9 Irresistible Video Types to Attract, Engage and Convert Your Customers

Why should you choose video as your brand’s chief marketing tool?

Let’s talk some numbers.

• Video reaches 3x as many people and gets 20% more attention than standard blog posts.
• Video is projected to claim more than 80% of all web traffic by 2019.
• 59% of company decision makers would rather watch a video than read an article or blog post.
• According to YouTube, mobile video consumption grows by 100% every year.
• 87% of online marketers are currently using video content in their digital marketing strategies.

In short, video is the present and future of content marketing. People are drifting away from written content and moving towards video content with alarming speed. And if you still haven’t invested in videos to market your brand, now’s the time to get started.

Below we’ve listed 9 different types of brand videos and when should you use them. So dive right in!

Step 1: Attract

Understand your potential audience and their problems, and use these videos to reach out to them and introduce your brand.  

1. Animated explainer videos

And this is what you need to take advantage of. Grab your audience from the start through animated explainer videos. As the name suggests, these videos describe your product/service to your audience with the help of fun animations.

Even if your product is ‘uncool’, super-technical (boring!), or your brand message is complex, an animated explainer video takes care of all these issues. It simplifies, glorifies, hides flaws, exaggerates the good points and presents your best foot forward in front of your audience.

Here’s how Pinterest uses animated videos to hook their audience in.

And if you're intimidated by making these videos, don’t be. They’re super simple to create. They’re usually 30 to 90 seconds long, with around 200 words of written script. All you need to do is come up with an interesting concept, a story that ties with your brand, write the script, record a voiceover, add some cool graphics, edit it, and you’re done.

Or you can take the easy way out, and outsource it.

Add them to your website, to your YouTube channel, pin it to your social media profiles and pages, and watch it go viral.

Another awesome example is Ahref’s introductory video.

This video acts as a quick go-thorough of all it’s features, perfect for people who’ve never heard of them before.

2.  360 degree videos

One fine day, Magnifyre decided to team up with StoryUp and conduct a little experiment. They created a 360 video post and a traditional flat-frame video post featuring a single ballet dancer.

They promoted both videos to the same audience. The results were astounding, to say the least.

Crazy numbers, right?

And this is not a one-off win. Marketer’s have been experimenting with 360 videos and using it to promote their businesses since quite some time now.

360 degree videos are a form of virtual reality where the viewer can explore front, back, sideways, up, down, and all around the video content by clicking an arrow icon on the video. Since people are more into experiencing than just looking, this video format got super-popular super-fast.

One of the most interesting parts about 360 degree videos is that while it has low views, it has extremely high engagement rates. Not a lot of people might view your video, but ones that will, will get 100% into it. Quality vs quantity. Simple.

You can use 360 degree videos in several interesting ways and catch your audience’s attention.

Learn from savvy real estate agents and give virtual tours of property listings.

Involve users by showing your products and then holding contests for viewers. This is what Nescafe did with their Nescafe 360 video campaign. They showed the production of coffee via a series of 360 degree videos and offered prizes for their viewers.

3. Brand Films

The first time I saw Kate Spade’s #MissAdventure series video starring Anna Kendrick, I was hooked. It received a lot of positive acclaim and on it’s second day only, it hit 1.6 million views online.

Along with the quirky story, this film also promotes the brand’s products beautifully. And the best part is, the videos are touchable. You can drool and find out details about the leopard coat she wears by just clicking on it.

And it’s not just me who loved it.

This is the power of an interesting brand film. It instantly hooks in people and is a great way to attract your target audience.

The process of this video format is simple. Come up with an interesting story that ties nicely with your brand. Shoot a video. Involve employees if you’re on a budget. Do some kick-ass editing to give it a professional, film-y look. And share it far and wide.

BMW, Intel, Marriott, and many many others have experimented with this long-form video content and come out victorious. BMW hit more than 5.7 million YouTube views on their brand film, “The Escape”.

And as the Vice President of Marketing, BMW, Trudy Hardy says, “Without paid media, it was great to see 5 million views and each one of our viewers spending more than six minutes with the film. That’s a testament to the fact that if content is rich and there’s good story telling, the viewers will be there.”

Step 2: Engage

Now it’s time to warm up those cold leads, convince them that they need your product/service in their life, and gently nudge them towards becoming your customers.

4. Behind the Scenes Videos

To create valuable, sustainable customer relationships, great brands don’t sell customers on contracts—they seduce them with connections.  Impactful, memorable, emotional connections lead to true brand loyalty.

— Denise Lee Yohn, Forbes

BTS videos, as they’re fondly known in the digital marketing world, are great at showcasing your brand’s personality and humanizing it. People want to connect with the faces behind the brand, and this is what BTS content does best. It allows you to share exclusive insight of your brand with your audience and make them an intimate part of your team.

There are several ways you can use BTS videos to engage your audience.

Team Culture

From funny bloopers to showing a product launch, showing BTS of your team working and having fun together is always a great idea. They’re the faces behind your brand, so bring them in the forefront in the form of a BTS video.  

Progress

Are you expanding your brand? Introducing new products and services? Holding workshops and certificate programs? Show your audience that you’re growing bigger with each passing day.

Personal

You can also create BTS videos of your and your employee’s personal life. Give your audience a glimpse into your lives and show them that you’re exactly like them.

However, don't just create a video for the sake of creating. Have a clear purpose and marketing goal behind each of your videos.

"People hate videos that don't teach anything, and simply making a video that glamorizes you as a photographer is boring. Use it as a marketing tool and sell yourself by speaking to the camera and explaining what you are doing."
— Patrick Hall

5. Whiteboard videos

“It’s a very simple idea. [Whiteboard video] is a way of making the solutions UPS can offer approachable and simpler to understand.”
— UPS, the first brand that used whiteboard animations videos for marketing in 2007

Whiteboard animation videos explain complex topics in a riveting way with the help of real time animations. It’s a great way to engage an audience that wants to know more about you and doesn't understand what you do and how you work.

Here’s how Spotify uses this tool successfully to draw in their potential customers.

According to The Draw Shop, the metaphorical aspect of whiteboard animations, coupled with the advantage of displaying the full visual history on one canvas, provides a message format best-suited for long-term memory retention.

In easy language, viewers remember what they see in these videos for a long, long time.

It also has great potential to go viral and convert viewers. According to a study by The Draw Shop’s Neuroscientist and Ph.D, Carla Clark, whiteboard viewers are 3x more likely to share the video on social media and 2x more like to recommend and buy the product\service compared to talking head videos viewers.

There are several online tools you can use to create gripping whiteboard animation videos. One of them is this great website, Sparkol, which not only helps you create stunning whiteboard animation videos but also provides instruction manuals and guides to make this process as painless as possible.

Another option is RawShorts, a simple tool with a great, newbie-friendly interface.

6. Q and A videos

Ever watched Marie Forleo’s videos? They pull you in effortlessly and when one video finishes, you find yourself clicking on the next one. And the next one. And the next one.

Q and A videos if done right can turn you into an overnight superstar. It's a favorite among influencers, you’ll see lots of them in different fields and niches using Q and A videos to hook their potential audience in.

You can answer 1 question or several, it’s all up to you. The fact that it’s quick, easy and budget-friendly just adds to it’s charm. You can either conduct it in an interview style or  answer questions all by yourself.

In an interview style video, you need to ensure that you call the right guests. Ones that your viewers can relate to and get excited about. Request your followers to send in questions. Ask those questions in layman terms and keep it casual. Try to get a few LOLs from your audience and it’ll be a success.

In both the video styles, remember to keep them short (under 15 minutes), choose a setting with lots and lots of natural light, edit thoroughly, and share generously across all your social media platforms.

Step 3: Convert

Your potential customer is convinced and ready to buy. They just need that one last push to finally become your customers.

7. Testimonials

Customer testimonials and case studies are considered the most effective content marketing tactics, identified by 89% and 88%, respectively, of B2B marketers.

— B2B Content Marketing Trends Report

Your potential buyer is convinced that your product\service is the answer to all their problems and they need to buy it. But, before they click the ‘Buy Now’ button, they need proof that this product is exactly what it claims to be. And that is where video testimonials come in.

Since written testimonials can easily be exaggerated, they’re less effective at converting than video testimonials. Website visitors are 64% more likely to follow through with a conversion after watching a video.

So, contact your most satisfied customers and clients, offer them an incentive (a discount on the next purchase, free shipping, etc.) and ask them to send you a video testimonials. But, don’t just put them up on your website and forget about them. Share them on your social media platforms and upload it to your brand’s YouTube channel to reach out to 10x more people.

Here’s The Blessed Bean’s testimonial video to inspire you.

8. FAQs

Eliminate your customer’s last lingering questions through FAQs videos. By being honest and transparent with them through these video series, you don't just increase your sales but also create a sense of goodwill and trust with your customers.

Even though McDonald's is a food giant, they still created a microsite dedicated to all the questions they receive from their customers.

And here’s a short but thorough video answering one of those questions.

Gather questions from your customers and clients. You can even ask your social media followers to send in their questions. Make a list of them and create video scripts. You can either create a series of short videos answering each questions or one big video that discusses all the questions. Edit them and you’re done. No need for fancy equipment or flashy visuals.

9. Product Demos

According to eMarketer, 4x as many customers would rather watch a video about a product than read about it.

The best way to convert a potential buyer is by showing them exactly how your product or service works and how this product will change their life for the better.

However, instead of just talking about the features (meh), talk about it’s benefits. Make it all about your customers; their problems, your solution, and the entire experience you’re trying to build with your product.

90% of customers report that product videos help them make purchasing decisions.

Dollar Shave Club’s product video, ‘Our blades are F******** great’ is the perfect blend between fun and promotional content. This video did exceptionally well by receiving over 24 million views!

This is what their Youtube followers have to say about it,

Not only did they  do a bang on job with understanding their target audience (the younger demographic) and their problems, but also managed to nicely wrap it up in a short 90 second video.

You don’t need fancy equipment, a great celebrity status cast, and out-of-the-world visuals to make a great product video. A simple video can work wonders too if you understand your target audience and can convince them that your product is IT.

What is your product’s USP? Why should your audience prefer you product over others? How will your product make their life better and solve their problems?

Answer these questions and you’ve already got yourself a great script.