11 video types to drive growth with video marketing for business

Many businesses (especially small-to-midsize businesses) avoid video marketing because it seems too costly or time-consuming. But when you look at the statistics, it’s clear that the investment is worth the results.

1. More memorable for consumers

We’ve all heard that it takes approximately seven interactions with a customer before they consider your brand. But it might not take as many touches when you use marketing videos for business growth since users retain 95% of the message when it’s being served via video, versus only 10% when it’s being served via text.

2. More sales qualified leads annually

A business without leads is like a garden without water. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done to the soil if nothing’s trickling in.

Video marketers who use video for business marketing attract 66% more sales qualified leads (SQLs) per year than those who don’t use marketing videos for business growth.

3. Higher conversion rates

Even if you don’t use videos as an integral part of your marketing strategy, they can still help improve your overall results. For example, simply including a video on your landing page can increase conversion rates by as much as 80%. Take Copper’s real estate landing page: we’ve embedded an explainer video that caters specifically to that industry right at the top of the page:

4. Faster revenue growth

The ultimate goal of any marketing initiative is to drive revenue growth — and companies that use marketing videos can grow revenue 49% quicker than those who don’t.

So, what types of videos should you create to enjoy these benefits? There’s no shortage of video marketing ideas for small business growth — here are 11 to get you started.

1. Educational videos

Educational videos teach your audience something they didn’t already know. These types of videos can be related to your industry or product to help provide foundational knowledge for your customers. For example, if you own a real estate company, you might film an educational video about different mortgage types or the steps to purchasing a first home. Think of these as bite-sized tips or lessons delivered via video.

2. Explainer videos

Explainer videos, like our real estate video, are similar to educational videos in that they aim to teach your audience something new. But the primary purpose of explainer videos is to help the audience understand why they need you and your solution. They often use a fictional character to walk through pain points and use cases.

3. Demo videos

Demo videos are really popular in technology and SaaS companies, but they can also be used for physical products. Think of them like product videos for marketing — they’re designed to give viewers a tour of your product and show them how it works. Demo videos can show the entire product or just one feature. This demo video of the file organization features in Copper is a perfect example.

4. Presentation videos

Presentation videos are like the modern-day PowerPoint, and they’re used for a variety of reasons. Generally, they serve as an introduction to your company for customers, investors or partners. Think of them like a filmed sales pitch for those times when you can’t be in the conference room in person with a prospect.

5. Brand vision videos

Brand vision videos like our Copper video are often part of a larger ad campaign. They’re essentially a video that showcases who your company is, detailing the mission, vision or services and products. It’s less technical and more identity-focused than some of the others on this list.

6. Testimonial & case study videos

Sometimes it’s best to let your results speak for themselves. Testimonials and case study videos can be a powerful way to share social proof about your product or service, as Curology did in this video. In these types of videos, you let your customers (or their results) take center stage.

7. Expert interviews

Expert interviews are great for building authority in your industry. You can interview your internal experts (like your CEO) or reach out to industry experts for quick interviews on their industry-relevant thoughts.

8. Sales and prospecting videos

Sales and prospecting videos can work really well in a business-to-business (B2B) environment. Using personalized videos can be an ideal way to prospect and follow up with qualified leads — especially with high-target accounts. (Read more about how to use personalized videos in B2B sales here).

9. Event videos

An event video can be a recap of an in-person or virtual event or footage from a recent gathering, presentation or seminar. Whether you hosted it or just attended it, events present some terrific fodder for video content. (You can check out our previous webinar videos here).

10. Live videos

Live videos or live streams became popular during COVID, particularly because they give viewers the opportunity to participate in real-time discussion and get a look behind-the-scenes. It’s best to have your live videos centralized around a topic or theme and plan for them in advance, spreading the word across your network so that you have as many attendees as possible. You can also use live video replays later as an additional video asset. (See our upcoming live webinars here).

11. Animated videos

If you have the budget or in-house talent, animated videos are a terrific way to communicate complex concepts or keep people engaged. It’s also an alternative option for companies that don’t have someone who wants to serve as the public face.

Before you dive head-first into using video for business marketing, here are some best practices to keep in mind:

Have a strategy

Start by getting really clear on what you want to achieve with video, like:

• Brand awareness
• Greater personalization for different lead segments
• More conversions
• More qualified leads

Identify your objectives and develop a complete strategy around them. Creating a video strategy will take a bit of work, but building this road map before starting down the video marketing journey will help set you up to thrive.

Understand your audience and their wants

Nobody goes online to watch brand commercials for fun (unless you’re in advertising), so it’s important to think about how you can use video to meaningfully engage with your target demographic. The main reasons people watch videos are:

• To be entertained and inspired (53%)
• To relax or escape (28%)
• To learn something new (21%)
• To pursue a hobby or interest (14%)
• To find out something new or make progress on a task (13%)
• To stay up to date on trends (11%)
• To see something new that can’t be found elsewhere (10%)
• To feel connected with people (10%)
• To find information on products and services (8%)

Keep these reasons in mind when you begin creating video content. Put yourself in your target demographic’s shoes and try to create videos that will entertain, inspire, or educate them. If your videos are boring or too self-serving, chances are you won’t get the desired results.

Learn about the art of video-making

Filming videos is a bit of an art form. Unless you plan to hire a videographer, take time to do some research on cameras, sound, lighting, music, editing and more. Also look into research distribution channels and best practices for each (i.e., video format, posting times, quality expectations, etc.).

Look around at others in your industry to see what they’re doing and try to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Then, if possible, hire an expert to come in and help.

Follow the metrics

It’s important to measure your videos’ performance. Be sure to track results and keep an eye on your analytics, paying special attention to things like:

• View-through rate
• Watch time
• Conversions
• Clicks
• Shares

Remember, you only have about 2.7 seconds to grab your audience’s attention, so make your opener count. As with any type of marketing, video marketing might take some trial and error. Keep your eyes on the analytics over time and adjust tactics as needed.

Choose the appropriate distribution channels

There are lots of avenues for distributing videos: your website, social media accounts, emails — or even sending them individually as a prospecting tool. The most important thing is to find the channels that make sense for your company.

For example, TikTok is the dominant video-sharing social media platform right now, and you don’t need a huge budget to get started there. But 75% of TikTok users are under 34, and 43% are under 24. So, if your ideal customer is older than 34, you would probably be better served creating videos for LinkedIn, YouTube or Instagram, whose user base has a more distributed age range.

Video is an undeniable asset for increasing lead generation and driving business growth – even for smaller businesses with tighter budgets. With so many benefits and options to get started, there’s no reason to put off video marketing.

When used in tandem with your CRM, videos can help you improve lead generation and substantially increase revenue. Copper CRM works in the background, so you can work where and how you want to work, ditch tedious admin work, and spend more time on revenue-generating efforts like video marketing. Try Copper free for 14 days.