Undoubtedly, a promo video is a strong way to effectively promote and sell your brand. Numbers show that 83% of marketers believe promo videos provide a positive return on investment, and 68% of consumers prefer learning about products or services through such videos. However, creating a powerful promo video can be challenging and time-consuming. Although the format and delivery methods have changed, the main goal remains the same: to increase brand awareness and boost sales. By including the right elements, you can greatly enhance your business’s growth.
Defining A Promo Video
A promo video, also called a promotional video, is made to promote a specific marketing campaign, sale, or event. These videos are usually similar to teaser videos because they grab the audience’s attention and make them want to know more. A good example is the video for Amazon’s Leadership Essentials workshops, which shows how it works effectively. Here’s another example: Let’s say you have a sale coming up for 50 percent off lawn and garden furniture during Labor Day Weekend. In this case, you can create a simple promo video to showcase the offer and provide details about the sale dates.
In both cases, you’re not attempting to persuade someone to buy a specific product as you would in a product video or advertise your brand as you would in a brand video. Instead, your aim is to capture the viewer’s interest and make them curious to learn more, similar to how a teaser trailer entices people to watch a movie.
Types Of Promo Videos
A promotional video is made to show off a product or service and make people want to do something about it. These videos are meant to be short and simple, giving quick and easy-to-understand information. It’s generally suggested to keep these videos around 120 seconds or less since people have short attention spans. This means you have to be creative and fit all your ideas, pictures, sounds, and animations into this short amount of time.
A type of promotional video called a product demo video is made to show how a product or service works and what it can do. It focuses on demonstrating specific things about it. For example, I made a demo video recently as part of the Stanhope AI marketing campaign. The goal was to clearly explain the company’s mission: to change AI technology for military and commercial uses.
There’s another kind of promo video called an explainer video, which is made to explain how a company’s product or service works in a clear way. This format is great for showing complicated technologies and telling short, simple stories. When I make explainer videos, I usually follow these steps:
- Visualize the problem and challenge at hand.
- Propose a solution that addresses the identified problem.
- Illustrate the [potential outcome and benefits resulting from the implementation of the solution.
When Is The Right Time To Utilize A Promo Video?
Promotional videos are really good at getting new people interested and getting the word out about upcoming events and special offers online. If you want to introduce your brand to a new group of people, a promo video can be a great way to get their attention and make them curious about what you’re offering right now. Promo videos aren’t just for new customers, though. They can also get existing customers excited and interested again, giving them more reasons to keep doing business with your company. Here’s a practical example: Imagine someone who’s been thinking about buying your product or using your service while looking at your website. If you show them a promo video that talks about a special offer coming up, you’re giving them even more value and giving them one more good reason to choose your brand.
Discovering The Benefits Of Promotional Videos For Your Brand
In your life, you’ve probably seen a lot of promotional videos. You might not remember all of them, but there’s a good chance that some of them have influenced you to buy something. Promo videos don’t just help with sales, though. They also help people recognize and remember your brand. The more people see your brand, the more they’ll think of it when they want to buy something or use a service. So, when they’re ready to make a purchase, they’re more likely to choose you.
Small businesses can benefit a lot from promotional ads. Take Dollar Shave Club as an example. In 2012, they became well-known thanks to one video that created a lot of excitement and got people talking about them.
Key Elements Of An Effective Promotional Video
Promotional videos that do well usually have some things in common. If you include these elements in your own videos, it’s more likely that people will remember them. Here are four important things to think about:
- Concise And Direct Content Delivery
In today’s digital world, how we consume online content is different from other forms of media. When we read books or watch movies, we usually focus on them completely. But when we visit websites, we tend to quickly scan information, switch between tabs, and miss small details. So, it’s important to be brief and to the point if you want to grab your audience’s attention. TV ads have always been short, around 15 seconds long. For online videos, YouTube data shows that popular content is usually less than ten minutes long, not counting ads. This means that people generally prefer shorter promotional videos, although 15 seconds might not be enough time. The examples we talked about earlier are usually around two to three minutes long.
- Compelling Storytelling
To make your promotional video interesting and easy to remember, it’s important to tell a captivating story. Create a narrative that connects with the people you want to reach, and focus on the problems they face or the things they want to achieve. Show your brand as the answer or the force that brings about positive improvements. This will help you build a stronger bond with your viewers and make a lasting impact.
- Visual Appeal And Professional Quality
The way your promotional video looks is really important for getting people’s attention and keeping them interested. It’s worth spending money on making it look really good, like getting professionals to film and edit it, and adding special effects if needed. Try to make it visually attractive and in line with your brand’s style. Use interesting shots, move the camera around, and cool visuals to make the whole thing more enjoyable to watch.
- Call-To-Action (Cta) And Brand Recall
A good promotional video always has a clear and interesting message that tells people what they should do next (a call to action or CTA). You should guide viewers to take the action you want, like visiting your website, buying something, or signing up for a newsletter. Also, make sure your brand name, logo, and other recognizable things are shown a lot in the video. This way, people will remember your brand better and be more likely to interact with it.
By including these four things in your promotional video, you can make it more effective and increase the likelihood of viewers remembering and connecting with your brand.
