How to create a successful promotional video for your marketing

So you're looking to create a promotional video to supercharge your marketing? Whether you're a SaaS business, B2B, or B2C, video is a powerful way to get your message across. 

In this article, we'll cover what makes promo videos so effective in video marketing, things to consider when making your video, and how to begin the process of creating a successful one. 

1. Videos demand attention

If social media has taught us anything recently, it's that everyone has an opinion on the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard court case and our attention spans are dwindling. 

A new survey of the UK public by the Policy Institute and Centre for Attention Studies at King's College London reveals that half the public (49%) say they feel like their attention span is shorter than it used to be.

In a time where people often only give your content a few seconds before deciding to move on, video is a great way to get a message across, fast. When asked how they'd most like to learn about a product or service, 73% of people said they'd prefer to watch a short video. 

This compares to 11% who'd rather read a text-based article, website or post, 4% who'd like to view an infographic, 3% who'd rather download an ebook or manual, 3% who'd rather attend a webinar or pitch, and 3% who'd like a sales call or demo.

2.Video is the most engaging kind of content

Video provides users with an accessible, easily digestible way of taking in information with minimum effort. 94% of marketers say video has helped them increase the understanding of their product or service, and 74% of marketers say that video has a better ROI than static images. Our monkey brains are just naturally drawn to moving images.

Videos work great for engagement because they're less time-consuming than reading articles, less demanding on the viewer, and are much more eye-catching. 

3. Video gives life to your brand

Brand isn't just a logo and some typefaces, it's also your business' personality. With video, there are more ways to show what your business represents and give viewers insight into your brand's personality, along with the products or services you offer.

93% of marketers say video has helped them increase brand awareness, probably because through video, there are more creative ways to showcase your brand or promote a specific message. Whether it's an animation or live-action reel, you can portray your business exactly how you'd like to.

4. Video is more shareable

social video generates 12 times the shares than text and images combined.

Creating a promotional video that's relatable, funny, or emotional will increase the chances of it being shared by your audience, and when your audience shares your video to their own networks, it could end up getting a much larger audience than even your paid-for efforts.

Spending time and money on creating a video that would be deemed shareable to your audience can really pay off in the form of free advertising for your business, services or product, especially if it goes viral. 

5. Google and all the major social networks favour video

96% of consumers increased their online video consumption in 2020. As a result, social media platforms are increasingly favouring video over static images or text content, pushing videos further up the algorithm as time goes on. Instagram even rebranded itself as a "video-sharing platform" to compete with the popularity of TikTok.

Plus, in today's busy online world, SEO can be a make or break when it comes to furthering the success of your business, and Google itself claims in a report that websites see a significant increase in sales when a video is featured on a product page. The report states that site visitors are 80% more likely to purchase a product after watching a related video.

6. Video builds trust

Showcasing the people and personalities behind your business can encourage trust in your brand. Plus, a continuous video series can increase brand loyalty and create true fans,  fans that share your content, engage with your videos, and become loyal customers. 

7. Video is more memorable

80% of users can recall a video ad they viewed in the past 30 days, so you can stay in people's minds long after you've gained their attention. Enough said! 

If you're looking for more stats on why video is so effective in marketing, make sure you download our Making the Case for Video guide: 

How can I create a successful promo video?

You might be thinking: what things do I need to consider when creating a promotional video?

Your goal

It might sound obvious, but you need to be clear about the purpose of your video content. What goal are you aiming to achieve? What's your business situation, and what problem do you want to solve using video?

Here are some common reasons many companies create promotional videos:

• Brand awareness
• Drive sales
• Drive traffic
• Increase customer engagement
• Educate customers

Your audience

Who will watch your video? Will it be leads, customers, employees, or other stakeholders?

Unless you're certain of your audience, you won't be able to tailor your video content to appeal directly to them. Aim to write down as much as you can about an average viewer, from their demographics to their occupation to their personality.

Where do they hang out online? What matters to them? What language might they use? All these are key questions to ask when building out your audience persona. It'll inform the length, style, visuals, script, voiceover artist, tone of voice and more, helping you create a video that truly speaks to them. 

Your direction

There are loads of directions you can go in when creating your promotional video, and they all relate to your goals and audience. What kind of promotional video will be most useful to your audience? What stage in the buyer journey are you targeting them at? 

 I'll list a few directions you can head in below:

• Introductory: tell your audience who you are, explain your mission, etc.
  This is more for the beginning of the buyer journey, where your audience hasn't heard of you yet.
  
  
• Explanatory: explain how something works (like your product or a specific feature).
  This is more for those who have come across your brand and are looking for more information about your specific product or service.
  
  
• Narrative: use story elements (like plot, conflict, resolution, etc)
  This can be used at the beginning of the buyer's journey to introduce a new idea or explain something complex in an entertaining and absorbing way. Say you're a Saas company for example, and you need to show the features of your products without making your promo video too feature-heavy. Storytelling is a great way to do this and keep attention.
  
  
• Drive action: get the audience to do something (i.e. shop now)

This is for those at the lower end of their buyer journey, where they're ready to commit to a purchase, for example.

• Testimonial or endorsement: interviews, quotes, etc, with customers and influencers
  Does your audience need to build more trust in you and your products before committing to purchase? Customer testimonials are a great way to build social proof and help buyers make a decision.
  
  
• Informative: educate your audience about something specific, tutorial-style, etc.
  People love learning new skills, If you're a Saas company that releases new features regularly, informative videos on how to make the most of these features and improve user experience can help both new and existing audiences stay engaged. 
  
  
• Entertainment: delight or inspire your audience using story, humour, etc.
  Provoking a laugh, emotion, or inspiration from your audience is where you'll get more fans, more shares, and overall more engagement. 
  
  

Your brief

A promotional video is only as good as its brief, but putting together this key document can be difficult and time-consuming.

Download our template (complete with examples!) so you can save time researching and spend it writing instead:

• Align your planning so your video content can achieve your objectives
• Ensure your production process is smooth and pain-free
• Produce your video content faster and more efficiently.

Where should you publish your video?

A brilliant video won't go very far on its own.

Planning should always come first in your video process, so you can work out who it's for, where it'll go and why you're doing it before you even touch the brief. Without it, your video could be failing to reach your target audience.

Luckily, the Venture team have pulled together a Video Activation Guide, so you can make sure your content is hitting your target audience in the right place, at the right time.

Download our full Video Activation Guide where we share:

• Our key tactics and approaches
• The details of main distribution channels to help you work out what to post when, where and why
• How best to use each platform
• Where your video could fit in your sales funnel
• Practical advice on watching the budget sheet.

Who will produce your video?

Whether you've got a spark of an idea or a fully-formed plan, our door's always open. And it all starts with a conversation. Call us or send an email to book a kick-off meeting, where we'll build a picture of your brand, talk you through our process, timings and costs, and decide the next steps together.