Introduction To Video for Startups
There is no doubt that video for startups is crucial, both when it comes to marketing your startup, and increasing conversion opportunities.
But with the number of videos in the market, you may be doubtful whether investing in video production is still a good idea. After all, how can you make yours stand out? Also, cost can be an issue.
In this article, we will explore the different ways to create stunning video for your startup. And we’ll even share a piece of bonus information — the types of videos you can produce. Let’s get started!
Why Do Startups Need Video?
To sum up the answer, videos for startups are recommended because they address two main issues that startups deal with: low engagement and high costs.
Here are two ways that videos address these challenges…
- Video marketing is affordable, in the mid to long term.
When you first think about it, it seems like video marketing and production is expensive. Video production may indeed cost you a bit. But please keep in mind that you can use this marketing tool over and over again; it’s a high frequency marketing tool that has the capacity to deliver a pitch-perfect company story if executed correctly.
It will be posted on your website and indexed by search engines, so it is worth the cost. Moreover, you can use the same video in all your platforms so you don’t have to shell out vast amounts of money that you would typically spend when advertising in magazines, radios, TV shows, and many other channels. If you asked for a quick assessment on the kinds of numbers we see allocated to startup video projects, $5,000 to $10,000 would be a realistic bracket for a company’s main front and centre video.
The video production itself may be expensive upfront, but it can help you save money in the long run through content leverage (conversion optimisation over time), and time saved with customers that wouldn’t have been the right fit for your product (qualified leads).
2. Videos, when done right, can engage your audience and target market effortlessly.
Videos appeal to a broader range of audience as opposed to commercials, magazine features, or radio announcements.
If people liked the content of your video, they can easily embed, engage, comment, or share the video with just one click of a button. No muss, no fuss! Due to the effortless engagement that videos have, they can reach out to all types of consumers, wherever they are.
The Types of Video Every Startup Needs
Before we get started with finding ways to create compelling video for your startups, let us first identify the basic types of promotional and educational videos that startups should allocate their efforts to.
- Explainer Video
The best way to boost your sales is to establish market awareness about your products and services. One way to do this is to educate people on how your products or services work so that they will understand the need for them.
The key to making your explainer videos interesting is to use eye-catching animation, engaging dialogue, and upbeat voice-over, just like the ones are shown in this Acast explainer video that we produced.
- Walkthrough or Tutorial Videos
If your product is relatively new to the market, chances are people still don’t have any idea how it works. A walkthrough or video tutorial provides the viewers with a step-by-step guide on how to operate your products or use the interface of your app or software.
Most walkthrough videos feature screencasts. You can make your startup’s video stand out from the rest by using colours and animations, as you can see in this software walkthrough video, which can make the tutorial more interesting.
As a category of video for startups, software walkthroughs are effective (and easier on the wallet) especially for SaaS or subscription models where your users may be susceptible to churn.
- Brand Video
These days, consumers also consider the brand or company in addition to the quality of the product. People are more inclined to buy products or services of a company that matches their mission or values this is probably the most popular kind of video for startups, especially in the earlier stages of marketing).
A brand video will help tell the story of your company —why you built it, what it aims to do, what values it has, and much more. By showing your personality, you can connect to your target market at an emotional level. This does not only drive sales but also helps you establish a brand following as well.
Brand videos are designed to evoke emotions in consumers. They can be designed to make people sad, happy, or excited, for example. To achieve this, you need to use the right tone of voice, perfect soundtrack, and a great script—all these can be found in this Square brand video.
Tips on How to Create Stunning Videos for Startups
But how do you create stunning videos that will stand out? Here are some tips:
- Inject cinematography in your video.
Regardless of what your product or service is, you can always find a way to make it look more cinematic. That’s the best way to be different from the crowd of startup videos.
2. Establish your own distinctive style.
You do not have to make everything in your video different. If you do that, no one will be able to relate to it. What you should do is to make one aspect of the video unique. It can be the musical scoring, the character’s outfits, the voice-over, backgrounds, or visuals. It’s all up to you what you want to change. Just make sure that your startup’s video has a distinctive style because people more easily recall the different than the similar.
3. Be witty.
Modern audiences love companies with a sense of humour. A witty outlook on your products, services, or even your customers’ pain points can be a great way to catch your audience’s attention and win their loyalty.
Final Thoughts
If you are starting in the industry, you may still be thinking about that one move that can take your business into a whole new level. If so, then creating stunning video for startups is what you need to do.
While it may seem like the internet is already saturated with corporate videos, there is always still room for a few more. Just make sure that the videos you will create will stand out so you can capture the attention of your target market and eventually convert them into your loyal customers.
If you are to invest in a quality video for your startup, reach out to Vidico today. We have years of experience helping startups stand out in the sea of competition out there with stunning video marketing.
(We’ve also made a startup video of our own on this topic!)
