Ever since the Old Spice shook the advertising world with the “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” viral video campaign, big and small businesses have started investing on videos like crazy, hoping to repeat P&G’s Old Spice success (the sales skyrocketed by a whopping 107%). Or even that of Dropbox, who drove 10 million extra signups and $48,000,0000 of extra revenue from their 2 minute explainer video. Go figure!

Old Spice and Dropbox are just the tip of the iceberg.

And, while these video success stories might make for small talk in your next business party, you should rather spend your time learning about the following 8 different types of business videos. And, not just info! We will also tell you exactly how you can develop these kind of business videos pronto.

1. Explainer Video

You have stuffed your website will all kinds of interesting information about your product.

But wait… there’s this 8 second attention span thing, and your prospective customer is not interested to read through your information pile any more. He is now thinking about watching a cat video. Seriously.

Well, this is the current scenario. People are not just in the mood for business information. However, they can squeeze out time for a short video!

So if you had an exciting 60-90 second explainer video put it up on your homepage. Your visitors would be more than happy to watch it than read all those about and services pages.

Best of all, explainer videos are tailored to put your best sales pitch forward in the most persuasive way, which means there’s 85% chance for a purchase.

That’s how Dropbox, Rypple, Crazy Egg, CaseComplete drove conversion. And, you can too. HOW YOU MAKE IT? An explainer video is short, 60 to 90 seconds long, engaging sales pitch that resonates with the target audience and persuades them to say ‘yes’. There are two ways to get an explainer video made.

• One. Hire a freelance artist and animator.
• Two. Hire a professional video production team to crack it for you. 🙂

2. Company Culture Video

Culture videos are not just a means to attract good recruits. It is equally important for your clients too. That’s because a company culture video acts as a medium for your prospective customers to take a peek inside your company… like, observe the office environment and get to know the people (and process) behind the company. Remember that people connect with people, and a culture video can build that connection. If done right.

HOW YOU MAKE IT?

Culture videos are part of your branding efforts, and hence have to be presented well. It’s not like you take a camera and start shooting a video of your coworkers working their butts off or having a good time on the terrace. Plan out a scenario that underlines your brand message. Here’s an example.

3. Video Testimonials

This video testimonial here is from EzeCastle thanking Pardot. If you google “video testimonial”, Pardot shows up on the #1 SERP position. Does this mean that having video testimonials on your website can raise your search ranking? Seems so.

Text Testimonial Vs Video Testimonial:

Well, testimonials have become a standard. Every company needs it to shout out to new prospects that “see our customers are really happy with our service… you will be too”. However, not all testimonials come from customers. You can easily create a fake testimonial by using your friend’s photo and a custom review:

“It was great working with the folks at XYZ Co. Our sales increased by xxx%. it’s just awsome.” –Jack

The typos were intentional. A touché, if you would call it. That fake testimonial would look just as good as a true one. (But, to play it safe, you should rather ask your happy customers to write a testimonial. And, don’t just sit back and wait for them to send you the testimonial. Work with them to write a good testimonial that you can showcase in your website.)

Still the possibility that companies can manufacture testimonials… well, it puts the smart customers (the likes of entrepreneurs) on alert and tells them not to trust the average testimonials.

That’s where the video testimonials come into the highlight. A video testimonial has more weight than their text counterparts in convincing future customers that working with XYZ company is totally cool. Video testimonials also have the added benefit of being shareable over YouTube and other social networks. It makes for a convincing bait to lure in new customers.

HOW YOU MAKE IT?

Well, first get an appointment from your happiest customers and plan a good time for the video shoot. Do prepare the testimonial speech beforehand. Turn the lights. Camera. Action.

4. Event Videos

I am sure you have been attending and speaking up at seminars, conferences and other industry events. Well, don’t just keep them in your camera reels. Put those event videos on your website and let your customers and social media know that the company is alive and kicking. Moreover, speaking at business events and conferences can help you establish your business as an industry leader, as well as do networking with large and small businesses who can turn out be valuable business partners.

HOW YOU MAKE IT?

By organizing your own events or attending others. The deal is to stand under the limelight and talk. Because your customers are listening. If you are looking for conferences and industry events, then Eventbrite, Inc., Icon, LeanStartup, Hostingcon and YourStory are some great websites to find one.

5. Product Demo Videos

Demo videos give a detailed, step by step view of your product or service. The idea of a demo video comes from the fact that your customers want to try out the product before buying it. It’s like going for a test drive. Or checking out a dress. Speaking of dress, online retailers have started to provide a product demo too, and reported of increased sales.

Statistics tell that good product videos can boost the cart sizes by 174%, and increase the likelihood of a purchase by 85%. As such, product demo videos have huge potentiality in driving sales for any ecommerce sites. Simply Piste reported of 25% increase in conversion rate on pages that included product videos. Besides helping customers understand your product better, demo videos are also a great way to cover new or hidden features that your customers are not aware of (or are not utilizing).

HOW YOU MAKE IT?

Well, just a shoot a video of your product in action. In case, you have a SaaS product or any web service, then a screencast will do. After all, the objective of a demo video is to show your customers how your product works. Btw, you would want to highlight the strengths of your product during the demonstration. Like dropping a phone from the second storey.

6. How-To Videos

Of course, you know what a how-to video is but still, for those who don’t,  how-to videos are a form of educational video content that businesses develop with the objective to generate leads and customers. I should also tell you that these educational video series can help the business stand as an industry leader, and thereby earn the trust of big clients.

HOW YOU MAKE IT?

Well, it doesn’t require much except a solid understanding of the topic you are about to explore. And perhaps some expert techniques to ensure that your viewers truly find the video educational. Just make sure that the topic of these how-to videos are directly related to your product or business, and is targeted towards an audience who is more likely to sign up or buy your product.

7. TV Spots/Commercials

If you have the budget and your product is for the general people, then a TV spot is a proven way of introducing your business to millions of people and create a sensation. Provided that your commercial is great, you will witness massive sales rise overnight. Business would be good on the following weeks.

HOW YOU MAKE IT?

TV commercials will require a great deal of investment. First to create it (you will be hiring actors and directors, costume designers and what-not). And then to broadcast it. Like for explainer videos, you need to hire a professional video studio or some reliable freelancer to create your perfect TV spot.

8. User Generated Videos

Well, this is for social media. Especially Facebook. I enjoy watching GoPro videos, like this one.

Again, the topic of the video depends on the type of your product. Overall, the idea is to launch a contest, asking your customers and their friends to submit videos of how they are using your product or what impact the product has made in their lives. These user generate videos create an interesting buzz on the social network, enough to attract other potential customers.

HOW YOU MAKE IT?

This time you won’t be holding the camera. All you will be doing is giving the contest guidelines (and a prize) and your customers would develop the videos for your brand.

By: Deepasha Kakkar