You know your company needs a video, but figuring out what kind of video is right for you can be tough. You might have creative ideas in mind, a specific song you want to use, or some taglines you want to use in the copy, but before you even get that far, it’s essential to strategize about the goal of your video and how to best reach that goal.

For instance, a small local butcher shop might want to attract more foot traffic to their physical location, while a larger enterprise software company might want more users to submit online forms. These different goals require a different approach, meaning they require a different video altogether.

So, where do you begin?

Well, before we break down all the video types your company might be interested in, let’s talk about what your video goal might be. That’ll help us work our way backward into the type of content best suited for your company.

Let’s get started.

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What’s your goal?

We’ve talked a lot about how crucial it is to start your video marketing plan by figuring out what your video marketing goal is first – like here, and here, and here.

But since that’s a lot to read, let’s take another quick dive into the marketing funnel for old time’s sake.

Attract

If your goal is to raise your brand awareness, you’re in the attract stage. That means you want to introduce your brand to more people and get them to interact with you in some way for the first time. That typically translates into gathering a lot of video views, or you might want more people to visit your website or brick and mortar shop. Either way, these videos are top-of-funnel and serve as a potential customer’s first touch point with your brand.

Engage

If your goal is to have users learn more about you, you’re in the engage stage. This means you want users spending time with you somehow, either online on your website reading your content or exploring more pages, or in person, inquiring about what you offer and the benefits your products provide. In this consideration stage, you want to provide value so you establish brand credibility and resonance.

Nurture

If your goal is to close a sale, then you’re in the nurture stage. This means you want to convince your users that you’re better than the competition and that their purchase will make them happy in the end. You can correlate this goal’s success directly to a number, either a sales number or an amount of revenue; but video-wise, this stage means providing your viewers with a tangible benefit that’ll push them toward finally closing the deal.

Delight

If your goal is to continue providing value after a customer has converted, then you’re in the delight stage. Content here re-engages a user and cements why your brand is so great. Whether you literally delight users by bringing a smile to their face, or you provide value some other way, like showing them how to do something or thanking them outright, content here is usually related to customer retention numbers, upsell conversion rates, referrals, and more.

Breaking it down in these four stages, where would your video fall? Do you want your video to attract, engage, nurture, or delight users? Once you know the answer to this vital question, you can move on to figuring out what type of video your business needs.

8 Types of Videos for Your Business

You might have one video goal now, but remember: as your users move down the funnel, you’ll want to keep targeting them with video content that speaks to the buyer’s stage they’re in.

That’s why we’re giving you a few options for the types of videos that apply throughout the funnel. Depending on your industry, your goal, and what you want to communicate to your audience, you can explore the videos below and see which is right for your brand.

Commercial

Goal: Attract
Length: 15-30 seconds

Commercials are the most popular type of branded videos. They’re brief, attention-grabbing videos that don’t divulge too much about your brand, but give the viewer just enough information to entice them. Work on creating a personal connection with your audience, presenting a common problem they face, and presenting your product or service as the solution they need. End with a clear call to action.https://player.vimeo.com/video/209489286?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0

How-To Video

Goal: Attract
Length: < 2 minutes

A how-to video is just what it sounds like: a video that hones in on a specific task or action and explains how to do it in a clear, step-by-step format. These videos are great for subtly introducing your brand to a new audience. Since they have such broad appeal, they’re great as a search optimization tool and can help establish you as a credible source of information. Keep the branding low and stick to providing valuable information – then retarget users based on their watching habits.https://player.vimeo.com/video/238151407?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0

Brand Video

Goal: Engage
Length: 1-2 minutes

Brand videos provide a high-level overview of your company and information about your mission, your story, and how you came to be. These videos should be attractive visually while keeping the viewer engaged with insightful information that tells them more about your business. Here, the user already knows who you are – your job is to set the foundation for a strong relationship so you remain top of mind.https://player.vimeo.com/video/207392467?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0

Product Video

Goal: Engage
Length: 30-60 seconds

A product video describes what a product does, along with its features, benefits, uses, and more. Because of their engaging and visual nature, product videos are the preferred way people learn about products. Yours should showcase how your product or service solves a particular problem for users using high-quality footage and engaging voiceover or text, all while showing your product in action. Product videos can also be distributed almost anywhere, helping you spread information quickly and to a large audience.https://player.vimeo.com/video/274008058?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0

Customer Testimonial

Goal: Nurture
Length: 30-60 seconds

Testimonials are incredibly powerful tools in helping nurture a sale. They typically show current or past customers talking about their experience working with you or using your product or service in a positive way. Because they’re from the perspective of real users, they often carry more merit and credibility than anything you could create on your own. And since so many people search for user feedback before a purchase, the right testimonial video could help nudge more users toward a sale.https://player.vimeo.com/video/269956424?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0

FAQ Video

Goal: Nurture
Length: < 1 minute

FAQ videos answer common user questions, helping prospective customers feel more confident in purchasing, and helping a company’s internal team save time and resources. These videos work in both the nurture and delight stages, where people most often direct questions and concerns to a business. By openly answering these, you create value that can help your team be more efficient and help users feel more confident in picking you over the competition.https://player.vimeo.com/video/278254694?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0

Thank You Video

Goal: Delight
Length: 30 seconds

A thank you video is a video that thanks someone for taking a specific action, like signing up, making a purchase, or referring a friend. These can run the gamut as far as their purpose goes, but are a great way to re-engage users and show them that your relationship doesn’t end the minute they convert. They also strengthen the emotional connection a customer has with your brand, so use these videos to your advantage post-sale.https://player.vimeo.com/video/273384728?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0

Welcome Video

Goal: Delight
Length: 1-2 minutes

Welcome videos provide a friendly welcome to users who have purchased or signed up for your services, while also showing them the next steps of the process. They’re friendly in tone and help you put your best foot forward. These videos are also usually the first touch point a customer has with you after they convert, so you want to balance being on-brand and informational.https://player.vimeo.com/video/122060909?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0

Wrapping Up

We can’t tell you exactly what video your company needs without talking to you first, but hopefully this helped give you a better idea of what’s out there. With the right strategy in place and the right team helping you get it all done, there’s no telling how far a video will help you go.

And remember: we’re hoping this a great guide, but it’s by no means an exhaustive list. The marketing funnel is pretty fluid, meaning one single video can serve more than one single purpose. The key is using video in a smart and thoughtful way to help you further your marketing goals.