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Video is a form of media that has taken the digital landscape by storm in recent years. But more like a calm storm on a dry summer day: it’s just what we need. In a world where attention spans are shrinking and competition for digital space is relentless, video remains the most immersive and memorable way to tell your brand’s story. Consumers are gravitating towards video content for entertainment and education, and brands creating videos are seeing better results on their marketing efforts than ever before. Videos are also easy to digest and repurpose, which gives brands a greater opportunity to influence and connect with their audience.
Whether it’s short-form clips on social media or a customer testimonial, video gives your audience something words alone can’t: a human connection. It lets people see your values, your people, and your personality — and that emotional connection is what drives action. Understanding what video marketing is, why it’s important for both marketers and consumers, how video can be used, and how to build a strategy can help your brand successfully incorporate video into its content mix.
What is Video Marketing?
At its core, video marketing is using video to promote and share your brand, products, or services. But beyond awareness, it’s also a tool for education, trust-building, and differentiation.
Video can live almost anywhere your audience spends time — from your website to email to social platforms like LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram. The format itself is flexible: product spotlights, behind-the-scenes stories, employee training videos, brand documentaries, customer testimonials, how-to guides, and more.
What makes video so powerful is that it meets audiences where they already are — consuming content visually and emotionally. When it’s done well, it turns casual viewers into loyal customers.
Why Video Matters More Than Ever
Video has become the language of the internet. According to recent studies, over 90% of consumers say they watch videos online each week, and nearly two-thirds report that video helps them make purchasing decisions.
For brands, this isn’t a passing trend — it’s how people research, evaluate, and connect with businesses. Algorithms also favor video, rewarding brands who use it consistently. In short, video helps increase visibility, engagement, and conversions all at once.
Creating videos is a crucial part of a brand’s marketing strategy for a number of reasons:
- Awareness: Social algorithms favor video content, which means your brand is in front of your audience’s eyes for a longer period of time and reaching more people organically.
- Retention: People remember messages better when they’re seen and heard — not just read.
- Trust: Seeing faces, voices, and real stories allows a brand to show a more transparent, authentic side that helps build credibility faster than static content ever could.
Videos also allow brands and consumers to connect on an emotional level, which means brands can further relate to their audience by addressing pain points and showing how they will solve them.
How Can Video Be Used?
Video can be used for just about any purpose that written content is used for. The best way to determine what type of video to produce is to look at what stage of the buyer’s journey your audience is in. You might want to create ads to increase brand awareness or share testimonials to influence prospective customers to convert. Each type of video content has a purpose and can help customers take the action you desire.
Advertising
Whether it’s an ad on TV or social media, video ads are a great way to spark emotion in a viewer at a time they may not expect it. For example, this ad for Harrisonburg Electric Commission combines cozy visuals with informational messaging to help build brand awareness and promote programs.
Digital marketing has made video a vital part of the advertising landscape. Companies can run video ads on just about any website, including YouTube, at a comparatively lower cost than traditional placements, making it one of the most effective ways to grab attention and communicate your brand message quickly.
Social Media Marketing
Posting video content on social media is a great way for your brand to get exposure, and although social media has been one of the most common places people consume video content for some time, the way people watch videos on social media platforms has recently changed.
For example, 85% of viewers are watching Facebook videos with the sound off. This significantly changes how marketers design content, as they now have to add captions before sharing and find other ways to ensure their message passes the mute test.
Platforms like Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts prioritize quick, engaging storytelling, which means you’ll want to repurpose your long-form videos into bite-sized snippets to help entertain, educate, and inspire without losing attention spans. See how Gravity Group utilizes video on social media with this Instagram reel!
Educational
Many people learn by watching others, so video is a great way to teach people about your brand. Whether it’s an explainer video about your product or industry, or an internal training video for new employees, educational videos are great for establishing your brand as a thought leader. When people know your brand and trust the information you provide, it will encourage them to come back for more.
Acoustical Sheetmetal Company does this well by providing different types of educational videos to inform prospective customers and employees about their products and processes. For example, this video teaches about the products they create, with information on the industries they serve and use cases for the products, while showing engaging behind-the-scenes clips of their processes.
Educational videos are a perfect way to establish authority and trust. Whether it’s a quick how-to or a deep dive into a topic your audience cares about, you’re creating value before you ever make an ask.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
While adding videos to your website doesn’t automatically make your page rank first on Google, videos do have the potential to help you rank higher. If visitors are watching your videos and staying on your page longer, Google recognizes that your site is producing quality content and, in turn, rewards you.
Videos posted to YouTube can also help improve SEO by potentially ranking on search engines. Google’s search engine results page (SERP) offers searchers YouTube video content alongside traditional search results, and makes it easy for searchers to find what they’re looking for by highlighting key moments in a video. No matter the topic, video length, or purpose, the search potential of posting videos on YouTube is a great addition to any brand’s marketing strategy.
For example, Gravity Group’s Brand Story podcast is posted in both audio and video formats, so listeners can watch it on our website or YouTube, or just listen on a podcast streaming platform. By creating video versions of our podcast for YouTube, we have a stronger presence on the SERP than if we only posted it on our website.
Testimonials
Word-of-mouth is one of the most trusted ways consumers find products. Through customer testimonial videos, your company can show real people using your products or services in a trustworthy and honest way.
Sentara RMH Medical Center is a hospital in Harrisonburg, VA, that uses testimonials to tell the story of their dedicated care team and the life-saving care they provide. In this testimonial, they had a real patient tell his moving story of how Sentara saved his life.
When producing testimonials, your brand should use real customers and let them tell their true story: their pain points that led to searching for a solution, why they chose your product or service, and what their experience was like with your brand. This helps your audience get an idea of what their experience will be like if they become your customer.
For more tips on creating testimonials, check out our blog post, The Key to Making a Great Video Testimonial: Listening.
Live Videos
Hosting live videos is a great way to interact with your audience in real time. Live videos can be used to launch new lines, talk about exclusive products or services, or get feedback from customers. They allow for two-way communication between a brand and its audience through comments and reactions. YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook/Instagram Live are popular live streaming platforms where your audience is likely already at.
Another way to utilize live video is by hosting webinars. These informational live sessions provide viewers with a lot of information, much of which can be repurposed for your blog, social media, or short-form video content.
Recruitment Videos
Video can also strengthen your brand by helping potential employees see what it’s really like to work with your team. Recruitment videos give future employees a real sense of your values, team, and work environment. They can highlight the people behind your brand and show how they’ve grown their careers at the company, showcase day-to-day operations, or feature team members sharing what makes your company a great place to work.
These videos are powerful for building trust and attracting talent that aligns with your culture. Job seekers often watch videos before applying, so showing real faces and authentic voices can make the difference between someone scrolling past and someone clicking “apply.”
WVU Medicine Uniontown Hospital, located in Uniontown, PA, uses recruitment videos as a way to highlight the experiences employees have and what it means to work for a community hospital. The statements from employees, paired with warm and inviting footage, really show the heart of the team culture.
Brand Stories
Every company has a story worth telling, and a common way to do that is with a brand story video. With video, brands can show off products, services, physical locations, history, and most importantly, emotion. Brand storytelling videos help audiences see your “why” in action.
When done well, a brand story video captures not just what you do, but why it matters. It’s an opportunity to share your mission, highlight your people, and connect your audience to the values that drive your work. This video for New Country Organics is a great example of a brand story video that touches deeply on the company’s mission, values, and purpose in a welcoming and entertaining way.
Things to Keep in Mind When Creating Videos
Adding video to your content marketing strategy can take a lot of time and planning. But the results pay for themselves. Here’s some advice to make your video creation process as smooth as possible:
- Create a meaningful story with characters and a narrative that’s unique yet relatable to your audience. Consumers tend to treat brands like people, so creating a humanlike connection that feels authentic is essential for gaining trust and attracting customers.
- Technology and trends are always changing. Make sure your team has the resources to keep up.
- Optimize your YouTube channel. You’ll want to post videos on YouTube so your brand can get the search benefits, so make sure your content is as visible as possible.
- Ensure strategy is driving your video creation and you’re not just copying what everyone else is doing. Content should be optimized for both platform and format, and always keep your audience in mind.
Professor of Visual Storytelling at the VCU Brand Center, Scott Witthaus, shared with us in an episode of our Brand Story podcast the elements of storytelling he thinks make it so successful. When deciding the direction of your video, he says,
“Embrace the problem… You’re not selling a product, you’re selling the solution to a problem. The product will sell itself.”
Although learning about a product helps the audience, what they really want is to see how that product will fix a problem they have.
Planning for Video: DIY or Partner?
So, you’ve decided you want to give video marketing a shot. What now? Deciding whether you want to produce your own videos or outsource the video production often depends on your goals, resources, timeline, and the purpose of the video.
For content that represents your brand — like a brand story video, testimonial, or campaign launch — outsourcing is almost always the stronger choice. Partnering with a professional team brings expertise in storytelling, lighting, sound, and editing, helping you create videos that feel polished, intentional, and strategically aligned with your goals.
When looking to outsource, make sure to research the styles of video that a video producer creates. If you’re not sure on strategy or direction, working with an agency that provides in-house brand, marketing, and video production (like Gravity Group) can be a great start.
Introducing Video Into Your Marketing Strategy
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your video content won’t be created after one strategy session. When planning how to introduce video into your marketing strategy, keep in mind your goals, resources, and who your target audience is. Start by auditing what you already have. What stories have you told well? What’s missing? Then, plan out a mix of formats and platforms that align with your larger marketing and organizational goals.
Still not sure where to start? We can help! Our video services include everything from helping you plan how to incorporate video to filming, editing, and more. Check out our Video Production Services or Contact Us to learn how Gravity Group can help!
* Source 1 HubSpot
* Source 2 bloggingwizard
* Source 3 OBERLO