Video Strategy
Video content strategy for business websites and owned channels
Plan business video around customer questions, useful website pages, accessible answers and a clear process for reviewing each asset.
Begin with a customer question, the page where its answer belongs and a way to check whether the answer helps. Use video when seeing an action, a screen change or a real setting makes the answer clearer. Keep essential details available in text, including information people need to scan or revisit.
Find questions worth answering
Collect questions from enquiries, sales conversations, support requests and searches on your site. Group them by the task or decision behind them. Someone asking what happens after an enquiry needs a different answer from someone trying to complete a setup step.
For each candidate, record who is asking, the question they need answered, what they should be able to do next and what the business can accurately show. Check the existing page before commissioning a video.
A clearer paragraph or diagram may resolve the question. Where movement, timing or a changing screen matters, video may add value.
Use the inventory to identify which customers and needs matter most to the business. Consider how customers use the product or service and what they may pay for it. Not everyone is a likely customer, so this context helps keep the planned answers relevant to the intended market.
Build a brief around the marketing plan
Treat a video brief as part of the wider marketing plan, not an isolated production request. Record the target customer and why the offer meets their need, the message, intended channel or channels, goal and time frame. These fields connect the video to customer needs and other marketing activity.
For each brief, note how the business wants customers to understand its offer and what distinguishes it from competitors. Research into demand, customer use and competitors' strengths and weaknesses can help keep the answer relevant and specific.
Give each answer a home
Place the answer where the question arises. An enquiry-process explanation may belong near the enquiry form; a setup demonstration may belong beside written instructions. An email can direct customers to that maintained page. If search visibility matters, consult Google's current video guidance when planning the page.
| Customer need | Possible page treatment | Check before production |
|---|---|---|
| Understand a service | A clear service page, with video if seeing the work adds value | Are inclusions and limits stated? |
| Inspect a product action | A demonstration beside product details | Are the action and result visible? |
| Complete a task | Written steps, with a focused walkthrough if movement helps | Can the task be completed using the text? |
| Decide whether to enquire | An answer near the enquiry path | Is the next step clear? |
Plan for each channel
Set publishing guidelines for each channel rather than assuming the same video will work everywhere. Social platforms can handle playback differently.
Facebook and Twitter, for example, have used muted autoplay in feeds, so viewers may encounter a video before hearing its audio. Plan how the main point will come across in that viewing context.
Plan the page and video together
Draft the page answer before filming. Let the video show what benefits from motion, speech or a real setting, while the page carries details people may need to scan, copy or check later.
Keep qualifications close to claims in both places. A video should not make a broad promise that the surrounding text quietly limits.
Plan accessibility in the brief. Prerecorded video needs accurate captions for relevant audio; essential visual information also needs to be conveyed through description or an appropriate text alternative.
Check that the chosen player supports accessibility. The exact alternatives depend on the finished video.
Assign an owner and review triggers. A changed product step, service inclusion or contact process should prompt a check of the video, captions, text alternative, page and any emails pointing to it.
The W3C advises including integrated description of visual information before filming where that approach suits the video. A transcript can provide text for speech, while a descriptive transcript also covers visual information; sign language may be appropriate when the audience needs it.
Key statistics and benchmarks for video content in Australia
- 47%Average video retention rate on Australian websites
- 80%Videos with captions are viewed % longer — According to W3C accessibility standards
Publish and review the useful answers
Begin with a small set of recurring questions that have a clear page home. Publish the written answer, add video where it contributes something specific, then check whether visitors can find the answer and take the appropriate next step. Related questions may form a series, but each answer should remain useful on its own.
Judge results against the original question. Plays show that a video was opened; they do not establish understanding or a sale. Use relevant feedback and task outcomes where available, and revise the page or video when the answer stops being accurate or useful.
Give each planned activity a clear goal and time frame, then review whether it achieved that goal. Marketing goals may include building brand awareness or trust, increasing sales or revenue, reaching a new market segment, launching a profitable product or ranking higher in search results. Choose the outcome that fits the customer question and the business purpose.
In this guide
- Choosing a video format for a specific customer questionMatch a customer question to a demonstration, screen recording, interview or written answer, then check what the audience needs to see and read.
- Deciding when a written guide works better than videoDecide when customers need a scannable written guide, when video adds useful motion and how to keep both answers consistent.
- Planning a video series around the buying journeyMap a business video series to distinct buyer questions, make each episode stand alone and connect the answers on your website.
