Corporate video use has gone from a prohibitively expensive domain of TV ads and sporadic use to non-use today. If a business isn’t utilizing video content, it’s losing in an arena where marketers know the game is different. It’s not a transformation that has happened overnight, but the shift in content strategy around video has become so prevalent that businesses without a video marketing strategy look outdated to customers. All of this can be made sense of when looking back over a decade of corporate video evolution.
When Video Content Became Popular for Companies
YouTube launched in 2005, and corporate businesses dismissed the platform as an arena for children who only made foolish little clips. Corporate video marketing was a definite no-go. Video content was too expensive to produce, and hosting was too difficult, and the internet speeds of the 2000s meant that anything more than a minute or two was largely unwatchable.
Video content created by companies was limited to one or two “corporate videos” a year. These were like commercials, embedded into websites, and left to sit and wait while their viewers buffered. Corporate video standards were leagues apart from today. People were used to grainy, unusable images and audio, so companies could shove a camcorder in a CEO’s face and call it good.
All of this would change relatively quickly with evolving technology.
When Social Media Became Video-Centric
In 2014, Facebook decided that it would give priority to video content. Businesses had their post reach slashed overnight unless they took up video marketing. Companies saw how video content outperformed text and image posts. It wasn’t long before Instagram did it, then Instagram Stories, then Instagram Reels, then Tik Tok exploded. Even LinkedIn jumped on the bandwagon and decided to prioritize video content for its business users.
Every major social media platform realized that videos keep people glued to screens for longer so they could cash in on ad views. Businesses were floored by how well their posts performed as soon as they took the leap into video content and they had to scramble to catch up with the trend. The only downside? Companies had relied way too much on sporadic content creation and the one-off, big shoot strategy.
Opportunities for those who know how companies operate and how to create doable corporate videos abounded with the demand for video content. Many corporations have been turning to professionals who understand the marketing tactics behind the camera.
This was when numerous forms of videos emerged in a corporate branding context.
The Different Forms of Video Content Companies Now Need to Produce
Each social media platform gave rise to a new form of video that businesses needed to produce for them. Video marketing content on YouTube requires long-form videos; Instagram only requires 60-second clips; Tik Tok requires even shorter snippets.
Companies learned that repurposing the same video for all social media platforms does not work as each platform requires its own structure and editing techniques.
Behind the Scenes updates became all the rage. Testimonials and review videos raked in extra views and credibility; product demos did what text could not do, they taught. Corporate social responsibility started a small video boom in this area. How-To videos and educational videos made companies their own industry experts.
Event coverage stretched the reach of corporate events, conferences, launches, etc.
These all require constant creation of video-based content, not a single shoot once a year.
The Quality Expectations Have Skyrocketed
This is where companies are having a hard time catching up to current trends. Professional video content has spoiled viewers. Content that looked amazing five years ago looks shabby today if competitors are putting out better quality.
Raw footage taken on a smartphone may be acceptable to viewers for “Behind the Scenes” videos, but footage compiled for a marketing campaign? Slightly more expertise is required, and those needing expertise can look for an experienced videographer Orlando that has a plethora of portfolio work to show for their years in the business.
The technical requirements for corporate videos have become nothing short of exceptional.
Viewers now expect good sound quality, neat color grading, clear 4K visuals, and good editing. Bad footage is bad for business! Shaky footage with questionable audio quality is not something anyone wants connected to their brand.
Video Marketing Helps With SEO Optimization
Video content has also changed how companies view Search Engine Optimization (SEO). YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google. Regular corporate videos pop up in Google searches as well. Companies that invest in corporate video creation get a level of visibility that companies optimizing text-only results do not enjoy.
Algorithms take watch time into account; that means quality rather than quantity with these corporate videos.
One well-constructed, quality corporate video will hold people’s attention and make them value time spent watching over ten substandard video marketing pieces that capture attention for five seconds and send the viewer clicking for the door.
Quantifiable Data Proves Video Content Creation Worth It
Companies can now quantify how well products perform for their audience. Viewers can measure everything from the views garnered from their videos through people’s drop-off rates at specific timestamps in videos to see how certain actions in videos can lead viewers to purchase products. Companies can see how well their products convert through crisp graphs in corporate videos.
Landing pages that use corporate videos see improved conversion rates over text; email campaigns that use them see higher click rates; demonstration videos on product pages also see improved outcomes as they reduce the return rate of products.
These quantifiable outcomes explain why companies need to invest improved budgets for corporate videos.
Just because businesses have made one great corporate video in the past does not mean that they are successful enough to maintain all the social media platforms requiring new branding films every month.
The Future of Corporate Video Use
The evolution of corporate videos is not likely to slow down any time soon. The latest platforms are based on different premises like interactivity. Over the next ten years, businesses can expect to see the popularity of Live-streaming videos, interactive marketing content, personalized video messages, and who knows what features augmented reality may add to ad footage.
Companies that have been on the bandwagon of video content marketing for years are facing different challenges as they are evolving so fast they need to keep innovating or they’ll be left behind by other newer platforms like TikTok.
The companies best placed to utilize this environment see corporate videos as an ongoing conversation they have with their audience and not a sporadic yearly campaign with one-shot wonders only.
Companies that want to excel in this area need a photographer who knows how to film well-edited corporate videos instead of sporadic shots that cater to audiences who are actively consuming brands with various digital presences rather than niche focuses.
The companies that are still struggling think one successful video a year will still impact their sales funnel as it did back in the day. Companies that wake up to reality will make sure that something that was once a “nice-to-have” element becomes a non-negotiable element of their marketing campaigns.
