Do You Really Need a Cross-Platform Video Approach?

Considering how many consumers use more than one screen at a time these days, a cross-platform video approach is essential to reach them. According to MNTN Research, 83% of American TV watchers use a second device while watching TV, often to look up more information about the content and ads they’re seeing. 

Here, we’ll explore how your video marketing channels can (and should) align with one another to create a seamless multichannel experience for your audience. 

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An Omnichannel Approach to Video Marketing 

Most of us are connected to several devices throughout the day — often at the same time. This can feel like a double-edged sword for brands. On one hand, it can be difficult to stand out amid the deluge of content audiences consume every day. But on the other, it gives advertisers an incredible opportunity to create a captivating experience across multiple channels and devices. 

With an omnichannel approach to video marketing, brands can create a consistent experience for their audience, no matter where they watch video content. Creating this multichannel strategy — or, in “Ghostbusters” terms, crossing the screens — allows brands to meet their audience where they are with relevant content. 

Your Video Channels Should Be Friends 

Like MNTN says, your video channels should be friends. Each platform you use should work together and complement the others, but this doesn’t mean you should run the exact same content on all platforms. We’ll get more into the specifics in the next section, but for now, remember that your platforms are friends, not twins. 

What Does a Cross-Platform Video Approach Look Like? 

Since there are endless ways to create a cross-platform video strategy (OK, maybe not endless, but you get the point), yours is going to look different from the next brand’s. One team might find the cross-platform combination of Connected TV (CTV), LinkedIn, and Instagram to be the most effective, while another might find YouTube, Pinterest, and TikTok to be the right combination. 

How To Build a Cross-Platform Strategy 

With several video-focused platforms, it can be daunting to get started. But here are a few key steps to help your brand build a cross-platform strategy: 

Get To Know Your Audience 

Getting to know your audience is critical before crafting any marketing campaign, and a cross-platform experience is no different. Focusing your messaging on your audience — also known as audience-based conversations — can help you reach the right audience with the right ad creative.

You’ll also need to understand user expectations for each platform. For example, viewers have different expectations about their experience with TikTok compared to what they expect when they sit down to watch CTV. Once you understand which platforms your audience uses — and how they use them — you can craft a more effective strategy that aligns with audience expectations and drives performance. 

Understand the Platforms 

When you’ve decided which platforms to include in your strategy, you’ll need to understand the ins and outs of each. These platforms will likely have different video requirements and ad specs. YouTube, for example, will require a different strategy and video size than Facebook. When you ignore these requirements, your videos can feel forced on the platform, and viewers will just keep scrolling. 

And if you’re using CTV in your omnichannel marketing, you’ll need a streaming-specific strategy. Whether or not the platforms you’re advertising on have specific content requirements, you’ll want to use high quality ads. Otherwise, viewers might have a jarring experience seeing a low quality ad alongside premium streaming content. This can cause your ad to stand out in a negative way, which could feed a harmful reputation for your brand. 

Identify Your Goals 

Before you start filming, you’ll need to set your goals, KPIs, and expectations for the campaign. These will help you make final decisions about your budget, video production, and distribution. If you’ve crafted an annual video strategy, you’ll also want to make sure your campaign goals align with your overall objectives for the year. 

Produce Your Video Content 

Once you understand your audience, platform, and goals, it’s time to produce your video content. By keeping all three of these elements in mind during your video production, you’ll be able to create effective purpose-built creative. 

While it can be daunting to create content for several different platforms, the key is to make the most of your resources. A detailed plan can help you save time and keep your entire production team on the same page. By aligning your goals and coming prepared with a shot list, the video crew can capture all the footage you need for an entire campaign in one shoot. You can also repurpose existing content for new platforms and testing. With the right post production editing, your brand can create a new video from existing assets. 

Measure, Test, and Optimize 

When your creative is ready, it’s time to launch your campaign across different video-focused platforms…but you’re not done. (Sorry!) Now it’s time to measure, test, and optimize. 

Measurement and reporting tools will be essential throughout the entire campaign to understand how your ad creative performs. In addition to understanding these insights, you can take a deeper look at your ads with different testing strategies, including multivariate testing. This can help you understand which elements of your ad are working most effectively and resonating most with your audience. As you learn more about your audience and ad creative with each campaign, you’ll be able to make optimizations, leading to better results and more effective strategies next time around.

The Future of Marketing Is Omnichannel 

From eCommerce to real estate (and beyond), omnichannel video marketing is a powerful way to connect with your audience on their favorite social platforms and CTV channels. With the right strategy in place, your marketing team can create cross-platform video marketing that captivates your audience and drives more conversions for your brand.