Companies build products and services that aim to create value by making people's lives better. The organisations want the consumers to buy from them. Thus, they do marketing - communicating the message about their product through activities that capture their target audience's attention.

Nowadays with the spread of social media and AI, people have much content to consume. They are used to viewing video because when compared to text and images, a captivating video can contain more information and take storytelling to the next level. That's were video marketing comes in.

Video marketing is utilised across various avenues, including streaming platforms, social media and regular websites. Marketers can choose between organic and paid approaches. The organic approach focuses on interacting with and building a loyal, engaged audience over time without relying on paid promotions, while the paid approach involves boosting content through financial investment.

The video can be broken into three parts: hook, content, and call to action. The hook is the first element that must prevent viewers from scrolling past or skipping the video. In the short-form video space, it can't start with a casual introduction; instead, it should immediately dive into the main point to capture attention. The content serves as the primary means of communication. Finally, the call to action invites viewers to engage by encouraging specific actions, such as purchasing tickets, subscribing, commenting, downloading free resources, or visiting a website.

Types of Video Content: Present, Engage, or Guide?

From the audience's perspective, the content could present, engage or guide. Presenting focuses on showcasing content that dazzles, aiming to draw in viewers. Engaging actively encourages interaction and community involvement. Guiding aims to inform and help the audience achieve specific goals or understand complex topics. See the following content examples below.

• Clips of an event to generate excitement about future events.
• Sneak peeks of upcoming features, events or services.
• Product highlights demonstrating unique features or benefits.
• Demonstrations of products in action.
• Before-and-after comparisons to illustrate transformations or results.

• Showcasing Viewer Contributions: feature segments where viewers' favourite moments from an event are showcased, using user-generated content collected via a specific hashtag.
• Behind-the-Scenes Insights: clips that offer an inside look at the various aspects of an event or production, highlighting preparations and the effort involved in creating the final experience.
• Polls: Create a video that poses thought-provoking questions related to the video's theme, inviting viewers to share their responses in the comments or in a follow-up poll in a regular post.
• Challenges or contests encouraging viewers to submit their entries.
• Collaborations with influencers to expand outreach and interaction.

• Step-by-step tutorials showing how to complete a specific task efficiently.
• Outlining best practices for participating in events, competitions, or community activities.
• Best-case scenarios that highlight the correct use of products or applications.
• Action plans that offer a clear pathway for viewer objectives.

Optimizing Video for Social Media Platforms

When selecting the form of video — whether to present, engage, or guide — consider the audience and the channel's typical theme. Over time, social media algorithms learn to whom they suggest your videos. Posting on an unrelated topic might confuse the algorithms, leading them to suggest it to your usual audience, who may not find it interesting. Maintaining a consistent theme can convey a cohesive image that may convert a new viewer — who saw one video and explored your channel for a few scrolls — into a follower.

Viewers consuming your content on phones might not have the audio turned on, so use captions or on-screen text. When audio is on, ensure it complements the video, whether you're using a voiceover, adding sound effects, or featuring a catchy song to elevate emotions. Regarding the visual side of vertical videos, direct leading lines to the centre of the screen and position the subject in the upper two-thirds to accommodate social media apps' user interface elements in the lower third.

After posting your work, monitor the platform's metrics to gauge video performance. Engagement through reposts, comments, and likes signals that your content resonates with users. While views are important, they tend to be more passive; viewers may find the video cool but not engage further. Use view counts to identify successful content from your and other creators' channels: if certain videos get significantly more views, study them and apply those insights to future content.