Video marketing is a significant part of many strategies, and for good reason. The average viewer watches 18 hours of online video per week.
Creating episodic content, specifically video content, increases your brand recognition while engaging your audience with an interesting, creative video series. To get the most out of your episodic content, you need to make sure viewers keep coming back for more.
How to create a binge-worthy video series
1. Start with your audience
Aligning your content with your audience’s needs will help you build a cohesive content strategy. This is key because treating your video series with a generic, “one size fits all” approach may actually make it less engaging.
To determine the topics that work best for your audience, look at their engagement with past content, calls-to-action and marketing strategies and their focus. Does your audience respond well to content that focuses on running a business more efficiently, or do they like learning about the industry as a whole? Are they more interested in learning about research and data insights or the latest marketing trends?
Remember that building your video series around a solution, rather than a product, is also a good way to make engaging content that benefits your brand without sounding like an extended sales pitch.
2. Work on your presentation
Content makes a video worth watching, but the host makes it truly binge-worthy. Whether they’re an on-screen presence or just a narrator, your host needs to have an engaging personality with a clear point of view that makes viewers enjoy watching your video.
Don’t be afraid to get creative with the concept, the format, the script and even the on-screen graphics to create a truly unique experience for viewers.
You may also want to bring in other industry thought leaders or your own customers who are willing to share their experiences with your audience on a more relatable level. MailChimp did this by creating a five-part docuseries focused on how small business owners are coping with the pandemic, highlighting the struggles that many have gone through and may still be experiencing.
3. Expand your distribution
The foundation of your distribution strategy should be posting your videos on your own website, plus other platforms like YouTube or Facebook. But you don’t have to post each video in full to generate views. Sometimes creating smaller pieces of content from your full edits creates more engagement opportunities.
For example, if you cover multiple talking points in one video, you can edit a shorter version with a single talking point and post it on Twitter or LinkedIn to encourage audience members to watch the full video on your website. Even “best of” compilation videos or bloopers can create interest for your video series.
When possible, post your videos in a single channel with an autoplay feature. Your goal should be to make it as easy as possible to watch the next episode.
Watch this video for more tips about video distribution:
Conclusion
Binge-worthy episode content starts from the ground up. By defining your audience, you can determine topics of interest that inform your video content. Having viewer insights also gives you leeway to be more creative with the concept and execution of your video, as well as where and how to distribute it most effectively.
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