Video for Business: What Kinds Can You Use?

In Part 1 we discussed the increasing prevalence of video in business marketing. Google loves it, and rewards it, so it stands to reason that if you want to promote your business online then you should incorporate video. First let’s talk about how you can use video for your online marketing.

There are different types of videos that a business can use. We won’t go in to things like feature films or documentaries here, although they can certainly feature companies and products. But we’ll talk about videos that can be shared on a company website, social media channels, or even on television.

Produced Videos for Your Business

Commercial Video

Most people are familiar with marketing and advertising videos. They may be similar to what you’ll see in TV commercials. They are usually featuring a product, service or company and aim to influence potential customers to invest in whatever they are marketing. In the example below, employees describe how they can help someone shopping for a new car.

These videos for businesses usually have a longer shelf-life, and are worth investing a bit more in because they will get more views over a longer time – whether they are on the company website or your social media channels. They are also excellent for telling your company’s story, explaining your mission, or providing valuable reasoning why you are the best option for that customer.

Customer Testimonials

These are marketing gold mines. We all know that a referral is the best source of new customers. A referral is the least expensive way to gain a new customer, and is trusted far more than a random advertisement. Potential customers hearing one of your previous customers describe their (great) experience with your company carries a lot of weight. Particularly if it’s a “real person,” rather than an actor or spokesmodel reading a script. We can help you document these, and if we’re able to film several of these back-to-back then they can be quite cost-efficient. Below is a compilation of several customer testimonials for a local business, Tax Clean Up.

Promotional Video

A promotional video for business usually has a shorter lifespan. It’s designed to generate publicity and promote a specific event. Because these have a shorter lifespan it makes more sense to keep these simpler and less costly. Many businesses will invest some of the production savings on these in to boosting a video’s exposure online. Since it will typically be relevant for a shorter timeframe it pays to display it to as many people as possible. The example below is promoting a Christmas toy drive, which is particularly time-sensitive.

Educational Content

A trend over the last few years has been to produce videos that are more educational than “salesy.” Show how well someone can use or take advantage of a product, and what it can do, and you’ll create desire for the product without looking like a sales pitch. You’ve probably even seen this in action at your local Home Depot or Lowes, as they get outside on Saturday mornings and teach people how to build something. (Then they watch people go inside to buy the tools they’ll need to do the really cool thing you just demonstrated.) A tutorial is similar, although some separate that into its own category.

Company Training

Many companies like to produce training videos for new employees. All employees see the exact same training, regardless of when or where they learn. This provides consistency, which is particularly important the larger the company is or the more geographically dispersed it may be.

If you’ve flown anytime in the last few years you may have noted that some airlines now show a video of the plane’s safety features at the beginning of your flight. All passengers get the same instruction, in every airport, every day.

In current times, training may be done entirely online – whether via a live “Zoom” webinar or a self-paced series of videos.

Live Video for Business

Live video has become the norm now. Conferences are live streamed, webinars are held to educate, and teleconference calls are finally commonplace. We’ll touch on just two of these applications at the moment.

Live-streamed Events

Thanks to the pandemic, in-person events have largely disappeared for the time being. Yet companies still want to engage with their employees, customers, or shareholders. So many events have turned to live streaming as a solution.

Morton Visuals is working to fill this need. We currently have three cameras that can be used show your team (or viewers) different views of speakers, events, and the like. Much like watching a late-night talk show, we can set up cameras for a host, guest, and wide shots of a set and help you live-stream that action online. This could include anything from a CEO’s announcement (like Steve Jobs introducing the iPhone) to internal training sessions.

We have worked with a prominent makeup retailer to present live classes with a well-known Artist demonstrating makeup techniques. In the studio we had a camera with a large zoom lens showing a close-up view to the class on a large flat-panel TV. With additional cameras to show the wide view and close-ups of the products this presentation can be streamed live to Facebook, YouTube, or the outlet of your choice.

Business Webinars

Webinars are great video opportunities for customer demonstrations, discussions, online meetings, and so on. They can be streamed live initially, but also be recorded and available online for playback on-demand for those who were unable to watch it live. This is a bit of a hybrid, with the technological advantages (and challenges) of both immediate distribution and archival use.

Hopefully this gives you some ideas of ways you can utilize video for your business. You can communicate in your own voice, either live or on-demand — and more effectively get your message across. And Google will love it. Call us or email us and let’s talk about how Morton Visuals can engage your potential customers.