Producing About Us Corporate Videos: How to Make Them Interesting

What is a corporate video? The term “corporate video” covers a lot of bases, but it generally showcases something about your business, whether it’s your culture, products or services, a testimonial, etc. In this guide, we will break down the types of corporate videos, who should be in those videos, and how to make them interesting.

There was a time when businesses didn’t need an About Us or “Corporate Video” on their website. Those days are gone. In this day and age, online research is more than a consumer trend, it's the new normal. According to research from video platform, invideo, "96% of consumers increased their online video consumption in 2020, and 9 out of 10 viewers said that they wanted to see more videos from brands and businesses." In 2022, most people will spend over 100 minutes a day watching online videos. In a post-coronavirus world, people are learning all they can about future business partners, prospective employers, and brands from the comforts of their own homes. 

The "About Us" Corporate Video

The About Us, or culture, video is an effective way to engage people who are interested in learning more about your company without having to invest a great deal of time and money. At its best, the About Us corporate video is a high-level perspective of your business - why you do what you do, what you do and how you do it. Generally, they are no more than 2-3 minutes long. In fact, we’ve found that most viewers exit an About Us video in less than 1-minute and not necessarily because they’re bored. They leave because they’ve seen enough to make a decision about your business. Similarly, in a straw poll based on more than 25 years of producing video, it’s obvious that most business leaders find the content of their video much more interesting than non-employees who view the same piece. And yet, these short videos are an ideal way to create virtual tours, introduce your team to prospective customers and employees and even show off your products. 

Find other types of corporate videos in our blog, Corporate Video Services: The Best Videos to Create to Meet Your Goals.

Who To Interview in an About Us Corporate Video

Choosing the best characters for your company video can be a little tricky. There are several considerations when deciding who to have represent your company.

1. Look Beyond Your C-Suite

Too often organizations assume that their executives are the best choices for communicating the company story. And while appointing someone from the C-Suite may ultimately be a viable option, we don't believe it should be the first or even second place you look.

Those in leadership positions have the inherent disadvantage – fair or not – of being perceived as high-brow, stuffy, and not relatable. If the goal is to resonate with the common audience, we recommend leaning towards those who are "in the trenches." 

2. Lead With the Why

As leadership speaker and author Simon Sinek regularly says, "People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it." Find someone who can clearly explain your organization's reason for existence, and stray away from those who are only able to articulate how your organization works operationally. 

3. Get Your Customers Talking

One effective trick for communicating your organization's message in a credible way is to interview your customers on-camera. Third-party endorsements are generally a very credible source for communicating a marketing message. When you get your customers talking, the audience sees this as a third-party endorsement and assumes that the person talking isn't directly benefiting from saying positive things about your organization. 

4. Pick Someone Who Can Bring the Energy

Find someone who has high energy and can transfer that energy to video. There’s an old saying in the news industry about presenting on camera: you need to deliver twice the enthusiasm to deliver half the effect. In other words, you have to deliver with double the energy, just to make sure the recorded message conveys enthusiasm.

5. Make Sure They're Visually Interesting

Your spokesperson should appear visually interesting. Notice the phrasing: “Interesting” does not necessarily mean “attractive.” There are plenty of engaging people on camera who are not winning beauty pageants.

On the contrary, there are a number of ways to be visually interesting. Consider people who have wonderful facial expressions, wear interesting clothes, or find a noteworthy backdrop (it doesn’t always have to be about the person!). Regardless, since you’re marketing in a visual medium, it’s a good idea to make sure whatever is on camera looks interesting.

How to Make Your Corporate Video Interesting

In many cases, your videos are the first (or only) impression that a prospective customer or future employee will have into your business, so make sure you’re interesting!

Generally speaking, your About Us corporate video should pass the following test:

• Keep It High-Level
• Diversify Your Content
• Stay Focused
• Make Sure It's High Quality
• Consider: Is It Useful?

1. Keep it High-Level

Often, people feel like they have to communicate everything about their company in a single video. Unfortunately, that’s just not realistic. So figure out a few high-level messages you’d like to communicate to the viewer and address them. Ask yourself, "What makes us unique?" Try to keep your videos to overview videos to 3 main points so that they are easy for viewers to internalize and remember. Remember, just because the details of your story are interesting to you doesn’t mean the viewer shares your depth of interest.

2. Diversify Your Content

In a world where content is king, you can't afford to stop at just one video for your company. Work on creating a diverse library of different videos that allows you to showcase the wide variety of knowledge and experience that you have. Think about all the different ways that your potential customers might want to engage with videos online. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Answer FAQs
• Create a Thought Leadership Video Blog
• Showcase a Single Customer Story
• Give Examples of Your Expertise in a Single Vertical
• Do a Live Walk Through of Your Product or Service
• Talk about a Controversial Topic or Subject

3. Stay Focused

It's easy for your videos to go off the rails when you try to focus on too many areas at once. Make sure that you stay focused on your purpose when it comes to video. You can always create more videos, but trying to cover too many topics in one video will become confusing and keep it from being useful to anyone.

4. Make Sure It's High Quality

Be sure the quality of your video reflects your professionalism. You don’t need to hire Steven Spielberg to produce your video, but your cousin's boss’s nephew may not be the best person to produce your piece either. There are several things you should consider if you are going to hire a company to help you create videos.

5. Consider: Is It Useful?

The world is full of uninteresting marketing content. It doesn’t need another company to create more content that doesn't help solve problems or answer questions. If your video idea doesn't pass this test, keep ideating or don't create it.

The world is thirsty for more interesting, unique and helpful content from businesses, companies and organizations who take the time to put great care and effort into making awesome videos. And there are a lot of factors that go into making an awesome video. The right topics, spokesperson, and delivery will go a long way with helping you market your organization.