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Most marketing teams are all too familiar with last-minute campaign requests.
If you’ve ever gotten messages like, “Can we get a quick graphic for tomorrow’s webinar?” or, “Is it too late to make an Instagram post for the holiday on Friday?” then you know the challenge of scrambling to create effective assets.
If your team is always rushing to beat the buzzer, this is your reminder that video content isn’t designed to be rushed. You might be tempted to throw a video together at the last minute, but a successful campaign requires a longer lead time than you might expect.
Not quite convinced? Here are a few reasons to embrace the longer time horizon for your video marketing initiatives.
Capitalize on Seasonal Peaks
Throughout the year, holidays and other shopping events drive consumers to spend more than usual. These events pop up throughout the year (think Black Friday, Amazon Prime Day, or Memorial Day), and they drive a massive influx of online and in-person shoppers.
Planning a video marketing calendar in advance lets you prepare for these seasonal peaks with intention. Instead of scrapping together a last-minute Instagram story, you can give real thought to your creative direction, scripts and storyboards, placement options, and more. Thanks to your foresight, the resulting video is more likely to drive engagement, increase brand awareness, and boost conversion rates.
This is especially true if you’re planning for something big, like a TV commercial or omnichannel campaign. The best video production companies are already preparing for these holidays months (or even years) in advance. If you start looking for support for a Black Friday video a few weeks out, don’t be surprised when the best teams are solidly booked.
If you want a cheat sheet, here’s a breakdown of the key events that take place in each quarter. Just make sure to look a quarter or two ahead if you’re brainstorming new content from scratch.
Align Video Content with Sales Campaigns
In addition to global holidays, your business probably has its own sales and promotion cycles throughout the year. When you plan ahead, you can align your video content with upcoming sales campaigns, ensuring that messaging is consistent, impactful, and well-timed. Plus, all the same premises apply: the longer you have to execute your video plan, the more you can invest in the creative process.
This is also where alignment between sales and marketing is critical. Quarterly business planning can help both teams look ahead at upcoming campaigns, commit to deliverables and priorities, and allow for a reasonable content timeline. If you don’t already have these check-ins built into your year, now is the time to request them!
Optimize Production Quality
Rushing to create video content is a recipe for disaster. While it may technically be possible to create a video on short notice, you’ll compromise the quality of the content.
There’s a reason video production timelines skew towards “weeks or months” rather than “days.” By planning well in advance, you’ll give your production teams amply time for ideation, scripting, shooting, editing, and polishing the final product. If any one of those steps is rushed, the finished product can look sloppy.
High-quality videos don’t just attract and retain customers—they also reflect positively on your brand’s image and professionalism. A sloppy video signals to your audience that quality isn’t important to you, so think twice before you sign off on the fastest possible turnaround time.
Leverage Multiple Channels
It takes time to create an effective marketing asset, but it takes even more time to spin those assets into a cohesive campaign. Having a high-quality video accomplishes nothing if you botch the distribution!
Let’s say you can create an effective marketing video in a few weeks. While the final video quality may turn out okay, your marketing team may not have had time to create associated content for social media, email outreach, website pages, and any number of other placements. The more channels you plan to involve in your campaign, the more time you’ll need to allot to get it right.
Don’t forget that designers and copywriters may need to see the final video to influence their own work, so it’s in your best interest to allow extra time after the video is complete.
Get Ahead on Your Video Content
When in doubt, get out the calendar and look 3–6 months ahead. Whatever will be relevant to your sales and marketing team then is what you should be thinking about creating now. Rushing your video content doesn’t do your business any favors!
If you need more guidance, you can always chat with a video production team for more specific advice. Contact our team below to discuss your upcoming campaigns and when you should start on your next video.
The post The Importance of Ordering Video Content Early appeared first on Lemonlight.
* This article was originally published here