Introduction to Promo Video

When it comes to marketing your company or product, you might wonder what role a promo video could play in your efforts. Well, we’ve talked about the power of story on this blog before, and its potential is put to best use when you’re looking for an effective way to engage your audience without coming across too “sales-pitchy.”

The best promo videos mix the ingredients of personal appeals, addition of value, problems and solutions, and calls-to-action for a spot-on recipe of success. While you might be so enthused about some technical specifics of your product or service that you want to explain all the details in a video, the best way to convey that enthusiasm to an unconvinced viewer is to tell the story of why it matters to them.

The most tried and true formula to accomplish telling this story is to pose a problem that your product or company solves in a way that no one else’s does. And when you spend some time brainstorming promo video ideas, you’ll find ways to take that formula so many different directions.  

Here are three promotional video examples that put these ingredients to work.

1. Slack

This meta-promo video hits all the right notes – self-deprecating humor immediately endears the audience to the people in the video, while story after story from the team does the job of demonstrating the necessity of the product. They’ve cast a compelling vision for the implementation of Slack’s productivity app by weaving details of the product into their own stories of success with it.

Instead of listing out features of the app, letting the satisfied customers gush about how much value the product has added to their workplace experience effectively convinces the viewer of their own need for this solution.

They’ve told a story, used personal appeals, demonstrated again and again how much value the product adds, and left the viewer hungry to take similar action.

2. VideoRemix

Personal appeal is a great place to start for promo video ideas. According to Vidyard, personalized video retains viewer’s’ attention on average 35% more than non-personalized videos. That’s why this real estate promo template catches the viewer’s attention: we’re naturally drawn to our names, so using an individual’s personal details through video personalization software works wonders.

As well, asking questions effectively engages the emotions and thoughts of the viewer, so the viewing experience becomes less passive. A promo video like this one is an invitation to viewers to see themselves in the story and to take measurable action toward making that happen.

This video nails the personal appeal with personalization software bringing in first names and locations, along with clearly conveying the value this company can add and the action that can be taken to solve the problem.

3. Babbel

The problem? On the surface, it’s stampeding bulls, but it’s not hard make the connection that every traveler has faced the communication issues that come with language barriers. And that’s why this problem, posed creatively, gets our attention, even if we’ve never been trampled by bulls in Spain.  

The simplicity of this short video also works in its favor. Vidyard also reported that videos under 90 seconds keep viewers’ attention at an average retention rate of 53%, whereas most videos in general only get a 37% retention rate. So keeping your content short and snappy pays off, especially when you can tell the story of your brand as succinctly as possible.  

They’ve stayed simple to allow the strength of their product to shine through while making the problem and solution humorously and compellingly clear.

Final Thoughts

Stories are your ally in coming up with promotional video ideas. If your foremost focus stays on engaging the viewer, the message of your brand will come through in its most genuine form. So when brainstorming promo video ideas, don’t forget to incorporate personal appeals, compelling questions or problems that only you can solve, what the benefit is to the viewer and calls-to-action that direct them straight to your company.

In the end, the vision you create around your product or business matters more in the best promo videos than anything else.