How to create a promotional video for a website

30 Nov 2023 Promotional Films

Whether you’re launching a new product, promoting a service or simply aiming to boost your brand awareness, a well-crafted promotional video can be a game-changing addition to your website.

Lets explore the key elements of creating a compelling promotional video, and how to build a promo video into your wider marketing strategy…

Video marketing vs. video advertising

Before diving into the creative process, it’s crucial to distinguish between a promotional video and a video ad. While both aim to capture the audience’s attention, a promotional video typically provides a broader view of your brand or offering, showcasing its value proposition and unique selling points.

A video ad, on the other hand, is more focused on a specific call-to-action, urging viewers to take immediate steps like making a purchase or signing up. A promo is designed to be super informative, whereas an ad is all about the sale.

Where to use a promotional video

A promotional video can be a versatile and impactful tool in your marketing arsenal. Here are a few of the channels where you could feature your promotional video:

Website: Embed your promotional video on relevant landing pages throughout your website. Whether it’s a product page, service offering or ‘about us’ section, a well-placed video can provide a visual and engaging overview, capturing visitors’ attention and encouraging them to explore further.

Social media platforms: Share your promotional video across social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. Each platform caters to a different audience and content format, so adapt your video accordingly. Social media is an excellent channel for increasing brand visibility, engagement and driving traffic to your website.

Email marketing campaigns:
Embed your promotional video within your email campaigns to deliver a more dynamic and engaging message to your subscribers. Including a video can boost open rates by up to 88%, and convey your marketing message more effectively than traditional text or static images.

YouTube channel:
Leverage the power of YouTube by uploading your promotional video to your brand’s channel. YouTube is the second-largest search engine globally, and having a presence on this platform can enhance your brand’s discoverability and accessibility.

Trade shows and events:
If you participate in trade shows or industry events, use your promotional video as part of your booth or presentation. A visually compelling video can attract attention, convey key messages and leave a lasting impression on event attendees.

Sales presentations:
Equip your sales team with a versatile promotional video that can be incorporated into presentations. This not only adds a professional touch to your pitches, but also ensures consistent messaging across different sales interactions.

Paid advertising campaigns:
Create video ads for platforms like Google Ads and social media advertising channels. Video ads have the potential to grab the audience’s attention quickly and convey your message far more memorably than traditional text or image-based ads – something that’s even more essential when you’re paying for eyeballs.

Blog posts and content marketing:
Enhance your blog posts and content marketing by embedding relevant promotional videos. Videos can complement written content, providing a visual explanation of your offering and making your content more engaging.

Internal comms:
Internally, you can use promotional videos for employee onboarding, training sessions and to communicate your brand succinctly.

By strategically using your promotional video across your marketing channels, you can maximise its reach and effectiveness, connecting with your target audience in diverse ways and reinforcing your brand message.

Creating a promotional video

Now to the fun part – the creation! Creating an effective promo involves a combination of creativity, strategy and attention to detail (all things which, as a video agency, we’re great at).

To help you get the most out of your video, here’s our step-by-step guide to crafting a compelling promotional video:

Define clear objectives: Clearly outline the goals of your promotional video. Whether it’s to increase brand awareness, drive website traffic or boost sales, having well-defined objectives will guide the entire production process.

Know your audience: Understand your target audience’s preferences, interests and pain points, then tailor your message and visuals to resonate with the specific demographic you’re trying to reach.

Craft a compelling story: Develop a narrative that captivates viewers from start to finish. A compelling story not only engages your audience emotionally, but also helps them connect with your brand on a deeper level.

Keep it concise: People are busy and attention spans are woefully short, so keep your promo video concise. Aim for a length of 1-2 minutes to convey your message effectively without losing viewer interest.

Highlight unique selling points: Clearly showcase the unique features and benefits of your product or service. Communicate what sets you apart from the competition to create a strong value proposition.

Capture attention early: The first few seconds are crucial. Capture your audience’s attention with an engaging hook or visually compelling scene to encourage them to keep watching.

Incorporate branding: Consistently integrate your brand’s visual identity through logos, colours and taglines. This reinforces brand recognition and strengthens your overall brand image.

Make things engaging: Use a mix of engaging visuals, high-quality images, graphics and possibly animations. Visual variety helps maintain viewer interest throughout the video.

Professional audio: If using a voiceover, ensure it’s professionally done and aligns with your brand’s tone. The voice should complement the visuals and enhance the overall viewing experience. Choose background music that complements the mood and message of your video, and make sure it doesn’t overpower the narration or distract from the main content.

Optimise for mobile: Given the volume of traffic more brands now get from mobile devices, it’s important to ensure that your promotional video is optimised for various screen sizes. Mobile-friendly videos are more likely to be shared and viewed, social media algorithms prefer them, and they look way better on vertical phone screens. Make sure to use legible text, vibrant visuals and clear audio to provide a seamless viewing experience on smartphones and tablets.

Include a call-to-action: Prompt your viewers to take action by including a clear and compelling CTA. Whether it’s visiting your website, subscribing to your emails or making a purchase, guide them seamlessly with your video messaging.

By keeping these tips in mind, you can create a promotional video that not only grabs attention but also effectively communicates your brand’s message and resonates with your target audience.

Promo video examples

Looking for some inspiration for your next promotional video project? Look no further – we’ve got heaps here.

Here are just a few of our favourites…

Measuring success

After launching your promotional video, you’ll want to track that ROI.

We always recommend using as many analytics tools as possible to track its performance to monitor metrics such as views, engagement and conversion rates to assess the video’s impact on your website’s traffic, social media engagement and lead gen.

Getting a promotional video

Creating a promotional video for your website requires a thoughtful blend of creativity and strategy. By understanding your audience, setting clear goals and incorporating best practices, you can develop a video that not only captures attention but also drives meaningful results for your brand.

To start your video marketing project, find out more about how much a promotional video costs, or get in touch with our video team to see what’s possible.