By 2020, Internet video traffic will account for 80% of all consumer internet traffic, according to Cisco. With all those viewing minutes, no wonder the rise of video marketing shows no signs of slowing. Before you think about whipping out your smartphone, or going live, take a moment to create a game plan. Step One: Determine the Goal Posting a video to your social feed, just because you think you need one, is a recipe for disaster. Stop and think, what does your business need right now? Grow Brand Awareness Position yourself as an expert in the field, or Increase Leads? Once you hone in on a goal for your video campaign, identify how you will measure your success. Social platforms have their own analytic tools you can use. If you want to measure website-based analytics, you can set up Google Analytics, or track your video through a video player manager like Wistia, Youtube or Vimeo Pro which have their own analytic tools. Knowing what features to track is key. For example, a life coach who wants to get more leads into her webinar sales funnel will want to track video views and the number of times people clicked the “sign up” button that accompanied the video. Step Two: Plan your Distribution Before you hit record, it’s important to know where you plan on posting your video. Will you upload it solely to social networks? If so, consider producing a square video which gets up to 28% more view rates than landscape. Identify any video parameters which could affect your video, such as the one-minute duration limit on Instagram. And be sure to include subtitles for Facebook and Instagram videos. You may also want to post to Youtube and your website, to help drive people from search engines. Add your video to a blog, newsletter or as a link in your email signature. Each application may require a unique video format to optimize your video performance. Think about the best post times to target your key viewers and don’t forget to create buzz for your upcoming video launch. Step Three: Create Intentional Emotion Before you launch into your directorial debut, think about what you want people to feel when they watch your video? Emotion inspires action! Joy - Most people enjoy watching moments that brighten up their day. People have a sense of urgency when sharing videos that evoke positive feelings. If you wanted more people to know about your philanthropic brand, sharing the story of the lives the charity you support benefits, will certainly touch people right in the feels. Amusement – Create humor by showing a montage of bad family photos, followed by a portfolio of your photography services or tips of how you could have helped. Fear – Nobody wants to put themselves or others at risk. The viewer will be urged to share, buy or learn more if they believe that act will circumvent the threat. Everyday health products often use fear to influence our buying behaviour positively. The following example is a more extreme way to evoke fear.