The 5 W’s of Video Content Part 1 – Sparksight Blog

Last month, Sparksight had the honor of speaking at Denver Startup Week. Our talk, called, How to Increase Conversions with Video Content was a panel discussion alongside Sharon Marchand, CXO of Summit XD and Brian Brown, Founder of The Kompanee. While Sharon and Brian spoke about the technical aspects of how to implement video onto your website (check out the full presentation here), I was able to speak about video content itself. In particular, the 5 W’s of Video Content:

• Why it’s important
• What kinds work best
• Who should make it
• When to use it
• Where to use it

In this two-part blog, we’ll go through all of the W’s of video content. This part covers why video is important and what types and styles of video will work best depending on your needs/goals. Part II will cover who should be responsible for making videos, when videos should be used, where to use videos, and an added bonus for our wonderful blog readers (that’s you!), we’ll talk about how much video should cost. Let’s get started!

Why it’s important:

As silly as it seems, there are still some marketers out there who still refer to video as a fad, who think it’s a waste of time/money, who think their efforts are “good enough,” and tons of others who have their own reasons for not investing in video content. Well, we’re here to set the record straight because…

#EveryoneNeedsVideo

And, just in case proof is necessary, we’ve got stats. Check ‘em out:

• Businesses in the High Tech and Manufacturing industries are publishing the most new videos on a monthly basis – Vidyard 2017 Benchmark Report
• 43% of people want to see more video content from marketers in the future – Hubspot
• 45% of people watch more than an hour of Facebook or YouTube videos a week – Hubspot
• 51.9% of marketing professionals worldwide name video as the type of content with the best ROI – Hubspot
• By 2017, online video will account for 74% of all online traffic – KPCB, Internet Trends 2017 Report
• By 2019, video will account for 80% of global internet traffic, and 85% in the US – Cisco Forecast 2016-2021
• Almost 50% of internet users look for videos related to a product or service before visiting a store – ThinkWithGoogle
• Nearly two-thirds of consumers prefer video under 60 seconds – Animoto
• Videos up to 2 minutes long get the most – Wistia
• Marketers who use video grow revenue 49% faster than non-video users – Vidyard 2017 Benchmark Report
• Snapchat video ads deliver over 2X the lift in purchase intent compared to TV, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook video ads – MediaScience, 2016
• 82% of B2C businesses report that video has become their most popular content marketing tactic – Content Marketing Institute
• Video on a landing page can increase conversions by 80% or more. – Adelie Studios

Just in case it’s still not clear why video is SO important for your marketing efforts, here’s a short video, watch it.

See, now you get it. Here’s the gist of what this video just did:

• It evoked feelings. When it showed the child afraid of the dog, it evoked feelings of empathy for the dog. And, when it showed the child reaching for the dog at the end, it evoked feelings of joy and happiness for the dog.
• It simplified a complex idea. Think about how you would explain this concept to your grandma (not the kind of grandma that has a Snapchat, more like the kind of grandma who hasn’t heard of Facebook). It would be pretty tough, right? This video shows the entire process of how to order through Amazon Prime Now and by showing this, they make it look super easy.
• It painted a picture. It tells a story that’s short, easy to follow, and it’s relatable to many audiences.  

What kinds work best:

There are two distinct categories we’ll discuss here: type and style. We’ve used this analogy before but, it’s a good one so we’ll use it again. Think of type and style like dessert and flavor. So, if ice cream is the type then, chocolate is the style. Or, if pie is the type then, pecan is the style. Or, if donuts are the type then, glazed is the style. Make sense? Good. Now that we all have dessert on the mind, let’s keep talking about video content. 🙂

First, let’s talk about the types of video content most marketers are creating right now. We’ve split these up into three groups: essential videos, event videos, and extra videos.

Essential videos are ones that every marketer needs in their content marketing arsenal. If you’re limited on budget, time, etc. or if you’re just getting started with video content, focus on creating these types of videos first. Here are the essential video types, in order of importance:

• Explainer: Answers the question, “what does this company do?” by explaining the problems they solve, the way they solve it, and the benefits you’ll see from using their product/service.
  Example: Alterian

• Demo: Using screenshots or live action footage to demonstrate the product or service being used to give viewers a sense of what it’s like and to answer more detailed questions.
  Example: Driving Fitness Evaluations
  

• Case Study/Customer Testimonial: Serves as a proof of concept for people looking to use your product or service. Video is the easiest, shortest way to do a case study.
  Example: Jahia/HomeAway Customer Testimonial Video
  

• Web Commercial: Usually live action and comedic to grab attention all over the web. Different than an explainer video because of the tone and style typically used in these videos.
  Example: Khorus Web Commercial
  

• Social Media Short: These are done best if they’re used as teasers to entice viewers to want to learn more by going to the link provided, aka your landing page.
  Example: HomeAway Vacation Equation Social Media Shorts
  

• Company Overview: Answers the question, “who is this company?” by showing actual employees, examples of culture, testimonial footage from executives, etc.
  Example: Accruent Company Overview
  

Some companies don’t do regular events which is why we have these next video types in their own category, event videos. If you’re with a company who does events (could be once a year or once a day), you’ll want to have these videos in order to promote future events, help increase attendance, engage audiences, and most importantly, because, creating videos from your events will give you content for days. Here are the types of event videos every event marketer needs to have:

• Highlight Reel: This is a great way to show attendees what your event was like. This video can be used to send to attendees after the event or it can be used as a promotional piece for a future event. Example: Bazaarvoice Summit Highlight Reel
• Event Opening Video: What better way to kickoff a big keynote than with an awesome, attention-grabbing opening video? These videos can be used to get attendees excited, to loosen them up, and to introduce speakers. Example: Influitive Advocamp Opening Video 
• Trade Show Loop: Trade shows are all about eye candy. Video is a great way to grab the attention of event attendees walking through the aisles and can allow you to show a variety of messages instead of just one. Example: Oracle Eloqua Experience Trade Show Loop
• Session Recordings: Session recordings on subjects that are important to your audience are great pieces of content to capture. They can be sent out in full length or cut into bite sizes pieces of content. Examples: TEDxAustin and TEDxAustin Women Sessions

Now, if you’re just a real marketing badass, you have all of these videos already created. So, this last category of video types is just for you, extra videos. Say video is really working for you, you’re seeing increases in conversions, more audience engagement, etc. Well, don’t stop! Here are some types of videos that we consider extras but effective nonetheless.

• Marketing Campaign Video(s): Video is a great piece of content to go with any marketing campaign. This can be a video that entices people to fill out a form to learn more or it could be the reason they’re filling out the form. Find examples here.
• Broadcast Commercial: Using screenshots or live action footage to demonstrate the product or service being used to give viewers a sense of what it’s like and to answer more detailed questions. Find examples here. 
• Recruitment: Showing people what it’s like to work with your company during the interview process can help weed out those who aren’t good fits and reassure those who are good fits. Find examples here. 
• Trainings: Teaching the same thing over and over again might not be scalable but with video, you can record certain training aspects and use those videos to train employees in the future. 

Now that we’ve covered the different types of videos that can be created, let’s talk about the styles of video that work best. While there are endless styles of video out there, our experience here at Sparksight has shown us that the following are the most used styles for corporate web videos. This list includes the style of video, an example of that style, and what type of video each style works best for:

• Live Action:
  • Best for: Company Overviews, Event Openers, Marketing Campaigns, Web Commercials, Broadcast Commercials
  • Example: DocuSign and Go Web Commercial
• 2D Animation:
  • Best for: Explainers, Social Media Short, Marketing Campaigns, Web Commercials, Demos
  • Example: Animation Look Samples
• 3D Animation:
  • Best for: Demos, Explainers, Web Commercials, Broadcast Commercials
  • Example: Das Keyboard
• Narrative:
  • Best for: Company Overviews, Recruitment Videos, Explainers, Web Commercials, Broadcast Commercials
  • Example: Sparksight Modern Company (2014) 
• Interview:
  • Best for: Company Overviews, Testimonial/Case Studies, Recruitment Videos, Highlight Reels
  • Example: Kestra Financial Testimonial
• Screen Capture:
  • Best for: Explainers, Demos
  • Example: LeadingReach Demo Videos
• Hand Drawn:
  • Best for: Explainers, Demos, Company Overviews, Marketing Campaigns, Social Media Shorts
  • Example: How to do a Fast Draw
• Stop Motion:
  • Best for: Explainers, Marketing Campaigns, Web Commercials
  • Example: Honda “Paper” Broadcast Commercial
• Documentary:
  • Best for: Testimonials/Case Studies, Marketing Campaigns, Broadcast Commercials
  • Example: BAM!TV 

So, there you have it! Now that you understand why video is important and you know what types and styles of video will work best for your needs/goals, stay tuned for Part II. We’ll go over how to vet a potential video production vendor, when to use your video(s), where to place your videos, and as an extra bonus, we’ll talk about how much you should be spending on your next video. If you have questions about any of the information presented here, please drop us a note in the comments section.