Types of Branded Video Content

As part of a broader strategy, branded video content depicts a company’s mission, vision, services, or products and helps to establish their brand identity and tone-of-voice. It is content that conveys to your audience who you are, what you do, and most importantly, why you do it. On top of that, another goal of quality branded video content is to increase awareness and convert visitors to prospects.

Video can educate, empower, and engage prospects in a way that written content cannot. It shows your story in a powerful visual format. Testimonials and case study videos especially are highly effective lower funnel pieces that provide social proof. They emphasize the value of your work, establish credibility in your industry, and showcase who you’ve worked with. All while supporting your brand strategy. This can be done with product explainers that showcase what you offer and how it solves a specific problem, company culture videos that provide a candid look at your employees in action, testimonial and case study videos that showcase the relationships you’ve established, product demonstrations that show how customers use your products and services, and brand films that tell the story of your company.

Types of Branded Video Content

1. Product Explainer Videos

A product explainer video does a lot more than just explain what your product does. It is part of your brand strategy that presents a customer pain point and provides a solution in the form of your product. 70% of YouTube viewers use videos to “help with a problem they’re having.” Who among us, after all, hasn't searched for videos on how to, say, make poached eggs or nail winged eyeliner? There’s no denying that the demand for instructional branded video content is there.

The problem it presents is how brands find it difficult to have conversations with their customers. Conversations are vital. Product explainer videos work particularly well since people generally have short attention spans. These videos convey a bunch of information in an engaging manner and in a short period of time. In this way, you can express the unique selling points of your product or service rapidly.

Quick Tips for Product Explainer Videos

• Ensure your topic isn’t too broad. Stick to one or two points to hold the attention of the viewer. Focus on the pain point identified and the very specific way in which your product solves that problem. Short, direct, and actionable.
• Display your explainer video on your homepage. This will give you optimal visibility and be extremely useful for first-time visitors to your site. Supplemental explainer videos can be placed on specific product feature pages as well to supplement your main video.

2. Company Culture Videos

Company culture videos provide a behind-the-scenes look at your brand. The most significant benefit of this type of video is the fact that it can humanize your brand.Company culture videos work because they’re often a lot of fun or provide a unique peek behind the curtain. Thus, they give you the opportunity to draw in consumers that might be most interested in the human beings behind your brand. They go a long way towards forming an immediate connection with the humans that are watching them, and that is key to getting them to listen to you more, or better yet to purchase from you.

Now more than ever, customers are conscientious of the companies they decide to do business with and culture is one of the most effective ways you can convey that information. On the B2B side, 60% of respondents to a recent AdWeek survey said that a company’s values and how it treats its employees directly impacted whether they would do business with them. A Deloitte survey recently found that 82% of business leaders saw culture as a competitive advantage, both in attracting and retaining talent, and in reaching prospective customers.

3. Testimonial Videos

Naturally, a testimonial video comprises a real review from a real customer or client. This type of video provides social proof for your brand. In other words, a potential customer can actually see the success somebody else has had with your product or service, thus encouraging them to use it themselves.

Don’t underestimate the power reviews and testimonials have. Brands with testimonials generate 62% more revenue per site visitor. A recent Wyzowl survey found that 79% of respondents preferred video testimonials when researching a product or company and 2 out of 3 were more likely to engage with the brand after watching such a video. Testimonials work because they help instill trust in the consumer. A genuine testimonial in the form of a video is much more effective than a written review, which…let’s be honest, someone can easily fake anyway.

4. Product Demo Videos

Product demonstrations offer a more in-depth look at how your product or service works. They differ from explainer videos as they are deeper and more technical, as opposed to telling a more emotional story about your brand.

They are still highly effective, as they have a hand in helping consumers further down the funnel make a final purchasing decision. Jenny Mudarri at Wistia says:

“We’ve found that making specific, one-off demo videos that answer a question or highlight a feature is an awesome tactic for engaging with leads in a personalized, helpful way.”

While explainer videos provide a general outline, product demo videos go further to show the user precisely how the product will fix their problems. It’s both informative and practical. That’s why this kind of video works so well.

5. Case Study Videos

Deeper than a testimonial, case studies address specific use cases and tell the story of how your product or service helped real-life customers-emphasis on the “story” element. It’s another type of endorsement that your product really works, framed in the context of a problem that other people might be having out there in the world.

For many, seeing someone like them achieve results with a certain solution can really seal the deal on a purchase. Michael Saba at MarketingProfs says,

“A good case study creates serious value for your brand by showing your prospects real-world examples of the benefits your business can bring them. That translates to more leads, more conversions, and more deals closed for you.”

6. Brand Films

This term covers any video that highlights what your brand is all about. For instance, it could depict the history of your brand or your founding story. It could express your company’s core values or what causes you care about. Essentially, it’s about the things that make your brand authentic and human.

The bottom line is this type of brand video can only work in your favor. People actually want to see videos like this. In fact, 54% of consumers have said they want to see more videos in general from brands, making it the most in-demand type of content, even above newsletters and social images.

Brand story videos show consumers that you are genuine. It’s not about the product, but the other things you want your business to achieve, i.e. how you want to help people and why your company came to be.

Conclusion

Video marketing is a proven method of increasing brand awareness and building your brand in general. As consumers demand more video and brands shift their marketing spend toward a visual approach, it’s a strategy you can’t afford to miss out on. Branded video content production comes in many forms, but all of them draw the attention of customers by taking them on a brand storytelling journey through your product and your company as a whole.

To recap, here are the 6 most effective types of branded video content you can start using now to reach a wider audience and build relationships:

1. Product Explainer Video - Gives an overview of your product and allows you to highlight it’s best features.

2. Company Culture Video - Humanizes your brand by providing a behind-the-scenes look at your company.

3. Testimonial Video - Provides social proof and instills trust in the consumer.

4. Product Demonstration Video - Helps the consumer make a purchasing decision by showing them precisely how to use your product.

5. Case Study Video - Presents your product as the optimal solution to a real customer’s biggest pain point.

6. Brand Story Video - Adds a level of authenticity to your brand and shows the customer what you care about.

Think hard about the story you want to tell about your brand, watch some of the incredible branded video content out there, and then hit the ground running to build awareness and build your following.

The shift toward branded video isn’t ending any time soon-the sooner you start incorporating it into your B2C marketing strategy, the sooner you’ll start reaping the benefits for your brand.