Finding Your Video Style

What Video Style Is Right for Your Business?

Marketing your business used to be about advertising on billboards and in newspapers. However, the world has changed with the advancement of new technologies and the growth of social media. The internet has changed not only the business world, but also people’s attitudes towards business and advertising. Choosing the best video style for your company is one of the first steps.

Nowadays, video is an important part of the marketing world. It is as important as any other content, if not more. Here are a couple of reasons for your business to have video content before we help you discover what type of video content would work best for your organization:

What and Why?

Many organizations struggle to show their true value to their customers, partners, or donors. A good video will raise the brand awareness as well as boost sales/support by highlighting the value of your organization. More and more people rely purely on visual media and material before making a decision.

Once you have decided that your company is ready for video content, you should then answer these questions before moving forward:

• What kind of company are you?
• What products and services do you sell?
• Who is your target audience?
• What is the goal of your video?
• What results would you consider a successful campaign?
• What message do you want to convey?
• What action(s) do you want the viewer to take after watching the video?

After these questions have been answered, the picture will start to become clear. It can be a daunting task to narrow all of it down, but most of these questions were answered before your organization was created. If any of these questions are difficult to answer, we’d suggest spending some time to figure them out before investing in video.

Some companies have decided that producing videos in-house is the way to go, however, outsourcing seems to be the best option these days. The reason is very simple. If you outsource this task it means that professionals are dealing with it.

Almost anybody can pick up a camera, but not everybody can create a video that matches the quality and professionalism of your organization. Moreover, one that can go viral and help the company reach their defined goals. Leave the job to people who specialize in content creation unless this is your personal blog and you simply want to share your thoughts about your own company with the world.

Most videos will fall into the following categories. Depending on the goal of your video that we explored above, this could differ from video to video.

Environmental Action

If your company works with the environment and/or sells environment related products, which many non-profits fit into, this type of video will help reach your audience. We find that short, documentary style videos documenting a place or a part of nature and how it has changed (positive or negative), can have a big impact on your organization’s goals. You can show what kind of impact society or your company has on the environment and the steps it takes to make a positive change.

More environmental action videos from Wahoo Films:

• A Dam Problem
• Sagebrush Sisters
• Mill Creek
• Finding The Salmon Signal

Corporate Branding

Corporate promotional videos that focus on powerful stories coming from the CEO of the company and other employees can grab the interest of an audience and strengthen your brand. It can be a video that explains your brand name, your message, and what you stand for. It introduces your company to potential customers and has the power to persuade them to continue their relationship with your company. You only get one first impression so a video is a perfect way to make it count.

Other corporate branding videos from Wahoo Films:

• The Gear Fix

Commercial Advertising

Commercial advertising videos are normally short, attention grabbing, colorful and have a clear call to action. They can increase the traffic to your website and promote products, services, special occasions, or competitions. Although most people dislike advertisements, if it entertains or educates them and it’s not very long, they will watch and remember it. If the video makes an impression on them, they will never forget the company.

Commercial advertising videos from Wahoo Films:

• Arclight Dynamics by Hypertherm
• City of Prineville

Non-Profit Fundraising

Fundraising is a critical aspect of non-profit organizations. They are not always supported by the government; if you run such an organization, you are aware of how important fundraisers are to sustainability. Having a good video message to explain the cause and persuade people to donate money or create smaller fundraisers is crucial. Most people will listen to a short, well-created video about a fundraiser, especially if they already are part of the cause, such as a fundraiser for cancer research.

Video production companies can create these videos in a variety of styles depending on the cause and the message they want to communicate to a wider audience.

Non-profit fundraising videos from Wahoo Films:

• Sweat Equity by Habitat for Humanity
• My House with Bend Habitat for Humanity

Technology + Software Marketing

Marketing using social media, online advertisements, and online video is now the leading marketing practice. The online reach of video continues to grow as many consumers make decisions based on their peers, sometimes referred to as ‘social proof’. Create an exciting marketing campaign and the buzz will follow through shares, likes, and reviews. Video allows you to take a more exciting and creative approach to communicating the different benefits of your technology, service, or software.

Other technology and software marketing videos from Wahoo Films:

• Revolutionizing Plastic Waste

Educational Outreach, Training + Demo

Companies who offer team building and motivational speaking can benefit hugely from videos such as these. Also, if your company offers teaching or learning materials, having a video tutorial or training can boost your sales. It has been proven that many people learn easier when audio-visual stimulus is applied, so perhaps this is exactly what your company needs. If you look at popular motivational and educational speaking events and how many people attend those events, you’ll see it can be beneficial for both sides.

Educational video can not only be helpful to your clients, but also your staff. Video can be used to train new team members, be used in place of emails for your sales team, and help in the recruiting process.

Educational Outreach, training, and demo videos from Wahoo Films:

• Health Advisor by Oregon State University Cascades Campus
• Young Entrepreneurs Business Week

Length and Distribution For All

After you have narrowed down the video style your company needs, you can look at other aspects. Does it need to be long or short? Shorter advertisements are eye-catching and memorable. They are well suited for the advertising campaigns and can be linked in emails as well as shown on YouTube before any other video.

A longer, more documentary style video can be helpful when the visitors arrive on your website and you want to educate them on your organization or product.

How will you distribute your video? There is a wide possibility of different mediums that support video. Also, videos can be shared throughout different social media platforms, making them more accessible.

In the end it is all about the quality of the content. A good company that specializes in video production can offer you advice on what is the best format and strategies to expand your reach as well as produce the content you need.