How to Create Marketing Videos That Connect with Your Audience
Video marketing has become one of the most powerful tools in a marketer's toolkit.
However, creating videos that genuinely connect with your audience and achieve your business goals requires strategic thinking and planning.
In this comprehensive guide, I'll walk you through the entire process of creating high-quality marketing videos—from identifying your target audience and defining your goals to writing compelling scripts, selecting the right format, and distributing your content.
Follow these proven steps, and you can create viral videos that boost brand awareness, increase conversions, and drive growth to your bottom line.
Step 1: Define Your Goals and Target Audience
Before you start storyboarding or shooting footage, clarify what you want your video to achieve. Ask yourself:
- What is the primary purpose of this video? Is it to entertain, inform, educate, or inspire?
- Who is the intended audience? Be as specific as possible about their demographics, interests, and needs.
- What do you want viewers to think, feel, or do after watching the video? Include concrete goals, like directing people to a landing page or increasing social shares.
When you have a clear picture of your audience and objectives, it becomes much easier to shape content that resonates. For example, a video meant to convert sales reps needs a very different tone and style than one geared towards 18-35-year-old gamers.
Keep your goals and audience in mind as you proceed through the production process.
Step 2: Choose the Right Video Format
With your goals defined, now decide on a format that aligns with the type of content you need to communicate. Some top options include:
Explainer Videos
These animated videos utilise characters, graphics, and minimal text to clearly explain a complex product or concept. They work well when you need to simplify an abstract idea or walk through a multi-step process.
Testimonial Videos
Real customers and users share their first-hand experiences with your brand in their own words. These authentic storytelling videos build trust and social proof.
Demo Videos
Show your product or service in action through demos and tutorials. Let viewers see how it works rather than just telling them about features.
Live Action
Use interviews, B-roll footage, and on-location scenes with real people to humanise your brand. Cinematic quality and storytelling help forge emotional connections.
Screen Recordings
For software companies, this format captures a user’s on-screen interactions, such as clicking buttons, inputting data, and navigating through an app interface.
Interactive Videos
Let viewers engage with hotspots, annotations, data integrations, and other interactive elements to create a hands-on experience.
Behind-the-Scenes Videos
Provide an authentic glimpse into your company culture, workplace environment, manufacturing process, and more.
Compilations
Edit together highlights from live streams, webinars, conferences, or other existing long-form content into snackable clips.
Animated GIFs
These ultra-short looping videos work well for social media and quickly capture attention in busy feeds.
Vertical Short-Form Videos
Right, look, you can't ignore this one. Everyone's glued to their phones, endlessly scrolling TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.
If you're not making vertical videos, you're basically invisible to a massive audience.
The thing is, these videos are built for mobile. They're quick, they're snappy, and they grab attention in seconds.
We're talking under 60 seconds, usually with trending audio and large captions, because many people watch with the sound off.
It's perfect for showcasing your brand's personality, staying ahead of trends, and promoting your name. Don't overthink it, just get it done.
There are no complex rules, so feel free to get creative and blend multiple formats. Ensure the style aligns with your goals, brand personality, and audience preferences.
Step 3: Write a Compelling Script
The visuals are meaningless without an engaging underlying storyline. Take time to script out your video narration, dialogue, subtitles, and any necessary on-screen text.
Outline First
Map out the general narrative flow with 3-5 key scenes or plot points. What story must you tell to achieve your goals and speak to your target audience?
Lead Strong
Hook viewers in the first 5-10 seconds before their attention wanes. Ask a provocative question, highlight a pain point, or tease what’s coming.
Structure with a Journey
Model the classic story arc: Set up the problem, escalate tension through trials/challenges, and resolve it with your brand as the hero.
Show, Don’t Just Tell
Communicate your message visually through bold typography, data visualisations, reconstructions of scenarios, etc. Avoid blocks of text.
Be Concise
Get your point across in the shortest possible time. Cut the fluff ruthlessly. Longer videos see higher drop-off rates.
Speak Like a Human
Use conversational language. Build rapport with inclusive language, such as “we” and “you.” Ask questions and anticipate objections.
End Strong
Close the story loop with concrete instructions, such as links, CTAs, and contact information. End at the peak emotional moment to leave viewers wanting more.
Step 4: Create a Storyboard
With your script in hand, visualise each scene with a storyboard. This step is crucial for mapping out how you’ll stitch static visuals, motion graphics, live footage, and other elements into a cohesive narrative.
- Draw each pivotal scene.
Quick sketches are fine. Include major visual components and dialogue/text. - Map scene transitions
Note how you’ll transition between scenes or blend elements like a voiceover on top of a b-roll. - Identify visual assets
List any existing images, clips, or graphics you want to incorporate versus what you’ll need to shoot/create custom. - Add other creative elements.
Music, sound effects, animations, logos, subtitles, graphics, etc.
You don't need to spend a fortune on fancy software for this. Honestly, a pen and paper, along with some crude stick figures, will do the job.
Alternatively, you could simply add basic shapes and text boxes to PowerPoint or Google Slides. The goal is to get the idea out of your head and onto something you can actually see and share.
If you want something a bit more professional, especially if you're working with a team, there's free software like Storyboarder that's incredibly easy to use. Alternatively, you can explore web-based tools like Boords.
Just pick one and crack on. Don't let the tools slow you down.
Having every scene visually laid out allows you to identify any gaps and keeps you focused during filming and editing. It also facilitates collaboration and feedback from stakeholders.
Step 5: Create Visual Assets
With your storyboard as a guide, now produce or curate all the visual components you’ll stitch together during editing.
Get Footage
- Shoot primary footage, such as interviews, action shots, and b-roll. Ensure it supports the style and story in your script.
- Search stock image and video sites, such as Shutterstock, for supplementary high-quality media assets. Look for authentic moments that your audience will emotionally connect with.
- Gather relevant existing images and clips from your company, such as product photos, event coverage, and testimonials.
Design Graphics
Engaging text animations, data visualisations, illustrations, logos and lower thirds help convey information clearly and keep attention locked in.
Source Music
Set the desired mood with either licensed music and sound effects or original compositions. Even subtle background scores can emotionally influence viewers.
Record Voiceover
In a studio environment, capture clear audio of your script narration. Hire professional VO talent if needed.
Step 6: Edit and Refine Your Video
This is where you can flex your creativity and transform raw footage into a polished marketing video. Maintain momentum by following these tips:
Create an Editing Roadmap
Lay out your storyboard sequentially and insert timestamps for each scene based on the footage lengths. Having this bird's-eye view minimises hiccups in the flow.
Hook Attention Fast
Frontload your best visuals and make the first 5 seconds count. Remember, quick teasers, questions and startling stats grab interest right away.
Prioritise Branding
Splice in logo reveals, animations, and other identifiers strategically. But don’t overdo it—you don’t want them to distract from the story.
Mix Up Pacing
Blend faster-paced scenes with slower moments to create a natural rhythm. The match cuts to beats in the background music track.
Enhance with B-Roll
Cutaway footage fills gaps and immerses viewers in the world of your story. The right b-roll invokes emotions to complement the narration.
Focus on Sound Design
Here's something most people get wrong: sound. It’s not just about the voiceover or chucking some background music on it.
Proper sound design is what makes a video feel professional. I'm talking about the little things, such as sound effects that match the actions on screen.
A ‘whoosh' for a quick transition, or a ‘click' when someone presses a button. It all adds up.
And for god's sake, make sure your main audio is clean. If your narration sounds like it was recorded in a toilet, people will leave.
No one tolerates bad audio. It's an instant credibility killer.
Mind Continuity Details
Ensure elements such as colour grading, tone, lighting, costumes, and dialogue are consistent across disconnected scenes. Viewers notice discrepancies.
Refine Transitions
Experiment with various transition techniques (cuts, wipes, dissolves, etc.) between scenes and clips to achieve a seamless flow.
Add Subtitles
aid visual storytelling and accommodate different audiences. Time them correctly so viewers have enough time to absorb the visuals and text.
Test and Iterate
Give your rough cuts to a diverse test audience early and often. Collect feedback and refine the video until it effectively meets all your goals.
Distribution and Promotion
You’ve created a fantastic video asset. But a marketing video is pointless if no one sees it. Now, craft a distribution plan to share it far and wide.
Make it Discoverable
- Upload to YouTube with optimised titles, descriptions and metadata so it appears in search and suggested videos.
- Create short-form teasers to share natively on the social platforms where your audience is most active.
- Post on LinkedIn with targeted headlines and text intros explaining the relevance.
- Embed it prominently on crucial landing pages, like your homepage
Promote and Amplify
- Share natively in social posts and ads
- Pitch to industry media and influencers for reviews and coverage
- Promote email campaigns, webinars, and gated content offers
- Run paid video ads on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
- Distribute on OTT and Connected TV channels like Roku and Apple TV
- Test different versions. Don't just post your video and hope for the best. On YouTube, create two or three different thumbnails and titles to see which ones get people to actually click. When you run ads, test different bits of text to see what works. You'd be amazed at how a small change can double your results.
Analyse Performance
- Track views, completion rates, conversions, and other critical metrics for each distribution channel in your analytics
- Ask for audience feedback directly through surveys and interviews
- Refine based on insights into the highest-performing formats, messaging, calls-to-action, and other key elements.
Repurpose creatively
- Excerpt snippets into pre-roll ads, social videos, or gifs
- Reimagine scenes from different angles as a video series
- Animate your storyboard into a 2D motion graphic video
The most effective marketing videos continue working long after initial distribution through creative repurposing. Keep these videos spotlighted by maximising reach across channels and iterations.
FAQs on Marketing Videos
What makes a compelling marketing video?
A compelling marketing video clearly defines its audience and objectives upfront, adopts the correct format to suit the content, follows a clear story arc, utilises solid visuals and music, and ensures high production quality. Distributing content across channels where your audience is active and tracking performance data also enhances its impact.
How long should a marketing video be?
Stick to 2 minutes or less when possible. Viewer attention and retention plummet after the first 30 seconds. Longer videos are effective only if they are highly educational, entertaining, or compelling enough to justify their length.
What’s a reasonable budget for a high-quality marketing video?
Professional marketing videos range from $2,000 to $20,000+, depending on length, production quality and complexity—budget at least $5,000 for an engaging animated or live-action video under 2 minutes. For more straightforward videos, DIY tools like Animoto may work.
When should you consider hiring a video marketing agency versus handling production in-house?
If you require exceptionally high production quality, sophisticated formats such as animation, or if you lack in-house creative video skills, it makes sense to hire video experts. But for more straightforward videos, essential editing software and DIY tools mean you can now produce decent videos without outsourcing.
What should you do if your video isn’t getting traction?
Try sharing it natively on different social platforms, re-editing it into multiple short-form versions, adding subtitles in other languages, incorporating interactive elements, or distributing it through less saturated channels. Repurposing it into new, fresh formats can also revive interest.
Conclusion
The video has become indispensable in every modern marketer's playbook. But simply creating videos is not enough.
To capitalise on this powerful medium, you must be thoughtful and strategic—from planning your content and format to distribution and promotion. Following the process outlined in this guide, you'll be equipped to produce sleek marketing videos that attract attention, spark meaningful engagement, and deliver ROI for your brand.
The critical components are defining your goals, shaping content for your specific audience, telling compelling stories, and utilising solid visuals. Invest in production quality. Then, distribute far and wide across platforms where your viewers are active.
Test and refine constantly. With the right strategy and execution, your marketing videos will be positioned to delight and convert viewers into loyal brand advocates.
