Corporate video production for brands: Everything you should know

There’s a new kid on the block in the business world. 

And everyone has their eyes on her. 

Everyone in the transactional neighborhood, from customers to business owners, has changed how they operate to accommodate this new kid. 

Who’s that girl?

Surprise, surprise, she’s corporate video! 💅

Confused? Don’t be. We’ll unpack everything you need to know about this trendy It Girl  in this guide. 

At the end of this article, you’ll have learned:

• What a corporate video is
• The different phases involved in creating one
• How to plan to produce a corporate video
• What it’ll likely cost you to produce a video

And more!

Without further ado, let’s jump right in. 

Table of contents

• What’s a corporate video, and why is it important for businesses?
• The most common types of corporate videos
• Corporate video production phases and do’s and don’ts
• How to plan the production of a corporate video
• How much do corporate video production services cost?
• How to find the best corporate video production company

What’s a corporate video, and why is it important for businesses?

A corporate or business video is a form of video content created by an organization to share information about its product, values, or ethics. 

You can call them promotional videos. They’re usually produced to: 

• Support the internal running of a company (like training or onboarding videos) 
• Market the brand

Simply put, corporate videos help create a strong connection between a brand, its customers, and its employees. 

It’s a tool for organizations to express their mission and culture in a more engaging way than your typical, run-of-the-mill corporate brochure. 

Videos are a fast-moving train in the business world, with more than 84% of brands integrating video into their marketing strategy. 

If you’re not one of them, you’re leaving so much money on the table.  Here’s why:

• 90% of people say they enjoy watching videos produced by brands online. 
• Videos are the main way customers hear about organizations they eventually purchase from.  
• 85% of marketers think that video ads are an effective way of getting people’s attention online. 

Clearly, people are more likely to engage with your business if you’ve got brand videos. 

If you want to capture customers’ attention, having business videos is only the beginning. You must then determine what type of video to create.

To help you make what should be an easy decision, we’ve put together common types of online videos to guide you.

The most common types of corporate videos

The different types of business videos listed here are defined primarily by their style and the kind of message they communicate. 

Let’s have a closer look at what each type entails. 

…with examples, of course.😌 

Brand/company story

This type of corporate video is usually produced to explain what led to the creation of a company. It describes the company culture, values, motivation, and vision to clients and, sometimes, employees.

It’s like a superhero origin story, but in this case, the heroes are the company’s founders. 

The aim? 

To build trust, raise awareness, and imprint the brand in the hearts of clients or prospects. Just like this video by HubSpot: 👇

If you were too busy to hit ‘play,’ here’s what you missed: basically, the founders take viewers down memory lane, explaining how the company began and its vision. 

To create a brand story video, you should:

• Find an angle people can relate to (like the college buddy part in HubSpot’s video)
• Be as authentic as possible 
• Talk about the future of your company
• Leverage the viewers’ emotions

Product launch/demo

You know how movies have trailers that create buzz and excitement, so people are hyped about the movie before it hits the cinemas?

A product launch or demo video does that for a new product. 

A product launch video helps advertise the release of a company’s new product showing its different features and capabilities. 

In a way, they’re the visual version of a press release. Instead of reading about the product’s benefits, customers see the product in action, like in the video below.

The video begins with an interested user trying to get their partner on board. Instead of using words, he proceeds to demonstrate how the product works. 

Case studies

Case studies share the experiences of different types of customers who’ve used your products. 

It’s an all-around experience where they talk about what situation they were faced with and how your product or service helped them solve it. 

Case studies are a blend of storytelling and your customers’ experiences to create marketing videos that are engaging and convincing. 

They’re quite similar to client testimonials and serve as good social proof to prospects. Plus, case studies help brands build strong connections with potential clients too. 

Here’s a good example of a case study video:

It features a satisfied client narrating the positive results they’ve had from using Slack.

Employee onboarding

This type of video usually supports employees’  corporate training. It can also be used when new hires join the organization, specifically to onboard and update them with any vital information they need. 

Training videos like these talk about the employees’ new roles, the company’s culture, and what new employees need to do to be successful in the organization. 

It’s a good option, especially if you run a remote company. And even if you don’t, employee onboarding videos will ensure new hires can catch up at their own pace.

Another perk? Those responsible for onboarding won’t have to spend much time prepping new employees; they can just direct them to the video, and the hire will pick it up from there. 

An example of this type of corporate video is another video from HubSpot.

The video begins by telling HubSpot’s story before delving into their culture.

***

All the brand videos discussed here can be incorporated into your marketing strategy for better results.

If you’re sold on them already and thinking about creating a corporate video, do you know what needs to be in place before you start? 

Let’s explore that next!

Corporate video production phases and do’s and don’ts

Brand videos require a certain level of creative oomph for people to engage with them.

As such, you need to know what goes into producing them, even if you want to hire a video creation agency. Let’s break that down by phase.

Phases

The three distinct phases of corporate video production are the pre-production phase, the production phase, and the post-production phase. Pre-production involves planning the project, production consists of filming and recording the content, and post-production is when the editing and visuals are finalized.

Pre-production

This production stage is also called the planning or drawing board phase. It’s where you draft a graphic representation of how the video should unfold and figure out other aspects, such as:

• The video concept to be used
• Video script to follow
• Casting (if actors are needed)
• Scheduling
• The video shoot’s location

Here, you want to have everything needed for a successful video shoot.  If you’re not outsourcing production, assign someone – a production manager preferably – to ensure all the props required are available. 

Production

3…2…1… action!

This is where filmmaking happens in video production. If the pre-production phase was handled properly, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about here. 

This stage is where creative professionals such as the director, actors, set designers, makeup artists, and videographers come together to produce art.  

Post-production

This is the final stage of video production. It involves editing the video content and getting it ready for viewers. 

Sounds, graphics, and effects are added at this stage to make the video appealing and emotional.

What to do

To create an eye-catching corporate video, try these tips 

• Keep it short: Unless you’re shooting a  tutorial, keep your corporate videos as short as possible. According to Microsoft research, the human attention span is around nine seconds. 

Social media platforms like TikTok recommend that videos be around 60 seconds or less. 

• Focus on a single message: Stick to one main message at a time when producing brand videos. It’s tempting to cover many topics in a single video, but that won’t pass the right message to your audience. Aim for one key takeaway you want viewers to remember.
• Begin with a strong hook: A good hook is like bait in that it draws people to watch your video. It can be a catchy caption, a story, or a sound. But regardless of what you use, it must make people want to watch the video.
• Add a call-to-action (CTA): If you want viewers to act after watching the content (like sign up for a free trial or contact a salesperson), you need a CTA. It’s a prompt that inspires the audience to engage with you. 

What not to do

There are also certain things to steer clear of when creating branded video content. 

• Don’t be too sales-y: We mentioned you could use corporate videos for promotions, but be cautious. Think of the content as an undercover agent doing the good work of advertising your brand under the radar. 
• Don’t forget to market your video: Just because you created a great high-quality video doesn’t mean it’ll go viral. That takes marketing. So, you need to have a dedicated marketing budget to promote the video. 
• Don’t forget to get music permission: Most sounds or music have been copyrighted, so using them without permission on certain platforms (e.g., YouTube) can cause legal problems. 

When you’ve become familiar with these requirements, the next step is to know how to plan for production.  

How to plan the production of a corporate video

There are five stages involved in planning a business video production.

Following these processes, one after the other, lays the groundwork for the video’s success. 

And since these production steps are simple, you should figure out how to plan for videos quickly. Let’s go over what each of the stages entails.

Why are you making the video?

This question is the centerpiece of the planning stage! If you have an answer, you’re done with half of the planning, as everything will be centered around this. 

If you don’t, it’s important to figure out why you want a corporate video. It shouldn’t just be because everyone in your industry is doing it. 

Creating business videos involves a lot of resources, time, and effort, so your corporate video should be directed toward a specific goal. 

That can be anything, including:

• Launching a new product
• Describing your work culture
• Telling your brand’s story
• Raising awareness on social channels

… and the list goes on!

Having a goal lets you know if creating a video is the right step for your current marketing strategy or not.

Who is your audience?

In a nutshell, your audience is who you’re creating the video for. 

If you want people to engage with the content, you need to present it in a way that’s appealing to them. And that means figuring out who your audience is.

Identifying those people early on will help you design a video that suits your audience’s interests. Figuring this out will also influence the kind of sound you use, your language, and which platform the video is uploaded to. 

To pinpoint your audience, try and figure out the following:

• Which challenges do people solve with your products or services
• Where they interact with you most on social media platforms
• What the demographics of these people are (age, marital status, or gender)
• Where they’re located

When you’re done, you should be able to create a persona of your target audience.

Will the video support your other marketing activities?

Next, you need to determine if the video will be a standalone asset or will help promote other marketing efforts. 

 After it’s been uploaded, you can use other creative media (like graphic designs, landing pages, etc.) to increase its reach. 

For example, you can share a graphic from the video on social media and direct people to watch the video, which goes into more detail.

What should your key video takeaways be?

Why are you making this video in the first place? Whatever goal you had in mind when this journey first began, that goal needs to resonate with viewers after they’ve watched  the video. 

If, for example, the goal was to attract new leads, the storyline shouldn’t be focused on your brand or its mission and purpose. You’ll simply be raising awareness, as nothing will inform the audience why they can trust you with their money. 

Instead,  let an existing customer share their experience on video (like a case study or client testimonial). This way, viewers get to see your company as a solution to their challenges since that message is coming from people like them. 

Essentially, the purpose, storytelling, and settings of the video need to be in sync so viewers are receptive to the video’s message.  

What channels will the video be distributed on?

It’s best to use channels where your existing audience or prospects are so the video gets more views.

If you’d like the video to appear on search engine results pages (SERP), YouTube and TikTok are video platforms that can increase their chances of being found. 

Either way, the distribution channel is something to plan for before production.  

Speaking of planning, this conversation wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t discuss the costs involved in video production.

Let’s unpack it together in the next section.

How much do corporate video production services cost?

Well, that depends. Broadly speaking, these types of services can cost anywhere between $1,000 and $100,000. 

And if you’re wondering why the production cost isn’t a fixed rate, that’s because there are different professionals and factors involved in video production. They all have their prices, which, when added together, make up the actual cost of production. 

These expenses include:

Marketers: They’re tasked with developing a video concept based on market research, scriptwriting, storyboards, etc. Marketers with video experience can create narratives to ensure your video achieves its purpose. Their rates are typically $50-$200 per hour.

Production crew: They’re responsible for the video’s setting, makeup, lighting, sound, etc. Crew members include the director of photography, video producers, lighting and sound guys, and makeup artist.  You pretty much need them to produce the film. On average, they charge $25-$250 per hour based on experience. 

Editors: Editors are the professionals who turn the final product of the on-set professionals into a masterpiece. They add color, motion graphics, sound effects, and animations to the video. Editors also ensure the video has your brand’s tone and voice. Depending on their years of experience, they charge $50-$300 per hour. 

Narrators/actors/voice-over experts: Actors bring the script to life, while narrators can serve as a great hook by telling the brand’s story in a captivating way. Voice-over experts can make an animation video feel like a live-action movie. Be prepared to pay them $50-$1,000 based on their experience level. 

Equipment and location: If you’re hiring a video production service, there’s a good chance they’ll bring their equipment. 

The equipment used during production is usually based on the set’s requirements and the storyline’s location. To rent the equipment, plan to spend around $500 and above.

Other factors contributing to the cost of production include b-roll footage, sound bites, translation, and captioning, just to name a few. 

There’s a lot to consider if I’m to oversee the production of a corporate video in-house. What other options do I have?

Glad you asked!

Another option is to collaborate with an external video production team or studio.

Don’t worry, we’ll explain how to find one in the next section. 

How to find the best corporate video production company

If you decide to go down this route, the only thing you need to consider is what kind of video you want. The other aspects involved will be handled by the production studio you choose. 

Let’s show you how to find the best video company!

Identify 5-10 prospective companies based on their expertise and rating

Carry out detailed research on video production companies you think might be a good fit. 

You can do this online or ask friends, colleagues, and employees for recommendations. Write down the names of these production studios, then table them according to their expertise and rating, but don’t make a final decision.

Take your research a step further and…

Look through their portfolio for samples in fields similar to yours 

Most video production companies have a portfolio on their website that you can check to find out if they have clients within your industry or have done projects similar to yours.

This will help you pass on companies who aren’t in your field, so the names left are those with high rankings who are in your industry. 

Look for their clients’ testimonials on third-party websites

Look for client testimonials on the company’s website and other third-party websites (like Trustpilot). 

Identify companies on your list with positive reviews. Remove those without any or who have overwhelmingly negative feedback. 

Check if their rates fit your budget

Usually, there’s a pricing option on these companies’  web pages, but if you can’t find one, contact the production studio to get their quotes. 

This way, you’ll know which companies to go ahead with. 

Interview them to check if you’re a good fit

Finally, schedule a meeting with the production company to discuss your project. The conversation should let you know if they can take you on as a client. Discussions like this involve sharing your ideas and observing how they respond. 

***

…and that’s it, guys. We’ve covered everything you need to know about creating and producing corporate videos for your company. 

Just one more thing, and we can wrap up!

Final thoughts

If you’ve decided to create professional videos in-house or by partnering with a video maker, there’s something else you’ll need as part of the corporate video production process, and that’s:

A streamlined review system!  

More specifically, you need a system that can help you minimize post-production misunderstandings and provide feedback on the video project by pinning comments to specific elements requiring edits. 

MarkUp.io can help with that so you can get the final product in no time. 

Sign up for a free 30-day trial to see our tool in action.