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This is the ultimate guide on creating promo videos for marketing.
Have you ever tried creating a promotional video to ace your video marketing efforts? If not, it's the right time to do so!
Nowadays, videos are used to grab people's attention in a second, especially if you're about to start a sales campaign or promote an offer.
Research shows that 72% of customers are more likely to learn about a product or service through a video. According to 83% of video marketers, promo videos provide positive ROI.
Hence, with so much potential, it's no wonder savvy businesses all over the world are reaping its benefits.
Incorporating dynamic promo videos showcase your product to the world and persuade your customers to take action.
In this blog post, we'll walk you through the different aspects of promo videos. Plus, we'll also discuss the steps for making stunning promo videos that convert and sell.
So, let's get started!
What are Promo Videos?
As the name suggests, promotional videos are designed to promote an offer, product, service, free trials, and more.
Whether you want to raise awareness of your new sales campaign or build up curiosity for an upcoming event, a promo video is a great way to go.
In other words, a promo video is the go-to medium to get your message across clearly, while showcasing your product or services excitingly and memorably.
Furthermore, it is the perfect way to put your business in its best light, show the customers how it can help, and familiarize them with the user experience.
In a nutshell, such videos are highly driven by your business and its offerings.
Want inspiration? Here’s an example:
What are the Benefits of Promo Videos?
Is a promotional video worth the effort? In short: Yes.
Promotion drives traffic and sales. There are several types of B2B videos.
But, what makes promo videos fantastic is that they work best when you want to show off your brand and get the message across in the shortest time. For those looking to complement their video strategy on social media platforms like Instagram, getting more followers can also be an effective way to increase your reach and visibility.
Not sure if promo videos are right for your business? Check out the five benefits they'll have for your performance.
Boost Sales
64% of customers are more likely to buy a product from a website after watching a video. Pretty impressive, isn't it?
Promo video is an effective tool in conveying what your business or product is all about.
Further, it not only attracts the viewer's attention but also influences their buying behavior leading to increased sales.
Capture Customer's Attention
Nowadays, it can be hard to catch prospective customer's attention, let alone communicate how useful your product or service is for their needs.
This is where promo videos can be your best bet.
Your customers love videos! So, get ahead of the game by creating high-impact promo videos that are impossible to resist.
If your video gives the customers an in-depth idea of your brand's story in an interesting way, they are more likely to stick around for longer.
Provide Product Experience
With promo videos, your customers get the experience of your product or service even before they buy it.
Here's an example:
Build Trust
Nothing can compare to the power of promo videos when it comes to building trust with your audience. 57% of customers report that promo videos give them more confidence to buy a product online.
Drive Website Traffic
Using promotional videos on your website results in a high-engagement rate.
Don't believe us? The following statistics say it all:
- 45% of businesses use promo videos on the homepage of their websites.
- Websites with videos drive 2-3 times more visitors than those that don't.
Thus, eye-catching promo videos not only help in increasing traffic to your website but also enables visitors to stay there for longer, thus reducing the bounce rate.
How to Create Promo Videos?
Now that you're aware of the power of promo videos, it's time to create amazing videos that convert like crazy.
Producing a promo video can be quite daunting, especially if you have no idea where to start. Thankfully, with StoryXpress Screen Recorder, you can outshine your competitors and create quality promotional videos in a breeze.
But why screen-recorded videos?
Let's face it; creating professionally-looking promo videos can be expensive. But, what if you're tight on budget? This is where screen-recorded videos can help!
Screen recording is a great and affordable option for creating promotional videos. Whether you want to walk your audience through how to use your product/service or communicate a complicated concept, a quick screen-recorded video can do wonders.
Hence, it's a fantastic solution to guide your customers who might give up and move on to your competitors.
Let's see how you can create stunning screen-recorded promo videos effectively.
Identify Your Goals
Everyone wants to drive sales. But, what is that one goal you're setting out to achieve with your promo videos? Is it conversions? Click-throughs? Brand awareness?
Producing a video can be expensive. So, it's crucial to get crystal clear on your goals before you start writing the script.
For example, maybe you want to offer a sneak peek of your new product to your audience. Or perhaps tease your customers with your special offer and encourage them to stay tuned. Maybe you want to get people excited to attend your next event.
Whatever it is, be as specific as possible.
If you have multiple goals, avoid cramming them into one video unless you want to complicate the script and confuse your viewers.
Get the Right Tools
So you've got your script sorted. Next, gather all the right tools to record a promo video.
A laptop or desktop with a webcam, a decent microphone, echo-free space, and good lighting is all you need to create head-turning promo videos in no time.
Hit the Record Button
Script, check. Tools, check. Now it's time to record your video.
Don't know where to start? Follow these steps:
Step 1: Install the StoryXpress Chrome Extension.
Step 2: After you've signed in, choose the 'Screen', 'This Tab', or 'Camera' option, depending upon your script requirements.
Step 3: Hit the 'Start Recording' Button and record till you think you've got it just right. Easy, isn't it?
Here’s a detailed guide on Getting Started With StoryXpress and recording your first video.
Edit to Perfection
Once recorded, you can edit your video from the StoryXpress Dashboard.
Remember: Your promo video should be as short and engaging as possible. So, trim all unnecessary parts to retain your viewer's attention.
If you want to shoot a regular video using a camera, upload and host it using StoryXpress for an ad-free experience. Here, you can customize your video player to match your brand style.
Choose a brand color, create a thumbnail, and add a CTA button anywhere in the video to provide your viewers with the feel of your brand.
Share It With the World
There you go! Now you can share your fantastic promo video and reach out to your audience using a shareable link. Or, embed the link wherever your customers will be sure to watch, such as on your website or email.
Plus, you can download the video and post it on your social media platforms in a few clicks. And, you'll start to see your videos gaining plenty of thumbs up in no time.
Promo Video Creation Process (Non-screen recording)
If you do have the resources and are willing to go big with your promo video the traditional way, you can follow the following steps
- Scripting
- Storyboarding
- Production
- Assembling and editing
- Promotion
Scripting
As mentioned earlier scripting is the first step, start with a clear idea of what function the product/service in the promo video serves, the next step is to have a clear idea of the audience and the kind of language and visual motifs that will resonate with them. A combined understanding of the two concepts mentioned above will help you select the right theme.
Another factor that will impact the theme of the video will be the timing of the video, if the promo is released close to a major festival or event it is better to draw on the same to simplify the promo video creation process.
The next step is to identify the keywords and concepts you’d like to cover in your video, once all of these are in place you can move to the scripting process,
Whatever your goal is, be it persuading the customers to buy your products, join your community, or subscribe to your newsletter, your video script will deliver that.
So make sure your script explains what your business does in an easy-to-understand way while being short, simple, and attention-grabbing.
Here's what you can do:
- Present a problem or pain point your customer might be dealing with.
- Explain how your product or service can fix their problem.
- Use social proof to back up your claims, such as product demos, customer reviews, etc.
- Finally, close the video with a simple and compelling call-to-action.
Bonus Read: How to Write a Video Script
Storyboarding
Promo videos are usually short and flashy, they are most effective when they are under 90s. Considering this, it’s essential to have the list of key visuals in the video ready before starting the production process.
The scripting process mostly requires verbalising the concept and key themes of the video in a couple of paragraphs, without a visual mockup in place it’s difficult to validate whether a concept will work or not and also the direction to take if the concept works.
The second function of storyboarding is organizing shots within the given timeframe, considering that a typical promo video is less than 90s; each shot needs to deliver the maximum impact. The process also helps in identifying and placement of punch lines if any.
The final reason that makes storyboarding essential is that the idea of essential shots in the video provides a clearer idea of the budget required based on the location, elements filmed, and equipment required. Storyboarding also reduces back and forth when there are multiple stakeholders involved in the creative process.
Production
With the storyboard and script in place it marks the end of the conceptualisation process. The video production can either be done in house or outsourced to professionals since this step involves the most amount of technical knowhow and least amount of knowledge regarding the promotion subject.
If the shoot involves an in-office setup it can be done inhouse in a comparatively easier manner when compared with a shoot on location which involves more logistical challenges. Once the shooting process is done, it’s time to move on to assembly and editing.
Assembling and editing
Similar to production, the editing process is also best left to professionals. Considering that promo videos are high impact and high budget videos compared to other marketing videos it’s better to get the help of a professional in the process.
Promoting promo videos
Odd as it may sound promo videos also need promotion, the success of a promo video hinges on a consistent campaign that generates hype and then culminate in the promo video release, post release the buzz can be maintained by promoting the promo video on the following channels,
Social
This is the most obvious channel, instead of just posting the video and hoping for some organic it’s a better option to actively boost the promo video via paid ads on all your social media platforms.
Email is an often overlooked channel, it can be both during the hype generation phase prior to the video release and also to maintain the buzz after the video is released. An effective way of doing this is by setting up a dedicated email sequence for the video release and also mentioning the promo video in weekly newsletters so that the video stays on top of the prospect’s mind.
Paid ads
As touched upon earlier, paid ads can be used to amplify reach on platforms that rely on organic traffic. Paid ads can be used to target and retarget website visitors thus ensuring the promo videos reach the right eyeballs
Website
Limited duration banners and forms can be used across your website to generate interest and collect info regarding people interested in an upcoming release. The promo video can also be posted on your homepage to increase exposure.
Promo Videos Best Practices
Ready to give promo videos a shot? We've got your back!
Creating unique and engaging promo videos requires you to apply a mix of five best practices.
Keep It Short and Crisp
With bucket loads of content available online, attention span is decreasing, and nobody wants to watch a 5-minute long product video.
So, when it comes to promotional videos, shorter is better.
The goal of promo videos is to make your audience curious enough to want to know more. Make your videos as short as possible, retaining the viewer's attention and offering relevant information in the shortest time.
Talking about video length, this is something you can test. But, we advise keeping it between 30-60 seconds.
The video length also depends on the platform where you'll upload the video. For example, if you're creating a promo video for your Instagram, it should be a maximum of 15 seconds.
Here’s a guide on video length best practices. Check out to understand how long your videos should be.
Consistency is the Key!
Your promo video is the representation of your business, products, and services. Before you get started, understand your brand personality and try to reflect the same in your videos.
The goal here is to create videos that are consistent with your brand. Because viewers are more likely to engage if they experience consistency in your brand messaging.
Don't Forget a Call-To-Action
Want more website visits? Newsletter subscribers? Conversions? A right call-to-action is the way to go!
No matter what you'd like to achieve from your promo videos, you won't do it without a compelling CTA. So, close your videos with a clear, strategic, and simple call-to-actions to guide your viewers.
Also, make sure to include one CTA at a time unless you want to confuse your audience.
Remember: You want a strong CTA that convinces people to leap into action.
Here’s a guide on how to add CTAs to your videos.
Use Subtitles and Captions
Your potential customers might be viewing your video somewhere in public or with their device on mute. So, make sure the message is clear without sound. Captions can go a long way here!
Subtitles is also a brilliant move, especially if your target audience resides in other countries. Even though the video is displayed in English, viewers get the message in their language too.
Want to know how to add subtitles to your videos? Check out this video:
Think About Your Audience
To engage your viewers, it's crucial to know who they are and what they think about your brand. The more research you do, the better.
Talk to them like you would talk to a friend. Know what they like, what language they understand, and what type of content they enjoy. Then, include this in your promo videos for massive engagement.
Remember: Your promo video content should be authentic and relate to your audience. User-generated content is an excellent way to connect with them on their level.
Remember: Your promo video content should be authentic and relate to your audience. User-generated content is an excellent way to connect with them on their level.
That's everything you need to know about creating viral-worthy promo videos for your business.
Now go ahead and create dynamic and killer videos that your customers will love and get that word out there ASAP!
All the best!
