Video is one of the most popular and important tools for brands in the market today … yet one of the biggest concerns we hear from our clients is that their videos aren’t successful: people aren’t watching or sharing them, or they are closing the video before the main messaging is complete. Usually, this is less of a reflection on the quality of the video, and more of a reflection on the relevance of the contentConsumers expect a highly personalized marketing experience, so one-size-fits-all corporate videos simply won’t cut it anymore. To guide your video strategy, we recommend using “topic framing” to ensure you are creating videos with a clear focus and subsequently sharing them with the right audience. Topic framing starts the creative process by asking what you hope to accomplish or who you’re talking to, rather than with your brand and products. This allows you to make better decisions about how much to spend on video production or what types of content are most appropriate for that situation and audience. We’ve mapped out four of the most common frames to get you started.

Greeting Newbies (Also Known As Lead Generation):

If your goal is to attract customers who aren’t familiar with your brand, it’s time to pull out all the stops. Lead acquisition videos should clearly communicate the lifestyle and values associated with your products. We recommend splurging on high-quality production and carefully building a story that explains the main benefits of your brand. These types of videos are best supported by cross-channel marketing materials that invite potential customers to watch your video after seeing enticing social, print, or ad content that teases some of your main benefits. Every brand should have at least one lead generation video in various lengths, so if this is your first corporate video — start here.

Establishing Thought Leadership and Networking:

More mature brands or service-based companies might benefit from content that highlights your thought leadership and established presence within the industry. Recordings of recent lectures or conferences and direct one-on-one interaction with the camera from leaders within your organization signal that your brand is still learning, growing, and innovating. Unlike lead acquisition videos, you can get away with a more low-tech approach because the goal is to simply demonstrate knowledge and transparency. Thought leadership videos are a great way to differentiate your company from the competition or build excitement about an upcoming launch or event.

Playing to the Crowd: Fan-Focused:

Never underestimate the power of pleasing your best customers and fans. Videos that thank your customers, showcase their experiences with your products, entertain them, or delight them are good ways to build brand loyalty, encourage past customers to refer friends and family, and build goodwill. You can even leverage customer footage by inviting fans to submit videos on social media. Depending on your product or brand image, the type of production value you need to deliver to make these videos a success will differ. Work with an agency to define what success looks like and what you hope to accomplish from a fan video so you don’t invest too much time and energy into something that may not benefit your organization.

How-To Videos:

Some of the most important videos are how-to videos and product demonstrations that help prospective customers understand what they can do with your products, app, or services. This is especially important if you are a new entrant into the market or have a complicated app or product idea. Education, or lack thereof, is one of the first barriers that potential customers cite when opting out of a purchase, so we highly recommend you use tutorial videos to help them overcome these detrimental knowledge gaps. Make sure these videos are short, entertaining, and informative, or risk losing your audience before you even get started.

Click here to explore some of the videos that have been most successful for our clients and learn how we can help you create amazing video content for every situation and every type of customer.