11 video types to drive growth with video marketing for business

Many businesses (especially small-to-midsize businesses) avoid video marketing because it seems too costly or time-consuming. But when you look at the statistics, it’s clear that the investment is worth the results.

1. More memorable for consumers

We’ve all heard that it takes approximately seven interactions with a customer before they consider your brand. But it might not take as many touches when you use marketing videos for business growth since users retain 95% of the message when it’s being served via video, versus only 10% when it’s being served via text.

2. More sales qualified leads annually

A business without leads is like a garden without water. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done to the soil if nothing’s trickling in.

Video marketers who use video for business marketing attract 66% more sales qualified leads (SQLs) per year than those who don’t use marketing videos for business growth.

3. Higher conversion rates

Even if you don’t use videos as an integral part of your marketing strategy, they can still help improve your overall results. For example, simply including a video on your landing page can increase conversion rates by as much as 80%.

4. Faster revenue growth

The ultimate goal of any marketing initiative is to drive revenue growth — and companies that use marketing videos can grow revenue 49% quicker than those who don’t.

So, what types of videos should you create to enjoy these benefits? There’s no shortage of video marketing ideas for small business growth — here are 11 to get you started.

1. Educational videos

Best for: Brand awareness and early-stage leads
Where they work best: YouTube, blog posts, LinkedIn

Educational videos teach your audience something useful without selling. These videos position your business as a helpful expert and are especially effective for answering common questions or explaining industry concepts in plain language.

2. Explainer videos

Best for: Conversions and product understanding
Where they work best: Website homepages, landing pages, email

Explainer videos focus on the “why” behind your product or service. They connect a specific problem to your solution and help prospects quickly understand whether you’re a good fit.

Explainer videos, like our real estate video, are similar to educational videos in that they aim to teach your audience something new. But the primary purpose of explainer videos is to help the audience understand why they need you and your solution. They often use a fictional character to walk through pain points and use cases.

3. Demo videos

Best for: Sales conversations and mid-funnel leads
Where they work best: Product pages, sales emails, LinkedIn

Demo videos walk viewers through how your product works. In B2B and SaaS especially, demos help buyers self-educate and move forward with confidence.

Think of them like product videos for marketing — they’re designed to give viewers a tour of your product and show them how it works. Product demo videos can show the entire product or just one feature. This demo video of the file organization features in Copper is a perfect example.

4. Presentation videos

Best for: Sales, partnerships, and investor conversations
Where they work best: Email follow-ups, website resources

Think of presentation videos as an on-demand sales deck. They’re useful when you can’t be in the room but still want to tell a compelling story.

Generally, they serve as an introduction to your company for customers, investors or partners. Think of them like a filmed sales pitch for those times when you can’t be in the conference room in person with a prospect.

5. Brand vision videos

Best for: Brand awareness and trust
Where they work best: Homepage, social media, campaigns

Brand videos showcase who you are, what you believe in, and why you exist. These are less about features and more about connection.

They’re essentially a video that showcases who your company is, detailing the mission, vision or services and products. It’s less technical and more identity-focused than some of the others on this list.

6. Testimonial & case study videos

Best for: Conversions and decision-stage buyers
Where they work best: Website, sales pages, email

Sometimes the most convincing voice isn’t yours, it’s your customer’s. Testimonial and case study videos let real people talk about real results, which builds trust faster than almost anything else.

These videos work especially well when buyers are close to making a decision. Seeing someone explain how your product or service actually helped them removes doubt and makes the outcome feel tangible. Instead of listing benefits, you’re showing what success looks like — and letting your customers take center stage.

7. Expert interviews

Best for: Authority and thought leadership
Where they work best: LinkedIn, YouTube, blog posts

Expert interviews are a simple way to build credibility without making everything about your brand. Whether you’re chatting with an internal leader or bringing in an industry expert, these conversations help position your business as plugged in, informed, and worth paying attention to.

They’re also a great way to reach new audiences. Guests often share the content with their own networks, which means more visibility (and more trust) without extra effort.

8. Sales and prospecting videos

Best for: B2B sales and high-value accounts
Where they work best: Email, LinkedIn messages

Sales and prospecting videos add a human touch to outreach that often feels automated or easy to ignore. A short, personalized video can go a long way in showing prospects that you’ve done your homework and that there’s a real person behind the message.

These work especially well in B2B sales, where relationships matter and deals take time. A quick video follow-up can help you stand out, re-engage quiet leads, and keep conversations moving — without adding pressure.

9. Event videos

Best for: Community building and brand awareness
Where they work best: Social media, email, website

Events are full of great moments... and event videos make sure they don’t disappear once the day is over. Recaps, highlights, and session clips help extend the life of webinars, conferences, and meetups by turning them into reusable content.

Whether you hosted the event or simply attended, event videos are an easy way to show what you’re involved in, who you’re learning from, and how you show up in your industry.

(You can check out our previous webinar videos here).

10. Live videos

Best for: Engagement and real-time interaction
Where they work best: LinkedIn Live, YouTube Live, webinars

Live video is one of the easiest ways to make your brand feel more human. Instead of talking at your audience, you’re talking with them — answering questions, reacting in real time, and giving people a peek behind the scenes.

Live streams really took off during COVID, but they’ve stuck around because they create genuine connection. They’re especially effective for things like Q&As, webinars, product walk-throughs, or casual conversations around a specific topic your audience already cares about.

You don’t need to wing it, though. Pick a clear theme, promote it ahead of time, and let people know what they’ll get out of showing up. And once the live is over, the replay can keep working for you — clipped into shorter videos, shared on social, or reused as on-demand content.

11. Animated videos

Best for: Explaining complex ideas
Where they work best: Website, email, ads

Some ideas are just easier to understand when you can see them. Animated videos are great for breaking down complex concepts, showing how something works, or telling a story that would be tough to explain with a talking head alone.

They’re also a solid option if no one on your team is itching to be on camera. With the right visuals, pacing, and voiceover, animation can keep people engaged, simplify the message, and make your content feel polished — without needing a public-facing spokesperson.

Before you dive head-first into using video for business marketing, here are some best practices to keep in mind:

Have a strategy

Start by getting really clear on what you want to achieve with video, like:

• Brand awareness
• Greater personalization for different lead segments
• More conversions
• More qualified leads

Identify your objectives and develop a complete strategy around them. Creating a video strategy will take a bit of work, but building this road map before starting down the video marketing journey will help set you up to thrive.

Understand your audience and their wants

Nobody goes online to watch brand commercials for fun (unless you’re in advertising), so it’s important to think about how you can use video to meaningfully engage with your target demographic. The main reasons people watch videos are:

• To be entertained and inspired (53%)
• To relax or escape (28%)
• To learn something new (21%)
• To pursue a hobby or interest (14%)
• To find out something new or make progress on a task (13%)
• To stay up to date on trends (11%)
• To see something new that can’t be found elsewhere (10%)
• To feel connected with people (10%)
• To find information on products and services (8%)

Keep these reasons in mind when you begin creating video content. Put yourself in your target demographic’s shoes and try to create videos that will entertain, inspire, or educate them. If your videos are boring or too self-serving, chances are you won’t get the desired results.

Learn about the art of video-making

Filming videos is a bit of an art form. Unless you plan to hire a videographer, take time to do some research on cameras, sound, lighting, music, editing and more. Also look into research distribution channels and best practices for each (i.e., video format, posting times, quality expectations, etc.).

Look around at others in your industry to see what they’re doing and try to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Then, if possible, hire an expert to come in and help.

Follow the metrics

It’s important to measure your videos’ performance. Be sure to track results and keep an eye on your analytics, paying special attention to things like:

• View-through rate
• Watch time
• Conversions
• Clicks
• Shares

Remember, you only have about 2.7 seconds to grab your audience’s attention, so make your opener count. As with any type of marketing, video marketing might take some trial and error. Keep your eyes on the analytics over time and adjust tactics as needed.

Choose the appropriate distribution channels

There are lots of avenues for distributing videos: your website, social media accounts, emails — or even sending them individually as a prospecting tool. The most important thing is to find the channels that make sense for your company.

For example, TikTok is the dominant video-sharing social media platform right now, and you don’t need a huge budget to get started there. But 75% of TikTok users are under 34, and 43% are under 24. So, if your ideal customer is older than 34, you would probably be better served creating videos for LinkedIn, YouTube or Instagram, whose user base has a more distributed age range.

A clear video marketing strategy for small businesses doesn’t require a massive budget — it requires focus, consistency, and the right systems behind it. When video is paired with the right CRM, it becomes easier to turn views into conversations, and conversations into revenue.vWith so many benefits and options to get started, there’s no reason to put off video marketing.

Copper CRM works in the background, so you can work where and how you want to work, ditch tedious admin work, and spend more time on revenue-generating efforts like video marketing. Try Copper free for 14 days.