One thing businesses can have too much of when using video marketing is — freedom. It sounds counterintuitive, but there’s so much you can do with the video that it can often get too hard to pick a direction and stick with it. A video mixes visual, audio, and textual elements, and each of them allows a lot of experimentation to find the perfect video expression of your business and its goals.
Freedom constrains by various factors. There are budgetary concerns to account for, there’s the availability of talent that might reduce choices, and your business itself might be a limiting factor on the creativity of your marketing videos.
But above all, businesses know that experimenting with video content isn’t something they should be doing often. Marketers know which types of videos affect the viewers in the desired ways. And while doing something new and different can be rewarding once in a while, the bulk of video content businesses produce for marketing fall into one of several, pre-determined types.
The Interview Video
Is there anything better than putting a face on the business image? You can use the interview video, where the owner of the business or the employees answer questions, for a couple of purposes. For one, it really helps to humanize the business. It can also be used to demonstrate the business’ values, which is incredibly important for branding. And finally, it can be used for personal branding, where the person interviewed wants to establish themselves as an authority figure within the industry.
The Testimonial Video
Filmed testimonials are a staple of infomercials. Every business needs a little bit of social proof, and testimonials are the perfect bite-sized pieces of it. Standalone testimonial videos can be a very valuable part of a video marketing strategy, as long as they’re put to good use. That means that video testimonials are placed right smack in the middle of the customer journey, just before the purchase decision stage.
The Tutorial/Explainer Video
It’s always a good idea to spend some time and money on ensuring the customers know what your business does, and how it benefits customers. That’s what the explainer or tutorial does — it focuses on the value a business’ products or services offer to the customers. It highlights how the business is trying to make its customers’ lives easier. It makes buying the products or using the services useful.
The 360° Video
The 360° video was a novelty a couple of years back. Today, however, you don’t use it simply because it looks good. You use the awesome capabilities of the format to transport the viewer into an experience. Granted, this type of video needs a bit more setting up, and it doesn’t work well for mundane themes. But a behind-the-scenes video or an event video would look great in 360°.
The Demonstration Video
A demonstration video is like an explainer video, but with a more hands-on approach. It’s great for targeting customers who have already bought the product or the services. As such, it’s a tool your business can use if it wants to inspire customer loyalty and repeat purchases.
The Animated Video
Even though the animated video isn’t exactly a type of video — you can do most of the other video types of animation — it has deserved its own place under the limelight. Animation allows the creator to do many things that are simply not possible with a regular type of video. The power of the animated video is best harnesses for the types of video content that aim to increase reach. Think of it as an infographic with moving images.
The Live Stream
Live streams work by targeting people’s fear of missing out to attract their attention. They are also very dependent on the type of content that’s streamed. You can’t simply stream a day at your business, or something else that’s mundane. You need a hook, something that will make the stream interesting. Live streams work great with events, or any other type of happening that doesn’t occur too often.
