Don’t create your next video before defining its purpose

Why are you making a video?

You’ve made it this far—you understand the power of video and have convinced your company that it’s something you need to invest in. So you must be on the right track.

But can you define the purpose of your video? What is the goal of the time, money, and brainpower being dedicated toward this project? What is the outcome that will consider your efforts a success—and what are the consequences if you don’t achieve that goal?

Defining your company video’s purpose

At first, the answer might seem obvious—to increase sales, hire new talent, explain what your company does. These are all great, concrete impacts for your video to make. But those can be achieved by many other mediums—a graphic advertisement, a newsletter, a Powerpoint deck.

The real purpose of your video is persuasion. The emotional quotient of video, from the stories you choose to share to the music you choose, can change minds and hearts.

So what do you want your video to make your audience do, think, feel, say, buy, or buy into?

Effective videos connect to values

The content of your film must make a direct connection to your company values. This makes your message evergreen, no matter what lies ahead for your company.

The purpose of any truly valuable video is to inspire your tribe to work according to your values, to establish trust with your stakeholders, and to connect back to your original mission.

Effective video builds trust and aligns people with your mission, whether they’re your current employees, potential investors, or a brand new customer.

Making your video multi-purpose

A video can serve just one aspect of your video—investor relations, sales, marketing, talent acquisition, brand vision.

But to get more life out of your video (and yield a better return on your investment), you must consider how to shape your story. A video that is grounded in your company’s core values goes further than one with a narrow focus.

For example, you might want to highlight a few employee stories as part of a new recruitment campaign. You could have a few talented team members share their experience and day to day life working at your company, which would be informative to potential applicants.

But consider a more multi-purpose story shaped for longevity. The employees you cast for your video should reflect the values of your company in their daily work, whether they’re on the ground or leading the team. Their story should be emotional and personal to connect with your viewers. And it should be told in an honest and real way. Their story may include growth,

This establishes trust and encourages them to do (apply to your job listing), feel (form a positive opinion of your company), and buy into (your mission).

How a unique story can encourage the masses

For this recruitment video we made for chemicals company BASF, we asked our subject, Marcus, to share his background before BASF. The skills he earned in the Navy not only led him to BASF, but made him a very strong team member across multiple departments throughout his career. His story is unique and specific, but grounded in the mission and values of BASF.