Today the term \"corporate video\" is used interchangeably with \"promotional video\", confusing both customers and production companies alike. It may be an age thing, perpetrated by those who remember the cheesy 80\'s \'corporate videos\' that featured bad dialogue and bad facial hair. Nevertheless, there is an argument to distinguish between corporate and promotional videos and this article will attempt to do just that.
We can broadly define the term \'corporate video\' as a straight-talking, informational video that humanises the business, by introducing the directors, the staff, the facilities, working practices and the company ethos. This allows your business to be viewed as a trustworthy and personable outfit and not just a faceless entity hiding behind the digital faced of the internet.
The corporate video tends to be a little more conservative, creatively speaking, but of course depending on your brands\' personality and the target audience. A production for an accountancy firm will be as professional and reassuring as possible, after all, your potential clients will be entrusting a great deal to you. However, a business selling extreme theme park rides will have a little more flexibility – you are able to sell your company as exciting, dynamic, perhaps a little bit crazy because your clients are buying in to that ethos when they purchase products from you.
Still, I\'d like to reassure you that your corporate video doesn\'t have to be an explosive viral, it really can be as simple as talking heads of your staff intercut with shots of your facilities and products. You see, 99% of the time, the corporate video is intended for people who are already on your website. Of course you can stick it on social media and YouTube, but it won\'t go viral and it honestly doesn\'t have to.
If you\'ve got visitors on your website then the battle is already half-won. They\'re aware of your company name and hopefully your product or service, now they need to be reassured and encouraged to spend their money with you. Fancy graphics and comedy won\'t do that if their questions are unanswered and concerns unmitigated, they\'ll simply find someone else. When we come to talk about strategy in Chapter 10, you\'ll understand that different types of videos reside in different areas of the online world, and play different roles in your overall online video marketing efforts.
To put the corporate video in more context, let\'s look at its antithesis, the viral video.
