Did you know that there are NINE types of videos your business needs? Gone are the days when the only video advertising was television commercials. Now, video is a fixture in our lives. For example, over 2 BILLION users log into YouTube every month. Your brand can reap different advantages from different kinds of videos, but are you using all of them?
Your video strategy should help attract customers, educate them, and convert them, as well as create customer engagement and build relationships. This can be accomplished with video formats such as webinars, promos, digital display, social content, and personalized videos for customers. Some of those are best when they’re heavily scripted and polished, while others should be more informal. What your business needs depends on your goals and on where the target viewer is on their customer journey. It also depends on how much time, effort, and money you have for video creation.
Explainer Videos
Explainer Video are quick 30-60 second videos that explain who you as a company are. It’s basically a pitch video. These are great for top of funnel interactions where you need to introduce yourself to potential customers and tell them why they should care about you. These work best when they feel more personal. Don’t forget a strong call-to-action, maybe telling them to follow your page, fill out a form, or go to your website.
You can use Explainer Videos on your website (think homepage videos), on social media and YouTube, and in ads.
How-To Videos
How-to videos are great for any point of the funnel, can be just about any length, and can be used for anything other than ads. They don’t need to be extremely high quality or super polished. A real person-to-person feel is more effective. The point of a how-to video is to explain something in a way that will provide valuable content to your audience. This is not the time for a hard sell.
How-to videos are super engaging online because they can feel like pulling back the curtain and letting your audience in on trade secrets!
Promo Videos
Promo videos is the general term for commercials. Think short, polished, story-driven, exciting videos with strong call-to-actions. They can be used anywhere you need to promote something, such as a product, an event, or a sale!
Talking Head Videos
Talking head videos could also be categorized as “thought leadership” videos. These videos are when you put yourself in front of the camera and share your personality and point of view. These are not designed for a hard sell, but instead to show viewers your authentic self and brand personality. Talking head videos work best on social media and YouTube.
Webinars
We’re going to include podcast videos in this category as well. Webinars are specifically educational and so the focus needs to be on providing actionable content for your viewers, not selling them. Most webinars are between 15-60 mins, and like in-person seminars, they can take many forms: live Q&A’s, lectures, or panels.
Hosting a webinar takes a bit of IT knowledge, so it’s common to use a hosting service. It’s a good idea to have a moderator (and maybe an A/V guy) on hand for any troubleshooting or technical difficulties. After the webinar is finished, you can make it available for on-demand viewing, as well as cut the webinar up into smaller clips for future content use.
Case Study Video
A case study tells the story of how a real customer or business uses your product. It provides validation from a third party, which is a very strong selling point. Case study video work best when they are planned out and polished. Include the customer/star in the planning process: this will make the video more authentic. Focus the video more on benefits rather than solely on features, and back up the information with data.
Fun/Culture Videos
These videos are a way to highlight your company’s culture and personality. They help tell your brand story and personality. Often these videos are narrative-driven, fun, and humorous. A good example of culture videos is pretty much every company’s TikTok. These videos are quick, fun, and feel personal.
Demo Videos
A demo video is a video that highlights how a product or service actually works. It’s there to educate and inform viewers. Keep these videos as concise as possible. They can take a few forms: a broad overview, pre-recorded demo, or live demonstration. For example, we have broad overview demos of our list services platform on YouTube, we pre-record demos to onboard clients or answer technical questions (Loom is great for this), and we often do live demos when showing potential clients how our systems work.
Personalized Videos
Who doesn’t love a personalized video? Sending videos to clients instead of texts or emails is a big part of our follow-up. It’s so much more touching to see someone’s face and hear your name than to just read a written message. Depending on your industry, you might have some clients that you’ve never met face-to-face, and sending them a personalized video can help bridge the gap.
With so many different types of video, it’s easy to see how it’s such a diverse and effective marketing tool. How can you use video in YOUR marketing?
