Experts talk about how important it is to plan out your video content in advance. Planning your content ahead of time is important because you are working from a strategy instead of chaotically creating and posting content. If you do not plan out your video content in advance or leverage some sort of video planning template, you may not be able to stick to your video marketing strategy. If you plan out your content using a video planning template, you are increasing the chances of your content succeeding. Continue reading to learn more about the benefits of using a video planning template and how this resource can improve the process of video content creation.
Benefits of Planning Your Video Content
Before diving into the details of a video planning template, below are a few benefits when it comes to planning out your video content.
Create Higher Quality Content With Planning
When you take time to plan out your content in advance, you are able to improve the quality of your content. One reason for this is that you are able to better assess what type of content will create the most value for your audience. When creating content without a plan, creators oftentimes do not give themselves enough time for the content research phase. Understanding what your audience needs help with is the first step in creating high-quality content. Planning your content out in advance also allows more time for planning out the main talking points within your content and helps you to more realistically set aside enough time for editing.
Consider How the Video Content Fits Into the Overall Marketing Strategy
Another benefit of planning out your content in advance is developing a better understanding of how video content fits into your overall marketing strategy. Many business owners fall into the trap of creating video content that doesn’t move the needle in their business. While entertainment content is fine here and there, this should not be the primary type of video content created by business owners. By taking a step back and thinking through how a piece of content will lead to a sale, you are better aligning content creation efforts with a marketing strategy that will actually result in an ROI.
Make Efficient Use of Your Time and Resources
As mentioned in an earlier section, planning out your video content ahead of time is critical for creating high-quality content. Taking the time to schedule different phases of content creation, such as planning, recording, editing, and publishing your content will help you to better understand how long it will actually take to complete the whole process. Many video creators and busy business owners underestimate the amount of time it takes to plan out content. When you plan the process out in advance, you are making the most of your time and improving efficiency.
The Video Planning Process
Next, we will review the different stages of planning content when using a video planning template. Be sure to download the video planning template to improve the process of video content creation in your business.
Planning the Foundation
Understand the Goal of the Video
The very first step in the video content creation process is to consider the goal of the video. If there is no goal or target audience in mind for the video, then it will be difficult to track success.
Understand Guidelines and Restrictions
Prior to filming video content, you should understand where the video will be placed. This will help to guide the length of the video, the overall tone, and even the dimensions of the video. As an example, the tone of content on LinkedIn is different from the tone of content on Instagram.
Planning Your Content
Content Research
The first step in this process is all about content research. You should develop an understanding of the type of content that will bring the most value to your audience. You can do this by asking members of your target audience and watching what similar creators post. While undergoing social listening, you should also pay attention to what questions people ask on social media posts.
Plan Video Content
Storyboard Method
Next, it is time to plan out the structure of the video. One way to do this is to storyboard your video. Essentially you draw out different scenes of a video to illustrate the overall vision of a video project. You can also do this in Canva.
If you plan to put together a storyboard, be sure to also put together a shot list for the day of filming. This is a list of all of the different video clips that you will need to create the video.
Bullet Points
If you are creating a video that primarily consists of dialogue and the scene of the video doesn’t change, you could outline your video using bullet points. I typically don’t like to use scripts in many of my videos because they are difficult for busy business owners to memorize. Dialogue also sounds more natural when people can put text into their own words.
Plan the Video Shoot
List of Stakeholders
The first thing to do when planning a video shoot is to make a list of all of the people that need to be present on film day. This is very important if your video involves multiple people. If you are filming a video for your business and are the only person involved, you can skip this step.
Plan Location
Next, it is important to consider where you will be shooting the video. Consider factors like the mood of the video when selecting your location. For example, are you looking for a casual space or something more corporate?
You should also pay special attention to the lighting of the space, as this will indicate how many additional lights you will need to bring.
Noise is also a very important factor to consider. If you are planning to film in a location that is next to a busy road, you might want to film in a room farthest away from the street. Additionally, if the location is very echo-ey, then you will need to ensure that you soundproof the location as much as possible to prevent your audio from having too much echo.
Plan Equipment
Be sure to plan out all of your video equipment in advance. Video equipment could include a DSLR camera, lens(es), external microphones, lights, tripods, and acoustic blankets.
Budget
You should consider how much money you are willing to invest in the video creation process. If you plan to create a lot of content for your business, it might be a good idea to invest in the right equipment from the beginning so that you have high quality from the start. Other budget factors to consider include equipment rentals, editing software, and location fees.
Video Editing
Video editing is often the most dreaded aspect of video creation for business owners and content creators alike. Below are a few recommendations in the video editing phase of content planning.
Video Editing Software
My go-to software for video editing is Adobe Premiere Pro. This software does everything that I need, and then some. If you plan to produce high-quality videos and want unlimited capability, this is a great place to start.
Other recommended video software includes Final Cut Pro. I have not personally used this software, but if you own a MAC, this could be a great option to consider.
Video Editing Tips
The most important thing to consider as a beginner in video editing is that sometimes, less is more. The last thing you want is for your videos to look like a tacky Powerpoint presentation from the early 2000’s.
Intro and Outro
Consider creating a professional intro and outro for your videos. This could include your name and business with some music and a fun video clip related to your industry. The outro could include your relevant contact information or social media handles.
On-Screen Text
On-screen text is always a great idea because it helps to reinforce the concepts discussed in a video. It is important to remember, however, to be as concise as possible if you plan to add text to a video. The last thing you want is to have a paragraph of text overlaying a video clip.
Color Grading
Consider learning the basics of color grading to really make the colors in your videos pop.
Music
If you aren’t posting content on Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts, then you may need to look elsewhere for music. My favorite recommendation for music is Soundstripe. I use Soundstripe for all of my professional video content.
Promotion
Now that you know how to plan and record a video, let’s talk about video content promotion.
How you plan to distribute your video content is arguably the most important part of creating a video. If no one watches your content – does it really even exist?
With that being said, be sure to consider where will you promote the video (this is why planning ahead is so important!). This is mentioned earlier in this article but I cannot stress its importance enough. So many business owners create video content or pay for video content creation services, but fail to distribute the content in ways where it will actually make a difference for their business.
How Often Will You Promote?
You should consider how often you will post video content as well. This will help you to figure out how often you need to film video content.
Other Factors to Consider
Below are a few additional factors to consider when it comes to using a video planning template or planning your video content ahead of time.
Batch Filming Content
One reason why you should consider using a video planning template is to develop a batch filming schedule. It is unreasonable for busy entrepreneurs and content creators to record video content every single week. We are all busy, so this is where batch filming comes into play.
Video Production Timeline
When creating content for your business, it is important to estimate how long each step in the process will take you. Once you do this, you should place each phase on a calendar so that you have a complete timeline. This will show you how much you can reasonably get done within a specific period of time.
Video Planning Checklist
A video planning checklist is a great way to make sure that you have completed every step in the process. Video content creation is a lot of work, so a checklist can keep you on track. The free video planning template download also includes a video planning checklist!
Video Editing Checklist
It is also important to use a video editing checklist if you are new to video editing. This way, you will know that you did everything you could to edit your video and make it the best that it could be. The free video planning template download also includes a video editing checklist!
Video Production Project Management Tools
One of my favorite tools for managing video content creation is Asana. Asana allows you to create lists for each stage in the video creation process and you can check off each step as it is completed. You can also collaborate with others when using Asana.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do You Plan a YouTube Video?
My favorite way to plan YouTube videos is to use my free video planning template. This template focuses on research, content planning, filming, editing, and promotion and also comes with free checklists so you don’t miss a step.
How Do Youtubers Plan Their Content?
Different YouTubers likely use different processes for planning out their video content. I like to use a video planning template to stay on track.
How Do You Write a Video Plan?
When writing a video plan, it is important to focus on the different stages of video content creation. in my own video planning process, I focus on content research, content planning, filming, editing, and promotion.
How Do I Make a Video Checklist?
You can create a video checklist by writing down all the different stages of video content creation. I’ve also included a video checklist in my free video planning template download.
Video Planning Template Conclusion
I hope that this article on video planning templates was helpful. creating video content is a lot of work, no matter how you approach it. my goal with this article and with my free video planning template download is to simplify the process as much as possible and improve efficiency. if you downloaded the video planning template, let me know how you like it in the comments.
Resources:
Check out this article by Sprout Social to learn more about video marketing strategy.
Starting a YouTube channel? Check out my YouTube video checklist.
Check out my article on social media content pillar ideas.
Morgan
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