7 Video Types: Which is Right for Your Brand and Marketing Strategy?

Video is one of the most popular tools for modern-day marketing. Often more than written text and static graphics alone, video stands out to capture attention, especially when it’s in a narrative format.

When done well, story-based videos are more engaging, stay with people’s memories, and leave a longer-lasting impression. If you want your brand to stand out and make an impression on your audience that showcases your innovation, video is a must-have!

But where are the best places to plug video into your marketing or content creation efforts? In this article, we’ll walk through the 7 video types, the purposes they serve for your brand, and their benefits.

7 Marketing Video Types: Their Purpose & Benefits

#1 Brand Story Videos

What is a Brand Story Video?

Brand story videos empower you to introduce the heart behind your organization or promote a client’s experience with your brand. They often include your journey, culture, values, mission, and vision and may also include staff or customer testimonials to help your viewers understand who you are and why you do what you do.

The Benefits of a Brand Story Video

• Elevate brand loyalty
• Empathize with your audience
• Create an emotional connection
• Cast vision around your purpose
• Inspire deeper involvement

Applications for a Brand Story Video

Your brand story video has a multifaceted range of applications that can boost your brand’s presence and create a connection with your audience. Below are just a few of the applications for your brand story video.

• Website Introduction: Help visitors to your website understand your journey, culture, and values.
• Social Media Campaigns: Increase brand visibility and foster engagement across social media.
• Onboarding & Training: Introduce new employees to your mission and values.
• Investor Pitches: Succinctly convey your company mission and vision to potential investors.
• Trade Shows & Conferences: Capture the attention of attendees with a memorable glimpse of your brand from the stage or a showroom.
• Email Marketing: Introduce people to your brand by embedding your video in email campaigns.
• Recruitment: Attract talent by showcasing your company’s mission, vision, and values.
• In-Store Displays: Influence purchasing decisions by providing a richer understanding of your brand.
• Corporate Events: Kick-off meetings or events by inspiring attendees about what your brand represents.

Pro-Tip: Depending on the application, your Company Story video should be about two to five minutes long. If you’re showing your video from the stage and have a captive audience, you can often stretch the length to five to six minutes.

However, if you’re sharing your video on social media, keep it as short as possible (60 seconds)—typically no longer than two minutes.

#2 Social Media Videos

What are Social Media Videos?

Social media video content includes videos created and optimized for sharing on social media platforms. These videos are designed to capture the attention of social media users, engage them, and encourage interactions, including likes, comments, shares, and clicks. 

Social media videos can take various forms and serve different purposes, from entertainment and education to marketing and brand promotion. Many organizations use them to boost engagement with event highlights, value-add visuals, or lively reels.

The Benefits of Social Media Video Content

• Boost your social media engagement and reach
• Improve your conversation rate
• Attract attention with visual appeal
• Build an emotional connection with your audience
• Elevate your SEO ranking
• Receive immediate feedback on your content

Applications for Social Media Content

When trying to get your audience’s attention on social media, nothing captures it quite like a dynamic, catchy video. Here are some of the common applications for social media video content.

• Brand Promotion: Showcase your brand’s mission, vision, and values to build a connection with your audience.
• Tutorials: Provide a step-by-step guide on how to use your product or service and its benefits.
• Reviews: Showcase honest customer feedback to provide social proof and build trust.
• Behind-the-Scenes: Provide a sneak peek behind the scenes of your company to humanize your brand.
• Storytelling: Create emotional connections with your audience by sharing stories about your company, customers, or products.
• Live Streaming: Boost engagement on social media by interacting with your customers live online.
• Announcements: Provide quick video updates about sales, collaborations, or exciting changes.
• Interviews: Feature interviews with experts, teammates, or customers on industry-specific topics.
• Event Highlights: Give viewers a sense of being in the room with captivating highlights of your event.
• Inspirational Content: Share uplifting messages or stories that resonate emotionally with your audience.
• Animations & Infographics: Break down complex topics in a visually appealing, catchy way.
• Unboxings: Generate excitement for new products with fun unboxing videos.
• Visual Tours: Showcase properties, destinations, or behind-the-scenes looks to attract interest.
• Product Demos: Highlight key features and benefits of your products with educational demonstrations.

Pro-Tip: It’s important to understand the platform you’re sharing your video. For example, if you have a casual video update, share it via a story or reel on Facebook or Instagram.

If you have a critical reveal or announcement, share it on your main feed and consider boosting it. Longer videos like explainer videos or interviews usually perform best on platforms like YouTube.

#3 Testimonial Videos

What is a Testimonial Video?

A testimonial video is a great way for an organization to showcase the effectiveness of its products or services from an outside perspective. They feature someone’s personal experience, opinion, or endorsement of a product, service, or organization. They can also be captured in various formats, including an interview or footage of someone using the product or service.

The Benefits of Testimonial Videos

• Build trust and credibility
• Demonstrate social proof
• Provide transparency
• Boost authenticity
• Create an emotional connection

Applications of a Testimonial Video

• Website Feature: Reassure visitors about the quality of your offerings.
• Social Media: Share testimonial videos to engage and attract new followers. 
• Email Marketing: Nurture leads and encourage repeat purchases.
• Advertising: Drive conversions by showcasing real customer experiences.
• Trade Shows & Events: Play testimonial videos on loop at trade show booths to attract attention, spark conversations, and demonstrate value.
• Sales Presentations: Incorporate testimonial videos into your sales presentations to provide social proof and overcome objections. 
• Product Launches: Highlight real customer experiences to generate buzz and encourage early adopters.
• Customer Testimonial Pages: Create dedicated pages on your website to showcase a collection of testimonial videos from satisfied customers. 
• Training & Onboarding: Illustrate success stories and best practices to inspire and motivate new hires.
• Partner Collaborations: Collaborating on testimonial videos can strengthen relationships and expand your reach to new audiences.

Pro-Tip: In general, people hate being on camera. Unfortunately, nerves can come through on screen, often distracting from what’s being said. So, to capture the best testimonial video, the most important thing you can do is make sure the person on camera feels comfortable and relaxed.

Share interview questions ahead of time. Start with easy questions to ease in. Allow people to look at the interviewer instead of the camera. Do whatever you can to promote comfort!

#4 Explainer Videos

What is an Explainer Video?

An explainer video is an engaging video used to convey complex ideas, products, services, or processes in a simple and understandable way. They are commonly used in marketing campaigns, educational materials, product demonstrations, and training modules to capture audience attention and convey information through animations, graphics, and narration.

The Benefits of an Explainer Video

• Increase retention of complex information
• Boost understanding
• Showcase unique selling points
• Entertain and educate simultaneously

Applications for an Explainer Video

• Product or Service Promotion: Demonstrate how a product works and highlight its key selling points.
• Educational Content: Explain academic concepts, demonstrate scientific principles, or provide step-by-step instructions for completing tasks.
• Training & Onboarding: Introduce new employees to company policies, procedures, and culture.
• Internal Communications: Share updates from senior management, changes in company policies, or announcements about upcoming events.
• Customer Support: Help customers troubleshoot common issues or learn how to use a product or service effectively.
• Marketing Campaigns: Generate interest in a product or service, increase brand awareness, and drive engagement and conversions.
• Pitching Ideas or Concepts: Convey the value proposition of a business idea or project in a compelling and persuasive way.
• Event Promotion: Preview what attendees can expect and encourage people to register or attend.
• Nonprofit and Cause Awareness: Raise awareness about important issues, mobilize support, and inspire action.
• Recruitment and HR: Showcase company culture, highlight career opportunities, and provide insights into what it’s like to work for the company.

Pro-Tip: Use storytelling techniques to create a narrative arc that engages viewers and keeps them interested from beginning to end. Start by introducing a problem or challenge your audience can relate to, then show how your product or service provides a solution.

#5 Live Streaming Video

What Is Live Streaming Video?

Live streaming video is a way to marry the power of video and internet access to connect with a broad audience. Far more than a simple Zoom meeting, live streaming is a way to reach a large audience across geographic timezones to engage your remote workforce, community, or conference audience with town halls or live online events. 

Some elements of a live-streaming event may include real-time interaction through polls, an online platform for exclusive engagement and access to relevant resources, and an opportunity to broadcast from various locations in real-time.

What Are the Benefits of Live Streaming?

• Break down geographical barriers
• Provide real-time opportunities for interaction
• Improve cost efficiency for large events
• Level up your online meeting or conference
• Invite more attendees to be a part of your meeting or event
• On-demand video playback

Applications for Live Streaming

Live streaming is no longer just a trend; it has become essential in the digital communication landscape. Here are a few of the applications for your organization.

• Corporate Town Halls: Stream meetings to a remote audience, allowing you to address employees globally.
• Employee Training: Host live sessions to onboard employees, enhance skills, or introduce tools.
• Product Launches: Unveil new products or services and capture real-time feedback.
• Virtual Conferences: Decentralize conference access, allowing attendees to participate from anywhere.
• Fundraising Campaigns: Host live-stream events for a remote audience of partners and supporters.
• Stakeholder Meetings: Live stream important company announcements with your stakeholders.
• Team Building Events: Live stream company-wide meetings for teams spread out across geography.
• Interactive Q&A Session: Host interactive online Q&A sessions to address questions or gather feedback.
• Event Broadcasts: Make significant company milestone events like anniversaries more accessible.
• Workshops: Share knowledge with your staff or community, allowing live interaction.
  

Pro-Tip: If you plan to live stream to a large audience or have an important update that you can’t risk being lost to technical difficulties, it’s best to choose a platform, equipment, and professional team with experience in live streaming that can support your technical needs so you can stay focused on your event. 

#6 Commercial Campaigns and Promo Videos

What are Commercial Campaigns and Promo Videos?

A commercial video campaign is a strategic and coordinated series of video advertisements created to promote a product, service, brand, or message to a target audience. Included in a campaign series are often one-off promo videos as well. 

Whether a short-form media ad or a long-form narrative, these campaigns leverage the power of visual storytelling to create memorable and impactful marketing messages. They typically use video content across different platforms to engage, inform, and persuade viewers to take a specific action, such as purchasing, subscribing, visiting a website, or sharing content.

What Are the Benefits of a Commercial Video Campaign or Promo Video?

• Increase brand awareness
• Boost your conversion rates
• Elevate your SEO and online visibility
• Increase the sharability of your content
• Differentiate your brand from your competitors

Applications for Commercial Campaigns & Promo Videos

Commercial campaign videos serve as a canvas where your narrative takes center stage. They allow you to tell your story in a way that engages your audience on a journey to connect and move them to action. Here are just a few of the applications.

• Product Launches: Showcase new product features, functions, and benefits.
• Brand Awareness: Elevate your brand identity to establish your voice in your industry.
• Event Promotion: Create buzz for your upcoming event with an eye-catching video.
• Testimonials & Reviews: Build trust and credibility with your audience by showcasing positive results.
• How-To Guides: Educate your customers about products or provide tutorials.
• Storytelling: Share your origin story to connect with your audience emotionally.
• Social Media Engagement: Create short, catchy videos to drive engagement and boost virality online.
• Public Service Announcements: Spread awareness about social issues, health guidelines, emergencies, or community service.
• Retail Promotions: Spotlight seasonal promotions, flash sales, or new arrivals to drive sales.
• Explainer Videos: Explain complex products or services that help people understand the problem you solve.
• Fundraising: Use emotional storytelling to garner support for a cause or important project.
• Teasers & Trailers: Generate excitement for an upcoming film, concert, book, or event.
• Tourism Marketing: Showcase destinations and attract potential travelers.

Pro-Tip: It’s one thing to flash benefits and features surrounding your product or service, it’s another to take a narrative approach that addresses the pain points and problems you solve through your product and service. Utilize the power of storytelling to make your videos stand out!

#7 Training Videos

What are Training Videos?

Training videos are an engaging way to equip your staff and new hires with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed in your organization. They typically incorporate visual graphic elements and face-to-camera explanations of programs, processes, technology, or coaching to help break down complex concepts or topics in a way that allows viewers to understand how to succeed.

The Benefits of Training Videos

• Improve efficiency and productivity
• Elevate knowledge sharing
• Increase motivation and engagement
• Boost confidence and understanding
• Ensure aligned and consistent training across a broad audience

Applications for Training Videos

Your training series videos have a range of applications to equip employees for their best work. Whether you’re integrating new software, onboarding new staff, or providing industry coaching, training videos make it easy and engaging. Below are just a few of the applications for your training series.

• Onboarding: Equip new hires by providing a clear understanding of your processes and systems.
• Learning Management System Integration: Provide engaging training content for an effective learning experience.
• Software & Tech Tutorials: Demonstrate how to use software, apps, and machinery, breaking down complex procedures.
• Compliance & Safety Protocols: Educate staff on regulatory standards, safety procedures, and best practices.
• Product Demonstrations: Showcase product features, functions, and benefits for enhanced promotion.
• Customer Service Training: Equip your team with effective methods of communication for customer inquiries.
• Personal Coaching: Share unique lessons, inspiration, and insights with a broader audience of mentees.
• Sales Training: Offer strategies, product knowledge, and communication tactics to enhance sales.
• Skills Development: Utilize videos for workshops on specific topics related to unique job functions.
• Healthcare Procedures: Instruct medical professionals on techniques, equipment, or procedures.
• Academic Education: Share e-learning modules on various subjects to enhance the learning experience.
• Technical Workshops: Demonstrate techniques, assembly instructions, or maintenance procedures.

Pro-Tip: Training videos can easily become boring. To liven them up and make them more engaging, try adding fun elements like an easter egg or gamifying the learning experience with competitive challenges. 

Choosing the Right Video Format

The three factors to consider when choosing the right video format include:

Your Key Message

Ask the question: What do you want your audience to think, feel, and do?

• Brand Story Videos → Think: Wow! Feel: Inspired. Do: Engage.
• Social Media Videos → Think: Interesting! Feel: Entertained. Do: Like/Comment/Share.
• Testimonial Videos → Think: That’s me. Feel: Seen. Do: Learn more/Buy.
• Explainer Videos → Think: I get it. Feel: Clear. Do: Practice/Buy.
• Live Streaming Video → Think: We’re all here. Feel: Included. Do: Engage.
• Commercial Campaign & Promo Videos → Think: Awesome! Feel: FOMO. Do: Buy/Learn more.
• Training Videos → Think: I get it. Feel: Clear. Do: Take notes/Practice/Buy.

Your Target Audience

Who is your audience, what do they need, and where are they?

• Brand Story Videos → Who: General audience. Need: Inspiration/Awareness. Where: Web, social media, etc.
• Social Media Videos → Who: Your followers. Need: Entertainment/Information. Where: Social media.
• Testimonial Videos → Who: Potential Customers. Need: Confidence in Brand. Where: Your website/Review pages.
• Explainer Videos → Who: Interested Audience. Need: Clarity. Where: YouTube.
• Live Streaming Video → Who: Engaged Audience. Need: Access. Where: Remote.
• Commercial Campaign & Promo Videos → Who: Potential customers. Need: Awareness. Where: Social media/Email.
• Training Videos → Who: Staff. Need: Consistent understanding. Where: Remote/LMS/On-site.

Your Marketing goals

Is your goal to engage, educate, inform, inspire, entertain, invite, encourage, or sell?

• Brand Story Videos → Goal: Inspire, Educate, Engage
• Social Media Videos → Goal: Entertain, Inform, Encourage, Inspire, Sell, Engage
• Testimonial Videos → Goal: Encourage, Build Trust
• Explainer Videos → Goal: Inform, Encourage, Engage
• Live Streaming Video → Goal: Engage, Inform, Inspire, Encourage
• Commercial Campaign & Promo Videos → Goal: Inform, Inspire, Sell
• Training Videos → Goal: Inform, Educate, Encourage

Conclusion: Elevate Your Marketing Strategy with Video

In summary, video is a great way to elevate your marketing strategy! Choosing the right video format comes down to your key message, target audience, and marketing goals. Here are the various types of videos to consider plugging into your marketing strategy:

• Brand Story Videos: Showcase your brand values, mission, and vision
• Social Media Videos: Capture your audience’s attention and boost engagement
• Testimonial Videos: Build trust and credibility with your audience
• Explainer Videos: Share how-to videos that highlight your products or services
• Live Streaming Video: Connect with a wider audience to share valuable content
• Commercial Campaign & Promo Videos: Promote products and services 
• Training Videos: Provide engaging and consistent support and education to your staff

Ready to integrate videos into your marketing strategy? Our team would love to meet you and explore what we can create together. Schedule a discovery call or studio tour today!