Marketing videos: Everything you need to know
Marketing videos are an essential part of any campaign. These interactive and entertaining nuggets capture attention and can get information across quickly and effectively. Using video for the marketing funnel is growing in popularity, with more companies integrating it as part of their marketing and sales strategies.
Whether you are new to marketing videos or looking for a refresher course, here’s all the information you need to become an expert.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
This begs the question, are you using marketing videos?
What are the different types of video used in marketing?
When it comes to types of marketing videos, the sky can feel like the limit, but there are a few that resonate more with potential customers than others. The list of marketing videos below is an excellent place to start.
Brand videos: It’s your opportunity to focus on your brand and showcase your company’s vision, mission, products and services. Basically, it’s all about you! The goal of this video is to build awareness around your organization, and it’s often part of a bigger campaign.
This sample reel is a good example of a brand video:
Explainer videos: These short (no longer than 1:30, please) videos are used to highlight a company’s product or service through storytelling. They usually focus on the potential customer’s pain points and how the product or service’s benefits will help solve the issue.
Animated videos: The use of graphics, stock video and product shots are used in conjunction with a voiceover of the script to create these types of videos. They tend to be budget and timeline friendly and are easier to edit both during creation and for future updates.
Live action: These videos use actors, on-location shoots, and a larger production crew. Live-action videos often have a longer production time, especially when talent and location scouting need to take place.
Product demos: Product demos include video footage (often done through screen recording) of your product interface, and visually show how it works. Oftentimes, product demos also include a combination of animation, voice-over and background music.
Whiteboard explainer videos: An animated or physical hand is drawing and erasing on a whiteboard in tandem with a voiceover. The production cost is fairly low and can be effective depending on your product or audience.
Event videos: Hosting an event anytime soon? Whether big or small, creating a fun and energizing video to play during the event is a great way to generate excitement and interest in your company. You can integrate product shots, customer testimonial clips, pictures from previous events, and more. The trick is to keep it short — 2 minutes tops — so your audience doesn’t lose interest.
Testimonial and case study videos: If you have a customer or two willing to be on camera, customer testimonials and case study videos are an engaging way to show an honest endorsement of your product or service.
Here’s a recent testimonial video for Content Matterz:
How to make a marketing video
You know you want and need marketing videos; the next question is, how do you make one? We’ll let you in on our secret sauce, the marketing video recipe for success, better known as the video-making process.
Follow the process below to help you create the marketing video of your dreams. Well, maybe that’s a bit extreme, but you get the picture.
Determine your team
Before kicking off any video project, it’s necessary to first determine your team. For a successful video, you will need:
- Shareholders/main decision-makers: These are the members of your team that give the approvals and sign-off
- Project manager: The main contact and go-between for the decision-makers and other team members. This is the person that also keeps the project on track
- Writer: The person responsible for understanding your goals and writing the perfect script
- Designer: Creates the video design elements (logos, graphics and more)
- Director: The one who brings your vision to life
- Producer: Coordinates and manages the video production process
- Animator: Designs and produces all video animation
- Production team: Includes your technicians, camera operators, talent scouts and more
Not all these roles will be necessary for each video, and some roles may be combined. However, our experience shows that it is important that the key decision-makers are involved throughout the entire process. This will save time and money (no last-minute curveballs or reworks).
Insider tip: Working with a marketing agency pays off. A creative agency should have access to a video production crew that they can manage on your behalf, so all you have to do is work directly with your agency contact, and they take care of the rest.
Hold a kick-off call
The next step is a kick-off call. This is your time to discuss your video’s vision, goal and story. Come with the project brief and review it with the team. Bring examples of other video styles and storylines you like, to give everyone an idea of how you want the end product to look.
During a kick-off call, it is also the time to hammer out the details of the video as well, including:
- Length of time
- Budget
- Finish date
- Use of actors, animation, stock photography, live shots
- Are product videos needed?
- Branding
- If/how many social clips to create
The marketing video kick-off call is one your main decision-makers should be part of. It is important to have everyone on the same page from the start to ensure you can stay on budget and schedule.
Write that script
It’s fun and challenging all at the same time. Writing a script is all about turning that big-picture discussion from the kick-off call into a visual story, that is 30–90 seconds, or approximately 75–200 words (depending on the predetermined length).
We recommend starting with the story idea, creating a rough outline of how the video will progress, who the characters will be, the location, etc., and then writing it from there. Always keep your audience and end goal in mind. Include any visual recommendations for your vision.
Pro tip: Time yourself while reading your script slowly out loud to ensure it’s within the proper time limit.
Create a storyboard
A storyboard is a frame-by-frame visual representation of your script. It’s what your final video will be based on, so you want to get it right before proceeding with the actual production process.
Once again, those decision-makers play an essential role in reviewing the storyboard thoroughly. Now is the time to edit the look and feel, design elements, and script. It is more expensive and time-consuming to make edits post-production, especially if talent, such as actors or voiceover, is involved.
If you are not feeling it, don’t panic. Have a call with the team to talk through the storyboard, your thoughts, and any issues and edits you would like to have made.
Lights, camera, action! It’s production time
Once everything is approved, it’s time to create the actual video! Production time depends on the type and length of the video. Animated videos are created in a studio, so their production is faster, whereas live videos shot on location tend to run longer. The production can take up to a few weeks if talent and locations must be scouted, etc.
Take time before the start of production to make sure everything is in order. Do you need product shots or screen captures? Who should be on set for last-minute decisions during a live shoot? Aside from the final video, do you need social clips, thumbnails, etc?
Now it’s time to work marketing magic
After you’ve given your video a final review and approval, it’s time to start using it as part of your marketing strategy. Include the social clips in your social media campaigns, add your video to landing pages or your website (where it makes the most sense) and encourage your team to show it off to their online followers, customers and potential customers. Be proud of your creation.
How to use video in your marketing funnel
The marketing funnel, or the journey a customer takes from awareness to purchase, is an essential part of any marketing (and sales) strategy. It can also feel a lot like dating. Knowing what content to use at what stage in the funnel can feel like a puzzle at times. The good news is that marketing videos can be used throughout the funnel; let’s dig in.
The awareness stage
You and your potential customers are just meeting at this stage, and you want them to swipe right.
The awareness stage is two-pronged:
- Calling attention to a problem the customer has
- Creating awareness of your company/product/service
Now, it could be that this prospect isn’t aware they have a problem yet, and your job is to help them realize it. Your goal is to drive customer awareness of their problem, capture their attention and create engagement with your company.
Videos that are good for this stage are short, attention-grabbing social media ads, brand storytelling videos that create emotional connections, or product teasers that generate excitement and curiosity. Think short and sweet, visually compelling, and tailored to your target audience’s preferences and interests.
Here’s an example of a social post:
The interest stage
The potential customer is interested and is checking out your profile pics.
As prospects move through the funnel, the next stop is the interest stage, where they are actively looking into your brand and product. They are actively seeking information, and evaluating options, so your goal is to further engage with them, and really get their attention.
We’re not talking huge gestures (no proposals yet!), but something that tells your potential customers a little bit about you. Something that they may even want to tell their friend about.
Enter the explainer video. This wingmate of sorts steps in and demonstrates how your product or service works, and why it’s the best option. Explainer videos are great for simplifying complex ideas, highlighting key features and benefits, and more. They are educational in a fun and engaging way and help viewers understand your value proposition and encourage them to take the desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a service.
Need some stats to sell your boss on signing that video SOW? Try these:
- 96% of people have watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service.
- 89% of people say watching a video has convinced them to buy a product or service.
- 79% of people say watching a video has convinced them to buy a software or app.
- 51% of people are more likely to share videos with their friends than any other type of content.
This explainer video is captivating:
The conversion stage
It’s time to go on your first date.
When your potential customer has reached the conversion stage, your goal is to motivate and persuade them to take the desired action (i.e. make a purchase, sign up, request a consultation).
Now’s the time to come in with more in-depth videos. They still need to be visually compelling and have engaging storytelling (no snoozers, please!), but the call to action should be stronger, guiding them toward conversion.
The conversion stage is where you should use product demo videos and technical explainers. Your ultimate goal is to get the viewer to take action and go from potential customer to customer. It’s commitment time. That means your videos should be persuasive, clear and provide a final push or reason to choose your company.
A few tips: reinforce your value proposition, overcome objections and make it easy for prospects to become customers.
The latest in video trends
There are a lot of videos out there, so finding a way to stand out from the crowd can be beneficial. Here are some video trends to consider:
- Augmented reality (AR): This format uses a combination of virtual and real-world content. Users can experience your product in their current environment.
- Liquid animation: The use of fluid, continuous motion for graphical elements, usually in the form or water. For example, a shape could transform into another shape through a fluid, almost liquid-like movement.
- Live video: Get brave and go on your brand’s favorite social media channel for a little live-streaming action. A script and a little practice is helpful, especially if this is your first time going live.
Marketing videos are well worth the investment
When done well, marketing videos can last the test of time. Once created, making small edits and updates to existing videos can be done fairly quickly. If this is your first video, start small, get a little experience and then move on to bigger marketing video projects.
Ready to create a marketing video?
Look no further; our experienced team is ready to partner with you to create a marketing video that’ll resonate with your target audience.
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