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Table of contents:
Key Takeaways:
- Corporate videos are a type of content created by companies to present their brands in a positive light. They can be aimed at both internal and external audiences.
- Types of corporate videos include how-to tutorials, commercials, and employee training videos.
- The corporate video production process involves three stages: pre-production, production, and post-production.
- The cost of a corporate video varies from a few hundred dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on factors like length, crew size, equipment, and additional animations or editing.
With more companies embracing video marketing, corporate video production has become essential for effective communication. While some companies have in-house teams, others can still achieve professional results without them.
So, how can you get started with corporate video production?
By the end of this guide, you’ll know how to create high-quality corporate videos. We;ll share tips and resources to make the process seamless.
What is corporate video production?
Any video content produced by a corporation falls under the umbrella term “corporate video production.” The ultimate goal of a corporate video is to communicate a message that paints the company, its products, or its services in a positive light.
Companies can produce corporate videos for internal purposes (onboarding, training, recruiting, etc.). Or for external marketing (case studies, ads, product demos, etc.).
Usually, these videos a video agency or an in-house videographer produces these videos. These professionals are responsible for writing scripts, filming events, capturing company footage. They use this material to make marketing videos.
The process involves several stages to create a fully finished product: pre-production, production, and post-production. But we'll talk about these later in this article.
8 Types of corporate videos with examples
To understand corporate videos better, let’s start by exploring the different types of corporate videos you can produce and their various purposes.
Video ads
Best for: Advertising a product or service
A video ad is a promotional video advertising a product or service. It can be anywhere from 15 seconds to 2 minutes long. Video ads are one of the most common types of promotional video. We encounter them constantly across various media platforms, from YouTube and cable TV to social media.
They can also be amazingly powerful. Viral videos have launched companies, and top commercials have dramatically boosted sales.
Check out this iconic Gillette commercial from the ‘90s titled "The Best A Man Can Get." It features one of the most memorable jingles of all time:
Any good video ad should:
- Hook the viewer in the first few seconds.
- Keep them glued to the screen for the rest of the video – just like a good movie would.
- Be custom-tailored to your ideal customer, and make buying your product irresistible to them.
- Have a clear call to action.
- Be concise and avoid additional filler material.
Product demo
Best for: Showing new product features and functionalities
A product demo video is a video that showcases the features and functionality of a new product or service. These videos demonstrate how new features can be applied in practical, real-life scenarios, helping customers envision the product's utility.
Product demos are a superb marketing tool. They make customers visualize themselves using the product and experiencing its benefits, making them more likely to want to purchase it.
For example, have a look at this product demonstration video by Slack. As you watch, notice how thoroughly understanding the product and seeing its benefits naturally increases your interest in purchasing it:
A good product demo video should include:
- Use cases of the service or product
- Practical examples and advice
- Relatable pain points
- Simple explanations on how to use the product or service
Customer testimonials
Best for: Building trust and credibility
A video testimonial is a video where a customer talks about their experience of using a product or service genuinely and authentically. For a testimonial video to work, it must be delivered naturally. The very moment it feels scripted, the viewer’s trust in its message is likely to evaporate.
A testimonial should address potential customers' problems or pain points and demonstrate their enthusiasm for how the company's product solves them. These videos offer unique perspectives and often perform better when the featured customer is naturally charismatic. This is why influencers or content creators are frequently chosen for these roles.
Take, for instance, this customer testimonial video from Ascender HCM, and notice how convincingly it presents the customer's experience. More than 77,000 people watched this video on YouTube!
A compelling video testimonial should include:
- Descriptive and evocative language
- A passionate, clear explanation of the results achieved
- An authentic description of the product’s emotional impact (how they feel about having a problem solved)
- A comparison that positions the product favorably against competitors
Video case study
Best for: Showing your products strengths in action.
Video case studies tell the story of how a customer used a product or service to achieve success. Case studies narrate the story of someone who used the sponsored product or service to achieve a specific goal.
Good video case studies are persuasive, relatable, and engaging. They put customer needs and success stories front and center, using the power of storytelling to make everything more interesting.
Here's an excellent case study video. It shows how TED faced many problems transitioning to remote recording and how Riverside saved the day:
A great video case study should include:
- A clear introduction
- A defined problem and statement
- Engaging storytelling and visuals
- An overview of the solution
- Results and data, where possible
- A conclusion and call to action
How-to videos
Best for: Demonstrating expertise and value
How-to videos are instructional tutorials that guide your audience through specific tasks involving your product. These should be directly relevant to your niche, such as "how to play a guitar" if you sell musical instruments or "how to change the color of an object" if your product is graphics editing software.
While the primary focus of how-to videos is providing practical, step-by-step solutions to problems, they also offer an opportunity to subtly showcase your product as part of the solution. The idea is to demonstrate your company's expertise in order to build trust, all while showcasing the practical benefits of your products or services.
A well-executed how-to video doesn't just "teach" - it solves a problem in an engaging, possibly memorable way, and leaves the viewer interested in knowing more about your brand.
A perfect example of one of the best how-to videos ever created* is this short guide to starting a video podcast from Riverside:
*We might be a little biased.
The best how-to videos include:
- Practical and actionable advice
- Step-by-step instructions that are easy to follow
- Helpful visual elements like summaries and bullet points
- Unique advice from experts
Origin story videos
Best for: Portraying your company in a positive light
A corporate origin story is a story of how a company came to be. It can include information about the company's founding members, their motivations for starting the company, and any early successes or challenges they faced.
Companies create corporate origin stories to build brand identity and create a sense of shared history among employees. Origin stories can also be used to sear a positive image of your brand into the brains of your customers and investors.
Not all companies have a unique or interesting story, so this may not be a fit for everyone. But if your origin story is worth sharing, don’t hesitate to broadcast it. These stories can help your customers relate to your brand and help build trust.
Watch the example below and enjoy this inspiring origin video from Norrøna:
To make a good story, here are some tips:
- Make it emotional.
- Make it creative.
- Make it authentic.
- Make it showcase your brand's vision and purpose.
- Hire a good storyteller as well as a creative copywriter.
Employee onboarding videos
Best for: Introducing new hires to company culture and processes
An employee onboarding video is used to get new hires up to speed with the company culture, core values, protocols, and other important information. A well-crafted onboarding video makes an employee feel at home and increases their dedication and loyalty to the company.
These videos might seem simple, but good employee onboarding processes reduce a company's turnover by more than 80%, increase loyalty, and boost productivity by 60%. Starting a new job is like your first day at school, and being met with a friendly onboarding video can make this transition much smoother.
For an excellent example of a high-quality onboarding video, take a look at this production from Bolt:
A good employee onboarding video should be:
- Warm
- Honest
- Relatable
- Authentic
- Thorough
Corporate training and safety video
Best for: Teaching employees new skills and promoting workplace safety.
Corporate training and safety videos are used to increase workplace awareness, teach new skills to your employees, or lay down guidelines and best practices.
Training videos may cover a broad range of different topics, from how to deal with everyday processes to learning new technical skills or using specific software. Safety videos address various areas, including fire safety, workplace hazards, and data protection practices.
Simplicity and straightforwardness should be at the core of these videos. Their purpose is to teach your employees something that is very important for them to know. To achieve this, they should offer clear, step-by-step instructions (like a how-to video), all while remaining concise and engaging.
Here's an example of a training video about data protection. Note how they split this series into multiple short videos to make them more digestible:
A good corporate training video should include:
- Information about the company’s processes
- Simple and concise advice
- Detailed step-by-step instructions
- Clear visual elements that are easy to memorize
Corporate video production process
Creating a corporate video involves several steps broken down in three key stages. Let's examine these stages more closely.
1. Pre-production (the drawing board)
Pre-production includes all the steps that come before the video is filmed, such as concept planning, script writing, storyboard preparation, casting, and scheduling.
Here are some steps to perform before creating a corporate video:
- Planning: Start by defining your video's goals. Who is your target audience? What is the purpose of this video? Which aspects of your product or service should it focus on?
- Budgeting: Once you decide on your available funds, you can create a budget and allocate resources to the necessary assets like props, sets, cast, equipment, and operators.
- Creating a concept: During this step, you should develop your video's storyboard and script. What visual elements will it incorporate? What is the tone and voice of your message? For customer interviews, a general direction may be sufficient, but heavily scripted videos might require detailed line-by-line writing.
- Casting: Depending on the goal and target of your corporate video, you might want to employ professional actors. Or, you can go with in-house employees, or just end users if you're looking for authenticity.
- Scheduling: Arrange all the props you need, select filming locations, then establish a schedule for each scene and set a deadline for the completed project.
2. Production (the cameras roll)
Production is the phase where the actual filming takes place. The set of a big-budget video may involve a production crew, including a director, camera operators, make-up artists, and set designers. If your video is a small-budget one, a freelance/in-house videographer can handle the whole thing.
Here are some steps you should follow on production day:
- Preparing the equipment and the set: Make sure everything is ready for the shoot. Check that all equipment (cameras, audio gear, lights) is functioning properly and that the set is complete with all necessary props, costumes, and any required elements like green screens.
- Preparing the cast and crew: People, not just equipment, need to be ready. Make sure all cast members have completed hair and make-up before filming begins. Don't forget to provide catering, snacks, drinks - and plenty of coffee for your entire crew!
- Recording: Before filming each scene, verify the setup, address any last-minute changes, then begin shooting. After each take, quickly assess your footage, discard any unsuitable footage, and retain the best takes for post-production.
Post-production (that’s a wrap!)
Post-production in corporate video creation involves editing and finalizing the footage, adding graphics and animations, and mixing various sounds.
Here are the main steps of the post-production stage:
- Trimming and cutting: After selecting the best shots, editors remove unnecessary footage and piece together the remaining content. This process includes syncing audio and video, which can be time-consuming, especially for longer videos. (Riverside uses multitrack recording and automatic sync features to make this much easier.)
- Cleaning up audio: Audio quality must be improved across the entire video. If multiple tracks are available, such as during an interview, audio levels need to be balanced by normalizing and equalizing them. Background noise should also be removed, and unwanted noises, filler words, and pauses need to be cut. Riverside has tools that allow you to do many of these tasks in a single click.
- Adding effects: Once the first cut is ready, it's time to add visual or audio effects. These can range from basic filters and color correction to enhance the overall look of the video, to more complex elements like 3D graphics, animations, or AI-generated voices and sounds. You can use Riverside’s AI Voice feature to easily generate a voice-over that sounds just like you.
Head over to our article on video production for a more in-depth guide.
Recording your corporate videos with Riverside
Riverside makes all these steps much easier, streamlining the entire video recording and editing process. With our high-definition recording, easy-to-use interface, and powerful post-production tools, creating polished corporate videos is simple and efficient.
With Riverside, you can:
- High-Resolution: Record crisp, clear videos in 4K and 48kHz audio.
- Separate Tracks: Edit easily with separate audio and video tracks for each participant.
- Async Recording: Record async interviews or team inputs across time zones seamlessly.
- AI Transcriptions & Summaries: Get instant transcriptions and summaries for easy content descriptions and repurposing.
- Shared Workflow: Collaborate with team members to review and edit directly in Riverside.
- Teleprompter: Try our teleprompter to keep speakers on script for professional, precise delivery.
- Studio Branding: Add your brand’s logo and colors to every video.
- Magic Clips: Create short, shareable clips within one click perfect for social media.
Learn more or start creating your own corporate videos today!
How much does corporate video production cost?
The cost of a corporate video varies a lot, depending on elements such as length, complexity, production values, type, etc. While a simple 30-second DIY video might cost as little as $100, a 2-minute commercial for a giant corporation might cost upwards of $300,000.
Several factors contribute to the final price of a corporate video, including (but not limited to) crew size, equipment costs, talent fees for screenwriters and actors, location rentals, and so on.
Let's break down the most common factors affecting the final cost of a corporate video.
Equipment
It’s possible to shoot a corporate video with as little as a simple camera and video recording or editing software like Riverside. Depending on what you're shooting and the size of your crew, equipment could also include multiple cameras, boom microphones, drones, motion rigs, and lighting setups.
Price range: $300 to $2,000 per day
Location
Finding the perfect location for your shoot is very important, but the costs associated with it vary wildly. If you're recording everything inside your own company's premises or using a simple green screen, the location can be free or very inexpensive. On the other hand, if you need to rent several locations and then move your crew from one place to another, things can get very expensive.
Price range: free to $2,000+ per day
Crew
The crew includes everyone from video producers, sound technicians, camera operators, prop masters, directors, and so on. Costs depend on team size, experience, and whether they're working in-house or are hired as external contractors.
Price range: $750 to $5,000+ per working day
Actors and scriptwriters
The "creative" talents of a video usually cost more than other crew members. Once again, prices vary based on experience, past projects they've worked on, etc. Note that these prices reflect average professional rates, not Hollywood star fees.
Price range: $150 to $5,000+ per day
Animations and effects
Instead of actors (or in addition to them), you might want to add some extra animations. You can pay for an animation service to create simple 2D whiteboard animations to more complex 3D VFX effects and fully animated CGI and motion graphics.
Price range: $500 to $20,000 per minute
Professional editing
Editing costs more if there's a lot to do. Longer shoots and lots of footage to sort through increase the price. So does re-colorizing your video, cleaning up multiple audio tracks, or other time-intensive editing processes.
Price range: $10 to $150 per minute of editing
Final thoughts
Corporate videos are an incredibly effective tool in your digital marketing arsenal. They are the ultimate tool for communicating your company’s message and mission to both customers and employees.
It’s true that the production process of a corporate video can be complex and sometimes expensive. However, the results can be very rewarding and their potential return on investment makes them a worthwhile consideration for companies of all sizes.
In addition, tools like Riverside can make the production process much cheaper and easier. Try it for free today!
FAQs on Corporate Video Production
What is the difference between corporate video and commercial video?
The difference between a corporate video and a commercial video is the difference between direct and indirect marketing. A commercial video tries to directly affect customers’ choices by suggesting that they purchase a product or service.
A corporate video is an indirect way to connect with customers by promoting a company’s image and its values. Commercial videos focus on driving sales, while corporate videos aim to inform, engage, or inspire people about the organization.
Why does corporate video production matter?
Corporate video production is essential because, today, video is king. Did you know that with a video, viewers retain 95% of a message compared to just 10% for text ads? Companies use videos to communicate effectively with their audiences, train their employees, and build brand awareness.
High-quality videos can serve a variety of purposes, such as boosting customer trust, enhancing brand visibility, and improving employee loyalty and productivity, all of which contribute to increased revenue.
What is a corporate video producer?
A corporate video producer oversees the entire process of creating videos for a business, ensuring the final product communicates the right message and aligns with the company’s goals. They handle every aspect of production - from planning to day-to-day filmmaking and post-production - while coordinating with cast, crew, and creatives, and managing the project’s budget.
What is a corporate videographer?
A corporate videographer is a highly versatile professional responsible for independently filming and producing video content for businesses. They may work in-house or as external contractors, handling every step of the video creation process on their own. This includes developing concepts and scripts, capturing footage at events or on-site locations, and editing the material to ensure a high-quality final product.
