In this post, we’ll cover:
What Are Corporate Videos?
A corporate video is a broad term that refers to various types of video content that companies use to communicate messages about the company. These types of videos can be intended for internal or external audiences.
Types of corporate videos can include training videos, recruiting videos, social media videos, explainer videos, event recap videos, and more.
Corporate videos are a powerful tool that a company can use to create brand awareness, promote services, and boost company morale internally.
Why Do I Need a Corporate Video?
Companies need different types of corporate videos for a variety of reasons. Ultimately, a great corporate video will effectively communicate who your company is and what they do to outside stakeholders, internal team members, or prospective clients.
These types of videos can take on many different forms. What a corporate video looks like is highly dependent on the audience they are created for.
Internal corporate videos often highlight a company’s initiatives or financial gains to stakeholders. They can also be used as a training tool for new employees.
External corporate videos can be used to raise brand awareness, attract new clients, or promote a company on social media.
Need some assistance getting started? Shutterstock Studios—having worked with brands like Amazon, Carvana, and Quill to create a variety of stylized videos—can help your company produce professional, high-quality corporate videos.
9 Types of Corporate Videos
Corporate videos can look a lot different depending on what they are trying to communicate and who the audience is. A corporate video is either intended for external or internal use, but sometimes they can be used for both.
Keep reading to learn more about some of the most common types of corporate videos.
1. Company Profile Video
A company profile video—also referred to as an employer brand video—acts as an overview of what your company does and what it stands for. It gives potential customers, employees, and financial stakeholders a look into the purpose and value your business brings to the table.
Essentially, it’s an external corporate video that can be used as a compelling way to communicate your brand’s story. A well-crafted company profile video is one of the most powerful tools a company can use to promote itself to the general public.
2. Explainer Video
Explainer videos are corporate videos that clearly explain what services a company is offering in an efficient way. Also referred to as corporate product videos, explainer videos are used to demonstrate how a specific product or service is meant to be used.
These types of videos serve as a way to establish credibility with customers. Explainer videos can be animated, use live action, or a combination of the two.
3. Promotional Video
Promotional videos focus on showcasing a product or service. It is generally used when a company is launching something new. Effective promotional videos build awareness around a new product or service and enhance brand recognition.
Promotional videos are the style of corporate video that the general public is most familiar with simply because this category includes video ads. This type of corporate video often gets shared online or will air during prime time television.
4. Event Recap Video
An event recap video can be either an external or internal corporate video presentation. Its purpose is to provide a succinct recap of an event that a company may have thrown or been a sponsor of. Event recap videos can also include videos from conferences or trade shows.
Event recap videos are an effective tool for showcasing the positive aspects of an event, how participation raises brand awareness, and demonstrate why a company should participate in the future.
5. Company Culture Video
Company culture videos are a recruiting tool that businesses use to attract new talent to join the team. This type of corporate video often features existing talent at the company speaking about their roles and favorite parts of the job.
Company culture videos are often shot documentary style. They will often feature interviews with CEOs and managers, and include b-roll of people working in the office.
These are an external type of corporate video that may be hosted online, shared on social media, or used by recruiters to attract prospective job candidates.
6. Internal Communication Video
An internal communication video is created to be seen exclusively by individuals who already work for the company.
These videos can include financial reports, but are often created to communicate broader messaging about company updates or a change in direction.
Internal communication videos are usually played during company-wide meetings as corporate video presentations or can only be accessed through secure servers when employees are onsite.
7. Training Videos
This is another style of corporate video that’s only used internally. Training videos can be used as a tool to train new hires, but can also be used to train existing employees on new systems.
This style of corporate video allows companies to get all of their employees following the same systems while they are at work.
8. Financial Results Video
A financial results video is created to be seen by a limited number of people. It is generally only shared with high-level company stakeholders and investors.
This style of video will typically include more detailed, end-of-year information, as compared to an internal communication video that might be shared during a company-wide hands on.
Financial results videos keep investors informed of the company’s financial health, and also make them want to continue investing.
Video, in general, is a great way for communicating this type of information because it makes complex information easier to retain.
Corporate social responsibility videos provide companies a way to showcase any of the philanthropic endeavors they might be involved in.
These videos can be used both internally and externally, and aim to communicate with prospective customers and current stakeholders and employees all of the good they are doing for the world.
For example, they might highlight employee volunteer efforts or larger initiatives that demonstrate how a big brand might be working to reduce their impact on the environment.
What Does a Good Corporate Video Have?
Corporate videos are an important tool that businesses use to promote products, but also to communicate internally with existing employees.
Good corporate videos stand out in a crowded field by utilizing many of the same characteristics as other forms of video storytelling.
Here are some important elements to keep in mind.
Know Your Audience
Knowing the intended audience is a crucial part of making a successful video. Before you begin building a team, scripting, or planning for a shoot, you should have a clear idea of who the video is for.
The first thing to determine is if the video is intended for internal use only, or if it will be shared outside the company. Working with a production team can help you determine who the audience should be.
Show Don’t Tell
Video is a medium that is best utilized for showing, and the most effective corporate videos keep this in mind. Visuals should be entertaining and dynamic to keep your viewers engaged.
Using animation and imagery can be one way to make complicated corporate messaging more approachable and easier to understand.
Structure
Great corporate videos follow a structure similar to all forms of great storytelling. Storyboarding and scripting before you begin production will help keep the structure of your video clear and concise.
Time
Timing is everything with corporate videos. You want to make sure you are being respectful of your viewers’ time.
Although some types of corporate videos require a long format—like training videos and financial results videos—use of clever pacing can keep your viewer engaged for the long haul.
Explainer videos, promotional videos, and event recap videos should be on the shorter side to keep viewers engaged.
Production Value
While you don’t need a Hollywood budget to create a good corporate video, having a team of professionals working on your project is important.
If you are creating a live action or scripted corporate video, having a director, a camera team, lighting professionals, and hair and makeup on set increases the production value of your corporate video, giving your message an added level of legitimacy.
Production value applies to animated corporate videos, too. Working with a production team is a great way to make the process more streamlined and professional.
Not sure where to begin? Shutterstock Studios has a team of video and marketing professionals that can help take the stress out of creating corporate videos for your brand.
How to Make a Corporate Video
Making a corporate video follows the three distinct stages of video production: pre-production, production, and post-production. Each phase of the production process is important and will help you stay organized.
Many companies hire production companies like Shutterstock Studios to aid in the creation of different types of corporate video. Regardless of the style of corporate video that you are making, the steps remain the same.
Pre-Production
This is the initial stage of making any corporate video and is where you set yourself up for a successful shoot.
In pre-production, you establish creative briefs, identify the audience, create storyboards, and hire the crew that will help you make the corporate video.
Being diligent in this stage will help things run smoothly once you begin shooting.
Production
Production is when shooting the corporate video actually begins.
If you are working on a company culture corporate video, the production portion of the process might include interviews with current employees or a CEO, and will also involve a day of filming around the office to capture b-roll.
An explainer video might be shot completely in studio, while the production for an event recap video will be filmed whenever the event is happening.
The time you spend in production is dependent on what style of corporate video you are trying to create.
Post-Production
Post-production is the final step of the video production process. This step is generally handled by a different team of professionals than production.
The post-production phase of a corporate video includes editing, audio mixing, adding VFX, and enhancing color. It will also likely include gathering notes from legal teams and company stakeholders.
The time that a corporate video spends in post-production varies depending on what kind of video is being made and how many people need to approve it before it’s cleared for company use.
Ready to take that first step? The team at Shutterstock Studios has years of experience creating different types of corporate videos that can help your company stand out in a crowded field.
What Do Different Types of Corporate Videos Cost?
The price of a corporate video varies greatly and depends on two things: What you are trying to create and who it’s being created for.
A corporate video can cost anywhere between $2,000-$20,000, depending on a variety of factors. Working with a professional production company on your company’s corporate videos is a great way to figure out just how much something might cost.
Key Takeaways About Corporate Videos
Corporate videos are an important tool that businesses use to communicate—internally and externally—what they do as a company. There are many different types of corporate videos and most companies have a need for all of them to communicate different aspects of their business.
A good corporate video can be used to generate brand awareness to the general public, recruit top level talent, as a training tool for new employees, or to communicate important financial data to a company’s stakeholders.
Hiring a production company to create your corporate videos will keep your messaging sharp and your production running smoothly.
Need a few examples to get inspired? Check out these corporate videos in action:
License this cover image via Jacob Lund.
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