Video marketing is enormously powerful. Forbes reports that 90% of customers make buying decisions after seeing a product or service video with 64% saying that watching a video results in a purchase. In fact, a marketing strategy that doesn’t include video these days simply won’t deliver the big business results.
As a video production agency and B2B PR agency, the Definiton team understands first-hand the benefits of video marketing. However, after working with many companies of all shapes and sizes, we’ve come to realise the importance of producing video in all shapes and sizes too. It’s absolutely crucial to tailor video content to each client’s objective, message, personality and budget.
There are so many different forms, styles, types, you-name-it of video to choose from. This can be confusing for clients who already feel a little intimidated at the prospect of making a video. So, we’ve put together an overview of some of the most common video styles as a start.
Long-form vs. short-form video
Marketers continue to debate about whether long-form videos are better than short-form – or vice versa. On one hand, we know that short videos are very successful because humans have the attention span of a goldfish, but on the other hand, longer videos can be a better way to engage with consumers. Essentially, it depends on the purpose or goal of the video.
A video production team that knows it’s (ahem) from its elbow will always start by asking what the video needs to achieve. Does it, for example, just need to drive clicks? If so, short-form will do the job. Or are there longer-term goals like trying to build brand affinity? This requires greater viewer attention and engagement which is better achieved with long-form.
Long-form video puts more effort into creating a video that is entertaining and tells a story. This hooks the viewer and gives the brand time to really sell itself. What’s more, people often need to opt-in to view long-form content. Viewers are less likely to go through the trouble of opting in for shorter videos that don’t demand as much of their time and attention.
That said, it can be incredibly hard to get viewers to watch a longer video all the way through to the end. And while short videos are good for clicks, if they are meaningless, people will stop clicking. If you want people to truly pay attention to your video, no matter how long it is, then you need to ensure that it consists of compelling and useful content.
Live action video
Live action video is a great choice for a brand that wants to tell a human story and evoke an emotional response. It also works really well paired with 2D or 3D animation footage – if that supports the video’s objective and messaging of course. This is especially true for explainer videos.
If you want to know more about combining animation and live action video, dive into our blog archive.
Square video
Square videos are great for social media sites and mobile devices. Instagram, for example, only allows square videos and Facebook’s vertical feed favours the square video format. So, if social media and mobile are two of your video distribution channels, then make sure you square off your content.
A good marketing video is one that has form and substance. If you’d like to work with a video company that knows how to do both, contact our head of production Jamie.