Repeat after me. Your Company is not Your Product. Again, Your Company is not Your Product
I think that a lot of enterprises have a problem when making a corporate video. They want to talk about their products (and did I mentions that your company is not your product).
Your company is your brand. And your brand is everything about your business. How you answer the phone, your font, your invoices.
Everything. So why not make your corporate videos about your brand?
That is why I am so confused when people want to make a corporate video that is….well just about a product. Not to say that a video shouldn’t be about your product.
But not your first video. And maybe not your second or third video either.
Now the question, “Why should I not make a video about my product? I have a great product, ” and I am sure you do.
I have a great product as well, but…
First people don’t care about your product. That is a hard pill to swallow, I know.
Take 366 for example. We provide marketing for our clients.
Unfortunately, no one wants to buy “marketing.” Marketing is only a means to an end.
What our customers want are:
Leads or
Sales or
Visitors or
Branding or
Something, but never
“Marketing.”
That’s why we made a video about us. Yes, it mentions what we do, but the overall feel is an introduction to 366 and our brand.
Instead of a product video, I think a better corporate video is more about YOU.
Your company, your branding, who you are. You want to help your customer, reveal more about your business or show that you are a person.
That is what video excels at doing. I think one of the problems with an industrial video is that we use it as a fancy brochure. It is so much more than that. Or it can be if we do it right.
For instance, take this video we did recently for a client. This video was for the North American arm of a large international industrial company.
The product they make is not relevant to this video at all.
In fact the entire video is about recent events in the company.
While this is not the complete video, this is a trailer to get people interested enough watch the full-length video.
What we wanted to demonstrate from the “trailer” is the personality of the company and the CEO. People rarely see top management of a company as being people, too. They are usually a headshot on the website or in a corporate bio, but not living, breathing people like you and me.
So how do you keep your corporate video from becoming like everyone else’s? And by everyone else, I mean a bit boring and not full of value for your customers.
Have a plan: The first objective for any tactic is to have a plan. What do you want to do? What do you want to accomplish? What are your goals for this video project? And are your goals S.M.A.R.T.?
Show your Personality: Be a human. Act like you are not just a corporate cog. And above all, have fun.
B2B is a misnomer. People buy from people. Be a person that people want to buy from and partner with.
Add Value: Give your audience something they want. Based on your goals and your buyer persona figure out what they want and give it to them.
Nobody needs a commercial on your product. Give your prospects something they value. Tell them how you solve their problems.
Or at least give them a reason to buy from you, instead of your competitors.
Measure: How can you measure the success of your video production? That can be complicated depending on your goals. I suggest hosting your video on Wistia or a similar platform that gives you feedback and insights into your video performance while improving your SEO.
Want to make a more compelling video for your business? Download our guide to video marketing here.