Corporate video is a great way to communicate with a variety of audiences in an interesting way, and it is an exceptionally effective media in conveying key messages clearly and succinctly. Video on a website landing page can increase conversions by 80%. The percentage of executives who  would rather watch a video than read text – 59%.  The numbers just go on and on…

But right now the title “Corporate Video” is nearly as vague as “TV Program”, so here are a few of the many different types and genres of video programs that fall under the banner – not including Marketing or Advertising video types (although change video for commercial and many are similar)…

Your brand video should be a perfect capsule of who you are and what you do and why you do it – a portrait of your brand. It should sit in pride of place on your website home page, play on a monitor in your reception area, be a link in the address on your email, seen by everyone you come in touch with.

It tells your brand story, defines your values and what you stand for, links to your heritage, or simply says what you do, and why and how you are different from the rest of the pack. It is your flagship piece of video content, relatively short, sharp and to the point, but has depth and a quality level synonymous with how you want your company to be seen.

It concisely and accurately replaces the 1000 variations chinese whisper explanation of who you are given by your people.

Social Media videos are those that spend much of their lives on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin, YouTube and a million Blog sites. 69% of all global consumer internet traffic is video – and that was in 2017! Putting aside the cats and jumping off roofs in a wheelie bin videos Social Media programs are a key factor in a corporation being seen, and being able to tell a message of some sort to affect how viewers behave.  In fact viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video compared to only 10% who read it.

What’s more they are an open playing field for your creativity – a Social Media video should be relatively short, can be factual or off the wall, can focus on an event, a program, a project, a product or just build some strange concept, and they are often most successful when they are emotive. They can be deliberately cheap or very well produced depending on the image you want to project. They can be single pieces or web series. But they should always offer branded content that has some sort of story value that the viewer wants to share with others. Social Media videos offer the greatest return when they use the pyramid concept of marketing – allowing every viewer to be your salesperson in spreading your message.

The Exhibition video is a very particular beastie, it acts like a visual grappling hook – designed to catch the attention of everyone who is passing by your booth or attending your live event, and stop them in their tracks, before dragging them on board.  It tends to be product or service specific, to not require a spoken word soundtrack, to be capable of looping, and to sizzle and excite. It is tailored to a specific audience, and so can be very targeted with a known level of understanding and knowledge and so can be in depth. It should be long enough to hold a viewer’s attention until they can be spoken to, and not to tell a complete story so the viewer doesn’t have questions.

In many cases a strong, impactful Exhibition video is the gateway to the event’s success for any company.  The Conference or Convention video is a slightly different product, usually with a high motivational value and a lot of sizzle, but again it is an open for a live presenter to complete the story, rather than a complete story in itself.

Generally speaking testimonials are not the most exciting things to read in the world – but they provide a proof that the product works, the service has value, that you are honest and can be trusted that nothing else can do so easily. Many Testimonial videos are the same way – boring!  Often there is a perception that an effective testimonial should be an unedited clip shot by the new kid with the big hair on his DSLR camera… that no budget means real.

We see things a little differently to that – because we believe that the testimonial is a terrific thing, and has the ability to tell a perfect little story that is very engaging indeed. But to do that it has to tell the whole story, not just the “they are great” piece.  So we like to take several testimonial interviews, carefully direct and shoot them, and often edit them together as overlapping parts of a single success story… often including your own people in the telling. This turns that boring concept into a small documentary film that is even more believable but can also be entertaining to watch, and potentially forward to others.

79% of consumers have the same trust in online reviews as they do in personal recommendations. Combined with visual reinforcement, social proof can have a tremendous effect on potential customers. But it has to feel authentic. It can’t feel forced or scripted.

Most corporate websites have an FAQ section to answer the most asked queries about their brand, product or service. These are supposed to replace a face to face conversation with an expert, but often they are as frustrating and unintelligible as that tech support chat you have with the Stan in India which goes nowhere after the half hour wait. Often the reason why is because they have to use a small number of words to answer a complex question that can’t be achieved in a small number of words.

An FAQ or Information video provides a way to answer several aspects of a question in one short experience that has a human face, is always consistent and allows you to also see the product or service in action.  In fact these can often serve a double purpose as sales support videos on a web site because they do concisely explain what can be done and show how easily this can happen.

These need not be smiley face driven either – many years ago we created a highly detailed series of 3D animations of a drive array system that showed how to load, unload and backup drives, and what drives would work, for a international brand (okay, it was Drobo) that used only moving visuals and numbers that was very effective as an FAQ video series.

After watching a video 64% of users are more likely to buy a product online. Depending on your product or service, your prospective buyers, and the media on which you’ll show this piece, a product video can be anything from a very basic unboxing or explainer type piece, to an infommercial, to a full blown marketing video or commercial. Like all good video productions this is about what is appropriate and effective for your audience, and the quality you wish the product to be identified with.

Product videos tend to be in depth and technical. They are good for when your company sells multiple products or wants to demonstrate the product to potential purchasers. These videos should be detailed, and showcase exactly how the product or services work and how your customers can use it. This doesn’t mean that they have to be overly complicated, a well designed product video can be simple and entertaining…

Company Culture is very often a difficult thing to put into words and images, because it is often about beliefs and attitudes rather than things. It’s also tricky because more often than not you and your people are aware of it when a line is crossed, rather than when everything is fine.

For example, companies often use the phrase “respectful of others” as part of their culture description – but does this mean holding the door open, or not questioning other people’s beliefs, or leaving private lives private, or something else entirely?  A Corporate Culture Video allows you to explain complex ideas through association with events, places and peoples that individuals can identify with and aspire to instead of specifics. To show positive symbols that match your goals. They should be inspirational and uplifting, making your people proud to be a part of the organization.

These creative marketing videos show off your team and brand at their best – and are often also used to recruit new hires, or even explain your values to a new client or the public.

A recruitment video is a great way to entice applicants. Showing them your offices, giving an insight into the company culture and explaining in detail the role via video sets you apart from other job adverts. It also allows you to give potential applicants more information about the company without them having to read a long job description. Videos like this work really well if you want to widen your search and use non-traditional channels such as social media to reach more people. Of course, they can go too far – a recruitment video we made for a leading international fruit company that was intended to encourage high school students to join the company, starting as summer pickers, was to fill 45 positions but they ended up with over 800 applications!

Training videos make learning internal procedures and programs so much easier for members of your team – especially new ones. At their best they not only explain the “how” of a process in a way that is easy to digest, but perhaps more importantly can go far beyond an instructional manual or textbook and explain the “why”.  This added insight can allow trainees to work out their own ways through a process, or handle problems that come out of left field.

Good Training Videos bring reality into the learning environment and challenge the viewer in unpredictable ways, from the absurd to the emotional to the exciting.

Of course, the traditional reason for showing a training film still holds true.  They can provide a few minutes of interest and entertainment that can be the key to keeping an audience engaged for the next steps…

Corporate Social Responsibility is a key element of the culture and ethos of many companies.

Documenting the initiatives your brand initiates or takes part in is a great way to show potential clients and customers more about who you are and what you stand for.  People take a companies’ ethics into account when choosing who to do business with, they show character, so sharing what you do to make a difference in the world is a good way to build trust and encourage their participation.

Little documentary films can be used to tell authentic, true stories from your customers and employees while connecting on an emotional level with your audience. These creative marketing videos aren’t about selling your brand, but should tell inspiring stories – promoting brand awareness rather than moving customers into purchasing.

Audiences can pick and choose what to watch and when to watch it, so corporate videos can’t be stuffy. Produce creative marketing videos where you talk about your brand as a company without being boring or overly professional. In “Our Blades are F***ing Great,” Dollar Shave Club nails the corporate video with humor that borders on the absurd. Their growth skyrocketed after they started filming videos like this, so Unilever got in on the action and acquired the brand.

Let your creativity shine with these types of videos. Produced almost entirely for entertainment value and brand awareness, comedic creative marketing videos are only limited by your imagination (and budget). They can be pranks, such as Lyft’s video below, scripted narratives, humorous looks at your company, and more.

A case study is similar to a testimonial, but it should lay out your clients challenges and how you provided a solution. Case studies can be funny, serious, or light-hearted, but make sure to express your brand voice while remaining authentic to the client.

Like the comedy video, a drama or action film is a great way to catch your audience’s attention and provide entertainment value. RedBull perfected this in their simple, but effective, web video “Creepers” with 73 million views and 1.3 million engagements.  BMW Short Films changed their perception from “proper” to “cool” with their ongong series of cult short action videos directed by the very best young international directors.

Whether you need to promote or recap an event for your audiences, an event video is a great way to do it. These videos can be made to sell tickets, build anticipation, or show your viewers what they missed out on.

Content you only use once is content wasted.  A video webinar lets you leverage written content, or produce derivative content from it.  Plus, unlike a lot of video content, it brings viewers directly into the sales funnel by requiring leads to register in advance.  But you have to be aware that, as in so many examples, a webinar is a direct communication with your clients… a well produced piece that is professional and honest in it’s delivery is a huge marketing plus, but one that looks and sounds amateur hour simply devalues your brand and your own perceived professionalism.

Unless your product or brand is self-explanatory, an explainer video is one of the most important types of videos you can create. These creative marketing videos should be high-quality productions explaining what your product is and how to use it. They are usually less than two or three minutes long.

In addition to their marketing value, another important benefit of an explainer video that is rarely talked about is SEO, or search engine optimization value.  According to Small Business Trends, “Google loves video content and an effective video marketing campaign should have Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in mind. To ensure maximum SEO value from your videos, accompany the video with a well-written description that is tagged with relevant keywords to help boost the video’s SEO”. Since an explainer video is all about your company, it’s a great place to optimize for SEO.

Purely animated explainers are a category to themselves because they require a different mindset and production skills than a non-animated explainer.  Many are more like moving speaker support images – reflected in the way they are also known as whiteboard videos.  This type of video content is popular with tech companies because animation makes it easy to visualize software or other technologies, including those which may not exactly exist as yet!  You can be creative and playful with the animation and storyline and bring these short pieces to life if you regard them as more than low budget throwaways, which is all too often the case.