If 2015 was known as “The Year of the Video”, 2016 has also delivered consistently on that promise. Virtually every social media network is pouring money into their video capabilities. In social marketing, videos are being used to create interest, raise brand awareness, generate leads and spark online engagement. Companies everywhere are flocking to video in social marketing, whether it’s on YouTube or Facebook or Vine or Instagram or wherever. And while it seems obvious that video will eventually become a part of our mandatory marketing repertoires, the question burning for most is when and how we make the jump to video marketing.

Below are 10 ways to know if you are ready for video:

* You have the means (both time and money) to publish videos regularly on a schedule. An important thing to remember about social marketing is that it takes time to build an audience. To build a brand, raise awareness and spark online engagement, you have to be willing to show up in the same place regularly. In the case of video, you need to consistently deliver new material and your audience needs to get used to consuming their information in a new way. If you set out to do video, the best recommendation is to start small and deliver consistently. Once you master that schedule you can get even more aggressive.

* You have a regular following on various social media channels. So let’s say you take the time and money to make videos on a regular schedule… then what? If you do not already have a following on different social media channels, the first suggestion would be to go win an audience, channel by channel. As you get involved in social marketing in different channels, you will begin to understand the culture of each channel and learn the do’s and don’ts before you turn to video. You also should write comments and follow others in each network. Video will help you acquire an audience, but it isn’t a magic solution; it probably makes more sense after you’ve already built an audience in a particular network. Winning in social marketing is a marathon, not a sprint.

* You have customers who you can interview or your sales associates have industry stories to tell. One of the best social marketing rules, particularly in video, is that you should not be the only one talking about your brand. Before you journey to video, think about your customers and your sales associates as voices that can help you tell your brand’s story. Whether an associate offers industry expertise or a customer offers a heartfelt testimonial, video will always have more impact when you recruit the help of others.

* You can speak frankly and have a plan for emotional connection. The worst mistake in video is thinking only about product, product, product. The immediacy of video gives you the ability to bring social marketing to a whole new level with humor and emotion. In television there is an expression, “Make me laugh, make me cry.” While you may not want to go that far when you are just getting started, presenting a “human” story about your brand or product that touches viewers’ emotions will help you make the most of the medium. If you miss the mark, viewers will just tune you out.

* You have messages in mind that you can communicate quickly. In social marketing, a video viewer will decide within seconds if they are open to hearing your message. Video can be particularly brutal because the viewer can simply opt to shut down the video or stop loading it. If you cannot come up with brand-appropriate ideas for micro videos (remember, sites like Instagram only allow 3 to 15 seconds at most) you might want to rethink the decision to invest in video.

* You have set keywords to optimize your content and have researched video SEO.