Video Branding 101: All You Need to Know

Building a brand through video is one of the most popular strategies today.

And with good reason because video as a marketing tool can expand a brand’s reach and boost engagement.

But let’s take it from the top.

 

Why video branding matters

Let’s start by defining the term “branding”.

Branding is the creation and use of an identifier—a logo, a symbol, etc.—that helps consumers recognize the brand (be it branding for a startup or a huge company) and differentiate it from others in the same niche.

Effective branding makes you memorable, solidifies your brand positioning, and gives prospects an idea of what to expect when they collaborate with you.

Essentially, the branding elements are the first “point of contact” between your prospects and your product or service.

And since branding elements are noticeable not only on your website but also on aspects like your social media posts, your ads, or even the product itself, it’s only logical that they will make an appearance on your video marketing efforts as well.

What do I mean by that? Well, according to a recent survey, consumers picked video as their top medium for keeping brands top of mind.

 

 

With 33% of consumers stating how important video content is, not creating branded videos is like leaving money on the table.

In general, videos are more engaging, more attention-grabbing, and more memorable than a blog post or a social media post. To wit, when was the last time you heard of a blog post going viral?

Major brands seem to know that pretty well. Here’s what I mean:

• Coca-Cola’s videos always feature the color red.
• Nike’s videos employ “emotional branding” and regularly feature powerful socially conscious narratives.
• Red Bull’s videos always show activities that boost adrenaline.
• Dove’s videos are always body-positive.

However, isn’t there more to building a brand through video marketing than just using content strongly tied to your brand?

 

How to establish consistent video branding

Consistency is the key to every marketing effort, especially when it comes to branding.

From the content of your videos on social media platforms to your video email marketing strategy, and from your Instagram stories to your YouTube channel, you need to use the same values in terms of content, tone of voice, color scheme, and everything in between.

Let’s see how you can do that.

 

Content, content, content

You will get tired of hearing that; perhaps you already are tired of hearing it, but I can’t help but point the fact out: content is king.

By defining your content marketing strategy, you allow your marketing efforts—and your video marketing and branding efforts as a whole—to focus on a specific topic or aspect that best expresses your brand, which makes your brand memorable.

However, this alone is not enough. If Apple based its video branding strategy on being minimalistic and having beautiful design alone, it wouldn’t be Apple as we know and love it today.

Here are some things to consider:

• First off, you need regular and timely posts.

Train your followers to expect your branded video and do it in a manner that will serve a time-sensitive purpose. Remember Coca-Cola’s video, featuring the classic Coca-Cola shade of red and Santa himself? That’s what I’m talking about.

 

 

• If you’re stuck, look to your content archive for inspiration. Create branded video content out of old posts. Better yet, engage your existing followers by creating a questionnaire that will help you choose the old piece of content you’d like to repurpose.

Related: Tips for Producing Video Content at Scale

• Study your audience and make data-backed decisions using video KPIs.

I cannot stress this enough. See when your audience drops out of your video and make adjustments to your content accordingly.

Identify what sort of content converts best? Create a little more of that. Do they hate the narrator? If so, lose them. Does your audience want shorter videos? Then consider the length, too.

Read more: 30-Second Explainer Videos: Say More with Less

 

Use branding to highlight your mission statement

Video branding is not an exception—it’s the rule.

Creating an image for your brand goes beyond videos and boils down to your brand’s tone of voice and the mission statement.

You need everything to stem from that. Your color scheme, your logo, the typography, everything needs to highlight your mission statement:

 

Starbucks’ branding is exactly what the mission statement above describes: calm, collected, warm, and giving prospects a sense of belonging through its characteristic green color to the brand’s video ads.

 

 

Use a video style guide

Lastly, none of the above can work without a trusted video style guide that will allow your brand to shine through your video content.

Here’s what it should cover:

 

1. Colors

This takes the brand’s color palette into consideration and defines how and where the colors will be used in the company’s videos (both internal and external).

 

2. Logo placement

Is it supposed to show up at the end or remain throughout the video, and what size will it be?

All of the above should be covered in your guidelines.

 

3. Editing style

This clarifies how you’ll make use of transitions, audio, animation, etc.

The editing style plays a critical role in determining the video’s overall vibe.

 

4. Typography

The font style and arrangement of text in the videos have to be consistent.

 

5. Tone

In this section, you can clarify if you want the video to be casual and educational, fun and lighthearted, or sleek and professional.

 

6. Video distribution

Including video distribution specifications and best practices will help your teams manage video content for social media and advertising.

If you already have a brand style guide, you can make it even more comprehensive by simply adding a video section to it.

Having these guidelines keeps your video content consistent and creates a seamless online experience for your audience.

If you’d like an example, check out Harvard Business School’s video style guide

Pro tip: When creating your video style guide, you should keep in mind the percentage of differently-abled people in your audience.

Your videos need to be accessible by everyone.

You can consult ADA‘s webpage and see how you can create branded video content that everyone can enjoy.

 

The takeaway

Video branding is not an easy task, but it can help with the following:

• Cement your identity in the eyes of your target audience
• Differentiate you from competitors
• Build brand awareness
• Improve brand recall

If you plan to add video to your marketing strategy but don’t know where to start, get in touch with us. We’ll help you create compelling videos that are true to your brand.

 

This post was written by Téa Liarokapi. She is a content writer working for email marketing software company Moosend.

In her free time, she tries to find new ways to stuff more books in her bookcase; brainstorm content ideas, and play with her cats.