5 Inspiring Use Cases for Video at Your Business

We spend a lot of time thinking about how people can improve their businesses with video. To our delight, we’ve discovered that many of you are already using video in all sorts of cool and inspiring ways across your companies.

We’re grateful to be able to learn from you, and we wanted to share your innovative videos far and wide. That’s why we recently launched our Video Inspiration Gallery. That’s also why we wrote this blog post — to celebrate 5 businesses using video in super human ways.

Because these videos are ultimately a result of creatives being creative, we asked our creative director, Dan Mills, to provide a bit of commentary on each one. Say hi to Dan.

1. Classy: Marketing with powerful storytelling

Any great marketer knows that the best way to make their offering compelling is to tell a great story. With this video, Brad Hilton at Classy tells a story that connects with the audience right from the get-go. By the end of it, you have a firm grasp on Classy’s inspiring mission and their new suite of tools.

Ah, the power of a well written story. I love this video because it does an awesome job of establishing a connection with the audience — playing off the emotions we feel when we hear about a problem that seems too big for any individual to help solve. It then follows a story (using only product shots) to show how Classy can help you build a beautiful and effective crowd-funding campaign. The audience quickly understands what the product is used for, why it’s important, and how simple it would be to use… all without having to pay an actor. - Dan Mills

2. Sticker Mule: Helping customers at scale

Work in any business for a while, and it becomes really obvious what issues trip people up and make it harder for them to do business with you. At Sticker Mule, an online custom sticker store, deciding between raster and vector files was a real sticking point (get it?) for potential customers. When Sticker Mule realized this issue, they created this simple and friendly video that demystifies the differences between the two types of file formats.

Teach a man to fish! Plain and simple, this video has a fantastic script. Sticker Mule pinpointed a common problem their customers have, and taught their audience something fairly technical by using well-written sentences in plain language. The voiceover actor’s tone and visual elements of the video do nothing to distract from the lesson — they just help push the message forward. - Dan Mills

3. BambooHR: Humanizing a sales team

Selling anything via email and phone calls is tough. You’re trying to forge human connections with people, make them feel like you’re on their side, and win their trust… but generally speaking, they never get to see you. Unless, of course, you make a video. And in that case, your prospective customers can see you, get to know you, and get a glimpse into what makes you unique. That was the thought process behind BambooHR’s series of intro videos for its sales team.

Now I know him! BambooHR did an unbelievable job of turning Preston into a new friend. Taking the extra step to shoot outside of the office was also a nice way to let potential customers know that BambooHR values creativity and fun in the workplace, which might end up being a key differentiator. - Dan Mills

4. RJMetrics: Introducing one team to another

Being an employee on either end of an acquisition involves a lot of uncertainty. All of the sudden, you’re supposed to be on the same team with a bunch of folks you barely know. Heck, in some cases, you’ve probably never even met them. That was the situation that RJMetrics’ employees found themselves in. That’s why Ryan Williams, their video production strategist, decided to make a friendly video that involved the entire team.

This is such an amazing use case for video. The video seemingly took very little effort to make from a production standpoint, but had a huge impact in a time of stress. Going through changes and growing pains at a company can be really difficult. Not only did this video aid a large-scale ice-breaking effort, but I imagine being involved with the production was a positive way to channel a team’s energy during a potentially uneasy time. - Dan Mills

5. InVision: Teaching a valuable product tip

Who doesn’t like faster, easier ways to do those things you do hundreds of times a week? Nobody, that’s who! For designers who use Sketch — a tool used by many InVision customers — shortcuts are gifts that keep on giving. They help people work faster and better. Knowing this, Joseph Angelo Todaro, one of InVision’s video producers, put this product video together highlighting “eight massively timesaving shortcuts that are impossible not to use once you know them.”

First off, what a great idea. Explaining workflow shortcuts is a clever way of making a product even stickier with the folks who are already using it. The video also does a great job of keeping the audience on track and aware of what they are learning at each moment. The use of the full screen pink slide for different sections, as well as the supporting images of keyboard keys in the bottom left of the screen really help the audience stay on track in a fairly detail-oriented video. - Dan Mills

We hope you found these business videos as inspiring as we did. If you’re itching for more, head on over to our new Video Inspiration Gallery, and explore all the different videos powering businesses large and small.