Before starting the process of video creation or production, the very first thing you need to ask yourself is – what is the goal of this video? What kind of information are you hoping people take away from it? And then you will be able to answer, what type of marketing video you need.
The answer to this question should begin to inform you of what type of marketing video you and your brand will need to create.
Let’s talk about five of the most common types of videos to consider.
1. Introduction Video
An introduction or, “Who We Are” video is a great place to start. Whether you’re a brand new company or an existing one, you will need to explain your business, its services and your mission statement to new viewers and prospective customers.
An introduction video is a great way to humanize your business, and open up a dialogue between your business and potential customers. Additionally, it builds a sense of trustworthiness, approachability and transparency, giving viewers a better idea of who you are, what you do, and who they will hopefully be doing business with.
2. Testimonials
Once you’ve explained who you are and what you do to potential customers, you need to keep them interested in your company, or at least give them a reason to be. Testimonial videos are a fantastic way to continue to build brand trust and transparency. These videos feel like word-of-mouth, relating directly from customer to potential customer, talking about their personal experience with you, and how you were able to help them.
Testimonials have the potential to be one of the easier, lower-cost types of marketing video you will make, but the challenge comes with your on-screen talent. These types of videos are innately earnest, straightforward and trustworthy – as long as they are convincingly so.
If the customer on camera seems nervous, stiff or overly scripted, the entire purpose of the video can backfire, and your customers’ trust in you goes down.
3. Promotional / Advertising videos
Now that the customers understand a bit more about your product or service, you can begin with a promotional marketing video to finally prompt them to make a purchase. These types of videos are very sales focused, and may include a buying incentive such as limited time pricing in order to further encourage a purchase. These videos can also highlight a new product or service, or how these benefit customers and why they should want them.
4. Live videos
With the steady and massive rise in social media, more and more businesses are utilizing platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to reach their audiences in different ways. Live video streaming has the unique advantage of letting customers interact with brands directly, from wherever they are. Live videos let viewers feel like their voices are heard, that their opinions matter, and gives the company a human connectedness to its customers that only live video allows.
Live video streaming can be extremely cost effective and easy to produce. Like testimonials, however, the on-camera talent needs to be prepared, free of nerves, and comfortable in front of an audience.
For further reading into the benefits of live video, see our article here.
5. Explanation / How-To videos
These types of videos are a fairly umbrella term for videos that are instructive, informative, and/or answer a question. Explanation videos may address come common FAQ’s that your company receives. They may be a how-to, or tutorial video on using some of your products. They may also not even be related to any of your product or services at all.
Something you may consider is creating some informative, educational content related to the industry you are in. Some examples include a stove manufacturer sharing recipes, a snowboard company offering trick tutorials, or a hospital sharing health and wellness tips. With videos like these, you can build trust in your brand that you are well-informed and educated about the entire industry you are operating within. These videos can be entertaining and enlightening, and give followers a reason to look forward to your content, driving traffic to your brand. They will see you as a resource and come to trust your expertise, further cementing customers into trusting and considering your brand the go-to for the content, information and service they need.
Now that you have a better understanding of the different types of videos that you may want to create, give us a call and we can get started on making that a reality.