as they come it becomes a lot less effective.”
Want even more expert tips for creating your video strategy?
Video marketers and production teams across every industry are working with tighter budgets this year. But a clear and detailed strategy is all you need to overcome the challenges this can present. If you want to read more from the experts we interviewed and improve your video strategy, download How to create a contemporary video strategy for free today.
