Customer Testimonials and Case Studies
Video testimonials are an excellent way to tell your brand story. Social proof is essential for any business because it tells your story in someone else’s words, and new customers are far more likely to be influenced by what other customers say than by your own marketing copy.
A testimonial is not especially creative, but it provides you with a way to talk about your products from another perspective. It can be as simple as one person talking about their experience with your products or it could show how they use them.
The most important thing with a testimonial video is that it is authentic. This may mean making it less slick than your other videos, but by doing so, you can actually make it more effective.
Video case studies are similar, but they often go into a bit more depth and can be more polished. You could use these to discuss the specific challenges faced by a customer and how you helped to solve it, and it can take a light-hearted approach or be serious.
UGC Videos
Any form of user-generated content (UGC) can also be highly effective when used in videos to tell your brand story. This could come in the form of a testimonial, or it could be a discussion or review of your products.
It doesn’t cost you anything and it is authentic. You don’t have as much control over it, but you can still give your customers some direction by asking them to create videos showing them using your products.
Explainer Videos
Explainer videos are a very effective way to tell your brand story. They are succinct, clear, short, and creative, and often tell a brand’s story through animation.
You can use these to provide a quick introduction to your company or your product. They are often very short, as little as one minute in length, and they combine voice and animation to get a lot of information across in a short amount of time.
The viewer should go away understanding a specific concept about your brand, covering aspects such as:
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Sustainability commitments
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Origin story
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Charitable initiatives
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Company culture
It doesn’t need to be comprehensive. A short, 30-second animation is enough to explain your brand story if you’re creative and concise with it.
Product Videos
A product video simply shows off your product, and as your products are an essential part of your brand story, it’s the perfect chance to blend the two.
It could show you using your product, talking through how to set it up and how it works. People love to see demonstrations because they simplify the process.
It could be something as simple as an unboxing video, starting with the boxed product then opening it up and explaining how the packaging, design, and features embody your brand. Customers and reviewers often make these videos when they buy a new product, and brands can use them just as effectively.
You could also add humor, or at least use your unique brand voice to create a video that people will want to share.
Tips Videos
A simple option for creating a video is to create a series of tips. You could share tips on how to use your products to get the most out of them. Although this is similar to a product video, you go into more depth about the specific things you can achieve with your products.
Try to create videos that people find genuinely useful. They might follow your instructions when using the product themselves, and these are exactly the useful types of videos that people like to share.
And by sharing tips through video, you can provide value to your audience which forms part of your brand’s story: a commitment to your customers and their needs.
Documentaries
Documentary style videos provide you with a great opportunity to share your brand story. You can create a documentary about anything and combine elements of showing off your products, tips videos, and testimonials all in one.
These can be very short, or you can make them longer. Platforms like IGTV allow you to create and post videos up to one hour in length so you can go into more depth.
You could explain your company origins and why you exist in the first place—people love to hear about this.
Live Videos
This is another popular type of video that you can use to tell and distribute brand stories. Live videos have taken off, and they are incredibly popular on Facebook and other platforms. They are a great way to connect with your audience and engage them.
Live videos can be used to show the “real” you. They are raw, unedited, and authentic, and they show what your brand is really like.
Go behind the scenes at an event you are hosting or attending, take a tour of your office, and provide insider information. They are cheap and easy to create, so there is no need for post-production.
Choose the Right Platform to Distribute Your Videos
When it comes to distributing your videos, there are many platforms to choose from. You could create a YouTube account and upload videos there. Or you could stick to Instagram and make use of IGTV to tell your brand’s story.
In fact — look at any successful business for sale — even the smallest indie online store, and you’ll see a social strategy that spans multiple social platforms. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest — each platform caters for video, but with its own unique nuances. IGTV makes creating long-form live videos accessible and engaging, but Pinterest’s Video Pins lend themselves to sharing and virality. All of them are set up to cater to both starter stores and enterprise brands, making social video (and video in more general) an accessible content format for brand storytelling.
It’s up to you which platforms you use, but ultimately you need to do your research to find the best one that suits your brand’s needs and audiences in order to effectively tell your story.
Video is the ultimate platform for telling your brand stories. There are so many ways to do this, and the above list only touches on the options available to you.
So get creative. Think about the best ways to tell your own brand stories, then start creating and distributing videos that entertain, increase engagement, and improve your branding.
— Victoria
