The 4 Essentials of Video Content Marketing Success Video has become the essential marketing tool with rich rewards for brands that get it right.

As videos become increasingly popular, they provide the perfect complement to online marketing. Regardless of whether the video is produced simply for fun, information or is intended to be instructional, videos play a critical role in any brand's marketing strategy.

A report published by Demand Metric indicates that 70 percent of marketers are now using videos in their marketing strategies. Another 82 percent of marketers indicate that video content marketing has proven to be successful. Given these numbers, obviously there is plenty of reason to consider implementing video content marketing in your current marketing strategy. If you plan to incorporate video content marketing in your strategy, it is important to make sure you are following the guidelines below to achieve optimal success.

Related: Ignore Video and Miss Out on 69 Percent of Mobile Traffic

1. Identify goals.

Begin by thinking about what you wish to accomplish with your video content marketing strategy. Do you want to draw attention to your products and services? Do you want to use your videos as a recruitment tool? Are you trying to increase brand awareness?

Whatever it is that you want to accomplish from your videos, take the time to define your goals. It is only through defining your goals that you can accurately measure whether your video content marketing strategy has succeeded. You need to determine how you will know if you have actually succeeded. For instance, will you define success by the number of times that your video is viewed? Or, will you gauge success based on the number of shares that your video receives?

Related: Video Marketing Goes Beyond YouTube. Have You Explored These 3 Options?

2. Audience relevance.

To ensure that your video is relevant, when developing your marketing strategy think about the audience you wish to reach. Do not overlook the opportunity to get creative in order to reach your audience in new ways.

3. Call to action.

Regardless of how well your video is produced, it may fail to yield the desired results if you do not include a call to action. Think about what it is that you want people to do when they finish viewing your video. In order to achieve the most impact, you should include a call to action in both a visual and an audible manner.

4. Video distribution.

In determining the best way to distribute your videos, make sure you do not overlook social media. Promote your videos across multiple channels, and ensure that your videos are optimized for mobile viewing, as an increasing number of users now view videos from their mobile devices.

Cisco estimates that within the next two years, video will comprise 69 percent of all consumer online traffic. As online video increasingly becomes a critical means for providing consumers with the means for meeting their entertainment and information needs, it has become even more important for brands of all sizes to ensure they include video content marketing as part of their overall marketing strategy.

Related: How You Can Embrace the Holy Grail of Online Marketing