9 Types of Videos for your Business

There are SO many different types of videos you can make for your organization. From how-to content to case studies, explainers, and beyond—the possibilities are practically endless. 

Here is a list of the top 9 common video types used to promote businesses.

1. Explainer Videos

The early, discovery stages of the buyer’s journey to educate buyers about your product or service and illustrate why they need it, generating leads, and nurturing prospective customers.

Product explainer videos are a useful format for explaining complicated products or services and increasing brand awareness. They are typically a high-level look at how the product solves a problem.

Because they’re high-level, explainer videos don’t need to show the actual product or service to be valuable, which means animation is a popular style choice.

Explainer videos have the potential to be shareable content assets, so aim to make them engaging and try to connect with viewers on an emotional level.

You can create overview videos for each vertical or product line you offer. With these, you’re not looking to make a hard sell or pitch, but rather outlining a problem you know your customers have.

Product explainer videos should answer the question “what’s in it for me” from the perspective of your buyer.

2. How-To Videos

Good for: Easing people from the discovery phase into the real meat of what you deliver.

One of the most popular types of educational videos, how-to videos explain to the viewer how to do something. These step-by-step tutorials can be entertaining as well as informative.

Since question queries are incredibly common in search engines, creating content that addresses them (and optimizing it) is a great way to show up in search results.

Consider creating this type of video to answer important customer questions in your industry. You can then use the end of the video to prompt the download of a piece of informative, mid-funnel content to help keep your viewer moving through the buyer’s journey.

3. Promo Videos (a.k.a. Hype or Teaser Videos)

Good for: Brand awareness, increasing traffic to your blog or asset-specific landing pages, and lead generation.

Most companies already have text-based content marketing assets—like reports or guides—to promote, and one of the best ways to make the most of these pieces is with a fun video designed to promote more downloads.

Promo videos can work well for big events, virtual conferences, and more.

When brainstorming new content pieces, consider the bigger story you can wrap these up in, and the top-of-funnel video you could use as the asset’s promo or commercial, so to speak.

4. Thought Leadership Videos

Good for: Building thought leadership within your industry, establishing expertise on a given topic, educating your audience about a particular subject, and making a human connection.

The point of thought leadership videos is to share a unique perspective in order to build trust and a following.

These videos need to be authentic and focus on a point of view. Sharing expertise and starting a conversation is key.

5. Webinars and Recorded Webinars

Good for: Educating potential customers about issues related to your industry, generating leads to add to targeted email lists, and guiding prospects further along the funnel.

Most companies treat webinars as digital events with virtual attendees who have registered in advance to watch the session (generating a lead for the company).

Like standard webinars, pre-recorded webinars can be scheduled for a specific date and time. Or they can simply be published on your organization’s website, whether that’s on a landing page, in a resource hub, or embedded in a blog post.

When planning new webinars, think about how you plan to repurpose them from the get-go. If you want short videos, design your webinar so that the recording can easily be carved into bite-sized video clips to be used in ongoing content marketing programs.

If you build out topics strategically—mapping each to a particular question a buyer has along their journey with your product, for example—these videos can act as the perfect stepping stone along the buyer journey.

6. Case Study Videos (a.k.a. Customer Stories or Testimonial Videos)

Good for: The justification and evaluation stage of the funnel when buyers are considering whether you solve their specific pain points.

Arguably, case studies are one of the most important video types in your collection. Lots of B2B buyers will search for customer testimonials when they come to your website.

A testimonial is the stamp of approval from other businesses and filming a great one is the perfect way to showcase how your solution fits into multiple industries, how it solves common customer problems, and how you go above and beyond (even post-sale) to deliver customer success.

When developing a testimonial video, never underestimate the power of B-roll, ask leading questions versus the typical Q&A, and always find a way to position your customer as the hero of the story.

7. Company Culture Videos

Good for: Reaching new audiences as well as building brand awareness and affinity.

Brand and culture videos are ones that tell your audience about your brand and what you stand for. They’re an opportunity to have some fun and get creative. Holiday, about us, recruiting, and company culture videos can all fit into this category.

8. Demo Videos

Good for: Helping buyers justify their decision to purchase, email follow up, lead generation, and addressing the end of the funnel.

Similar to explainer videos, demo videos explain how your product or service actually works. However, because they come in later in the marketing funnel (typically somewhere from the middle toward the end), they need to be more detailed about specific features and functions.

Product demo videos show viewers the value of your product, rather than just telling them. In the retail industry or other spaces with physical products, this could even include unboxing videos that showcase the packaging and product, showing potential customers what to expect.

Your audience should be nodding along in agreement with you at all times—your goal is to show them you understand their world.

9. Personalized Videos

Good for: Surprising and delighting prospects and customers alike and making a personal connection.

Personalized video brings the audience into the story by weaving personal details for each individual viewer into the video.

Personalization can include things like:

• Name
• Title
• Headshot or photo
• Company name

Personalized video messages can increase response rates, wow customers, and help your business stand out from the crowd. 

Your organization’s video library will include an assortment of video content. Start out by choosing a few formats you think will work well for your brand and the story you want to tell, then test to see how your audience reacts.

Do more of what works, keep iterating, try new things, and don’t be afraid to mix and match different styles and types to find something that fits your vision—and meets your goals.