Videos are one of the most effective ways for businesses to engage their target markets or facilitate training in their organization. They convey messages in a way static marketing materials can’t approximate, and videos are an incredibly effective way to reach prospective customers, enhance relationships with existing customers, and build an organization’s brand.
A single video can accomplish a lot of goals, but a video series offers even more potential. This guide looks at the different types of video series organizations may want to consider making. It explains the basic format of video series and gives readers tips on using them in their organizations.
Benefits of a Video Series
Video series set organizations apart from the competition. Very few brands invest the resources into making a series of videos, but those that do can engage their audiences in a unique way. Here are some of the main benefits of video series.
Videos Are an Effective Marketing Tool
Videos are an extremely effective marketing tool. A survey of over 500 marketers found that 93% say they’ve used video to bring in new customers. Most of these marketers (63%) also reported getting the best return on investment (ROI) on social media marketing when they use video.
Video Series Are Easier to Find
Search engines are more likely to show web users a video series than an individual video. This happens because series tend to contain more of the elements the search engines use while indexing results.
Platforms like YouTube are also more likely to recommend the next video in a series. This boosts the chance of viewers watching more of an organization’s videos than if the organization only made single, standalone videos.
Series Engage Viewers Longer
Viewers want to see the next episode in a compelling series. They get curious about what’s going to happen next. Organizations that use video series for marketing tend to stay on viewers’ minds for longer.
Social media sites also tend to give more exposure to organizations that make consistent video content. Platforms like YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook know that videos keep users on their sites longer, so they try to show videos in search results, and they’re more likely to showcase posters with multiple videos on their pages.
Types of Video Series to Make
The benefits of creating video series are clear, but what type of series should an organization make? Businesses and nonprofit organizations may want to explore the following options:
1. Documentary
A docu-series offers a lot of potential. Organizations can create a series on a range of topics such as developing a new product, the day in the life of different people in their organization, or any other storyline that explores a compelling aspect of an organization or its clients.
A charity organization, for example, may want to make a docu-series about the people it has helped. A company that makes marketing tools for small businesses may want to make a series that highlights some of its unique clients. A documentary series doesn’t have to directly market a product. It can take a more indirect route.
A marketing company making videos about its clients, for example, isn’t creating a hard sell for its services. Its videos, instead, are saying, “Look how happy these entrepreneurs are with their small businesses,” and then it prompts the viewer to wonder how the marketing company has helped its clients on their road to success and happiness.
2. Interviews
An interview series is one of the easiest types of video series to make. It simply requires a basic set, a host, and an interviewee. Businesses can use this format to interview happy customers, successful clients, industry leaders, employees, the founders of a company, or countless other people.
A charismatic host is one key to a successful video series, and additionally, organizations should select a focus for the series. They should think carefully about the viewers they want to draw in and choose interviewees who are the most compelling to their target audience.
3. Product Reviews
Product reviews are very popular, and they have been a successful marketing format for years. Shopping channels on cable TV, for example, essentially use product review videos to sell their products, and unboxing videos on YouTube have taken this format to a new generation of viewers.
A product review series can cover products that a business sells, but it doesn’t have to focus on its own products. It can instead provide unboxing or reviews of products that are interesting to the company’s target audience. A company that makes photo editing software, for example, may want to do product reviews of cameras.
4. How-to Videos
How-to videos can give viewers tips on how to use a business’s products. A makeup company, for example, may want to produce how-to videos that teach viewers to optimize their products through different application methods. A home repair store, in that same vein, may want to create a video series on how to build a deck, hang interior doors, or handle other DIY projects.
A business like this may want to combine a docu-series with a how-to series by covering the work an actual person is doing on their home or a property they are flipping. These videos provide the viewer with valuable information, but more importantly, they build awareness of the business’s brand and position the company as a thought leader in its industry.
5. Satirical or Dramatic Series
Businesses can even use satirical or dramatic series in their marketing efforts. A great example of this is Hewlett Packard’s The Wolf series, starring Christian Slater as a hacker. The series draws viewers to the company’s cybersecurity tools, but it also stands on its own as an entertaining story.
The optimal choice of video series depends on the business’s objectives and its brand image. Companies with a fun brand image, for example, may want to play with a satirical series, while those that are trying to position themselves as thought leaders may want to create an interview or docu-series. They should also think about the process involved in each type of series and decide how they want to spend their time and resources.
Contact Rock Creek Products for Help Making a Video Series
Rock Creek Productions makes compelling, high-quality videos for businesses, nonprofit organizations, and other entities. We use our creative approach to guide our clients through the entire process, from development and ideation to shooting the video and post production, all with an eye toward the kind of cinematic storytelling that will engage your audience.
We would love to talk with you about how a video series can help your organization’s marketing efforts. Contact us at Rock Creek Productions today to learn more.
