More than a billion hours.
That’s how much time people spend watching YouTube every single day. 🤯
Not all that content is a marketing video, but almost every single video contains promotions, sponsorships, affiliates, and ads.
If you’re trying to learn how to make a marketing video for the first time… that’s a whole load of content you need to compete with.
So what steps do you need to take to make a truly effective marketing video that’s sure to grab people’s attention?
We’ll answer that question in this article, along with the following:
- How to create a great video marketing strategy
- The top types of video marketing content
- Different video-making styles and when to use them
How to use video marketing as part of your growth strategy
Video marketing can be used at every stage of your customer’s journey. You can use it to attract new leads, convert leads into customers, and even convert customers into higher-paying customers.
To create a successful marketing video, you must first decide on your end goal. Once that’s established, it’s easy to determine what kind of content you want to create and where you will publish it.
3 types of video marketing content that you can create
A video marketing campaign can help boost performance across your funnel, but when you’re just starting, ask yourself what metric currently matters most.
Most businesses use video to improve one of three metrics:
- Increase website traffic & brand awareness
- Increase new customer leads and engagement
- Improve lead-to-customer conversions
1. Increase website traffic & brand awareness
Typically you’ll want to create videos that can be shared on all your social channels.
To maximize your organic reach, create content your target audience will happily share with their own channels.
- Short promo videos for social media platforms
- Influencer-driven video sponsorships
- Video ad for social
- General task how-to videos
- Blog post content
2. Increase new customer leads and engagement
Website explainer videos are an excellent way to gather new leads and improve free trial sign-ups. Make sure videos at this stage are correctly tailored to your audience’s awareness level and finish with a strong call to action.
- Website explainer videos
- FAQ & Pricing page videos
- Case study videos
- Testimonial videos
- About us videos
- Product demo videos
3. Improve lead-to-customer conversions
These videos fulfill two purposes; to educate and inspire. Give your users a clear understanding of how they might apply your product’s features to improve their current way of doing things.
- Onboarding welcome videos
- Product tour videos
- Email welcome videos
- Video newsletters
- Training videos
- Screencast tutorials
- Product-specific how-to videos
What style should your video content use?
There are eight styles of marketing videos you can make. Each has pros and cons in terms of time, difficulty, and cost.
Most videos will use a combination of styles to achieve the desired result. For example, the video explainer below combines 2D animation effects, motion graphics, a screencast, and professionally recorded live-action.
1. 2D Animation marketing videos
Animated marketing videos are one of the most popular styles to use. It is typically used for explainer videos for promotional purposes. Used frequently by startups and small to medium businesses.
2. 3D Animation marketing videos
The rarest type of marketing video that you’ll see online. 3D animation is visually engaging but expensive to produce. It is typically used by big enterprises only.
3. Motion graphics marketing videos
Motion graphics is an interchangeable term that can indicate abstract effects or 2D vector animation that doesn’t include characters. It’s common to explain more complicated concepts in how-to videos.
4. Whiteboard animation marketing videos
Whiteboard animation is quick and affordable to produce. It’s best used to detail a complex idea visually.
Like 2D animation, it’s popular in explainer videos. Be wary of relying on whiteboard animation if you’re not explaining complicated concepts, as it can come across as a bit childlike.
5. Typography marketing videos
It shows text animating onto a screen dynamically. Typography videos are rare as it’s challenging to make them impactful and engaging. When done right, typography animation is fantastic for hype videos.
6. Screencast recording marketing videos
Screencasts are recordings of your computer screen. They typically include a human face narrating through the steps. Screencasts are used for tutorials, product demos, and training videos.
7. Self-recorded live-action marketing videos
Many marketers record their own videos for sales or training purposes. You must purchase adequate lighting, camera equipment, and audio recording devices. Alternatively, you can record videos for social media using your phone. This could be particularly effective if you want to create Facebook or Instagram live videos.
8. Professionally recorded live-action marketing videos
Live-action videos are the second most popular marketing video after 2D animation. They make effective and engaging explainer videos and are great at turning viewers into leads.
This type of marketing video is fairly expensive to produce as it requires actors, studio space, and a camera crew.
There are even more types of marketing videos you can make. Learn about all the different types right here. 👇
How to create professional marketing videos
Thanks to technology, making a marketing video is a very easy process. You don’t need any special skills or equipment. With the right know-how and resources, you can create a high-quality video in less than an hour.
Marketing video maker tools and software
There are plenty of online tools and software for creating videos. And with the rise of social media, even a ten-year-old can create a video on a mobile device. To create a marketing video specifically, there are a few tools that can make your life way easier.
Try using a text-to-video tool to create video content
Imagine typing your text into an online tool, hitting “Generate,” and getting a complete video of a professional actor talking into the camera. That’s exactly how a tool like Synthesia works. Check out the free demo here to see for yourself.
VideoScribe for whiteboard animations video creation
VideoScribe is an easy-to-use tool for beginners that allows you to create engaging whiteboard animations for your brand.
FilmoraGo video app marketing video maker
FilmoraGo is an app for Android and Apple that makes it easy to create videos from your phone or tablet. It’s perfect for social media promos and ads.
The ultimate 4-step video-making process
Step #1: Have a Clear Goal & Message
Before creating your video, decide what goal you want it to achieve. Are you trying to increase brand awareness? Promote a product or service? Educate customers on a particular topic?
Having a clear goal and message will help guide the rest of the process.
Step #2: Planning & Storytelling
Start by writing a script that outlines the key points of your story and how they fit together.
Then think about your target audience and what images or graphics would best convey your message. Once you have a clear idea of what kind of visuals you’ll need, it’s time to start building out the storyboard for the video.
This will help keep everything organized and give everyone involved in the project a clear vision of where the final product should be headed.
Step #3: Choose Your Format
Next, it’s time to figure out which format best suits your needs. Will you be doing an animated explainer or an interview-style documentary? A mix of both? If you’re making your own video, you must consider your personal knowledge and capabilities.
Step #4: Create your marketing video
Once you know who your audience is and what format works best for them, it’s time to focus on creating quality content that speaks directly to them.
What kind of visuals will help them understand your message – text-heavy slides or more cinematic visuals? What tone should the voiceover use – lighthearted or serious?
Next, it’s time to actually go and make those visuals a reality. In most cases, you’ll also want to add screencasts, stock photos and images, a voiceover, and background music.
Lastly, don’t forget to add your brand logo and colors to the video. This will keep all your video marketing content in a consistent style.
4 quick tips on how to grab your audience’s attention
1. Start With A Bang
The first few seconds of your video are crucial. Your goal is to hook viewers immediately, so whatever visuals and audio you use should be exciting and engaging enough to capture their attention right away.
Opening with an intriguing question, bold statement, or powerful image can be great ways to start strong.
2. Keep it Short and Sweet
Nobody likes a long-winded video that goes on forever without getting to the point. If your message is short and sweet, your audience won’t feel like they’re wasting time watching it all the way through.
Aim for 90 seconds at most, any longer than that, and you risk losing viewers before they’ve even heard the end of your message.
3. Put Your Audience First
Your target audience should always come first when creating a marketing video. You want them to understand what you’re saying immediately, so keep your language clear and simple instead of using overly technical jargon or industry slang (unless you’re targeting an industry-specific audience).
Additionally, focus on creating content that will resonate with them emotionally; humor is always a great way to go.
4. Show Don't Tell
When possible, show instead of telling in your videos; visuals are much more compelling than words alone!
Whether it’s footage of happy customers or illustrations showing how something works in action, these visuals will help drive home whatever point you’re trying to make.
Create your next marketing video in minutes
Making an effective marketing video doesn't have to be complicated - but if done correctly can yield great results.
Check out Synthesia’s library of marketing video templates to get started.
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