The 6 Key Players Vital to a Successful Online Video Strategy

Getting video in front of an audience has never been easier. While technology has simplified the distribution process, there are still many moving parts to developing a dynamic online video strategy. The most successful plans bring together different facets of an organization.

One of the most common mistakes that we see is a company leaving out critical personnel and departments that could make online video strategies more effective and the production experience a lot easier.

We call this critical group the "key players." They are the decisions makers, budget setters, focus groups, creative minds, back-end experts, and overall team that go into developing an online video strategy. Either you are a large company that has these experts on staff, or you're a start-up or small business owner who should think about your strategy from these perspectives.

I'll start off by saying these people don't necessarily need to be involved in every single one of your productions, but they should be involved in the shaping or refining of your company's online video strategy.

Here is a breakdown of the key players and tips on how they can contribute to your online video success.

Public Relations: Your public relations team can provide the overall company voice and brand to any piece of video content that you create. This is critical in today's online world where the consumer expects authenticity in content. Because the PR team is on top of industry trends and media interests, they'll also be able to provide you with ideas for content creation.

For example, about three years ago, we worked closely with the PR team of a tech company in Chandler, Arizona, producing exclusive videos for digital journalists covering the semiconductor industry.

The PR team was able to essentially secure media coverage of their company's products by offering branded video with interviews between their engineers and journalists. An important thing to note is that this project was mutually beneficial. Our client received publicity, but more importantly, they provided media partners with fresh content that was tailored to their audience.

Marketing: Your marketing team most likely fuels the majority of online video assets that you're creating because experienced marketing teams know the overall company initiatives long before the calendar year begins. They can develop a publishing calendar that aligns online video with the overall content marketing plan.

This ensures that your video content is fresh, but also consistent with your company goals. Members of the marketing team may also have access to metrics and analytics that can help drive future content. Reviewing these metrics will help in evaluating what's worked and, more importantly, what hasn't worked.

Information Technology/Web/SEO: In a nutshell, these are the people that make online video delivery run smoothly. The technology that delivers our video from point A to point B is incredibly intricate and robust. Your IT team will know the details on how video content is getting stored, uploaded, transcoded, and, finally, delivered to your audience.

These tech experts can guide you in publishing videos to your website and assist in video placement, player functionality, and device compatibility. These teams should also have knowledge about other distribution channels like online video platforms or social media.

Last, but not least, they also will have access to key metrics that provide insight on things like search terms, traffic sources, and peak engagement times. You can use these metrics in several different ways. The most-used search terms are a guide to future content ideas, for example.

Traffic sources identify how your audience is reaching your site and can help you determine on which channels you need to ramp up activity. They could also reveal which websites, blogs, or social media channels are publishing your online videos—a great way to spot potential partners for cross-promotion. Peak engagement metrics display the best time to publish because they show when your audience is most active.

Legal: Your in-house legal team or outside attorney is able to answer all of the most important questions when it comes to trademarking, copyright, and logo usage. They also know what type of things you can legally show and use in your video content. This perspective is extremely helpful in productions like unboxing, product, and even tutorial videos, for example.

The legal team is valuable to understanding and creating agreements or contracts with online video platforms and partner sites. We've actually come across organizations that have unknowingly gone against company policy by creating YouTube or Vimeo channels when they really should have been developing internal distribution platforms. A smart legal team will help you avoid these fine-print pitfalls.

Sales: Sales people are the on-the-ground soldiers in your online video army. They have direct communication with your customers and can relay the questions and topics that come up most in these interactions. Use that intelligence to create online videos that offer valuable solutions to your audience.

The sales team also offers insight as to whether or not you can monetize your video content. They can help create business models around your online videos through advertising and industry demands.

Creative and Video Production: Whether you produce a video in-house or with an external production company, you definitely need to have them involved in every step. These are the people who are bringing to life all of the ideas and strategies that you've created with the previous five types of key players.

A good production team will offer insight on budget, deadlines, production value, and the nitty-gritty technical details. If you decide to go with an external production company, it's important that they not only understand the script, but also the overall marketing initiatives for your organization. That includes everything from branding to the distribution channels of your online video content.

Every one of these groups of people will be able to contribute valuable pieces to your online video strategy. Work with these six key players and you'll develop a more sustainable approach to online video that will help drive overall marketing success.

Stjepan Alaupovic is the founder and creative director behind Clear Online Video, a full-service New York City agency specializing in video production and online video marketing. Alaupovic has worked on video projects with Everyday Dishes & DIY, Isola Corporation, Wix.Com, Tether Tools, and the Arizona Super Bowl XXLL host committee.

Stjepan Alaupovic's article first appeared on OnlineVideo.net