How to Create a Corporate Video Strategy
As media platforms and the way in which we use them transform, video has become one of the most common modes of communication. You can find video on websites, used heavily on social media, embedded in presentations, and used all over large events. However, video somehow remains an afterthought in most company strategies.
When social media started taking off, it took a few years for corporations to see the value and need for engaging with social media platforms. Now companies have entire departments dedicated to social media strategy. If they want to stay relevant and show industry leadership, companies need to create high quality, creative video content throughout the year. The best way to ensure proper budgets and getting the best video done in time for that big event or quarterly report is to create a video strategy and budget. Don’t know where to begin? You’re in the right place.
Steps to creating a strategy and budget:
1) Identify one person to own creating the video strategy.
This person is now the go-to-contact for anyone needing a video created. [Note: This may be a team of people depending on the size of your company.]
2) Create a video strategy mission statement.
In this, you should identify what video will accomplish and who the audience is. If you’re a step ahead, think about what action or takeaway you want from your audience. Be deliberate.
3) Map out important dates on your calendar.
This includes conferences, trade shows, product launches, earnings announcements if a public company, company events, company anniversary, etc. [Pro Tip: Making this a cross-company collaboration including business units will get a complete picture of companywide needs.]
4) Think outside the box and identify where videos will be needed but haven’t been produced yet.
Refer to your mission statement, past data, and areas where video adds huge value such as events , live streaming, demos, and 360 video/VR.
OK, so you’ve done all that work mapping out the year and identifying where videos will have a strategic impact. Now it’s time to create a budget.
5) Create a list of the videos created for your company in the last 1-2 years.
Map out the cost data on a calendar: this will provide you with a foundation for creating your budget. Check to see if your finance department can pull a report; if they code videos a certain way, it’ll make your life easier when assembling a budget estimate.
6) Look at previous spends on video and your strategy calendar to build your budget.
If you want to get the most accurate numbers, I suggest partnering with a video production company to help fill in the gaps on costs so your budget is as appropriate and accurate as possible. [Note: Adding a little extra budget for ad-hoc requests that come up during the year will save you headache; they’re inevitable and shouldn’t negatively impact your strategically planned videos.]
7) Determine where your content will live, based on the mission you’ve created.
Your website is a good place for most content and a lot of companies have entire pages dedicated to video. Other distribution methods such as YouTube or social media platforms are more effective for reaching a wider audience.
8) Have a plan to measure the performance of your video content.
Understand what is valuable for your company. Gathering information along the way will help you demonstrate how valuable your efforts have been. [Most websites and distribution channels offer analytics such as click through rates, number of views, drop off rates, etc.]
9) Time to present the strategy and budget to management!
If this is the first time, be prepared for a surprised look and tough crowd since it’s a “new” budget request. But if you’ve done your homework and have the data to back up the value through previous year spends and projected video needs, you can paint a clear picture for your management.
Creating this strategy and budget will ensure alignment of your videos with the business objectives and proper budget allocated. Still have questions? Reach out to us through LinkedIn or any of our social media sites. We’d love to hear from you!