When planning a corporate video, the first requirement is obviously to decide at whom it is going to be targeted, and where it will be used. Are you using the corporate video to show to clients, or will it be primarily for in-house use? Clearly this will affect the sort of video you are making. Corporate videos are also useful for point-of-sale presentations at trade fairs and expos, when sponsoring events, or for public-facing areas on your own premises. Whatever the nature of your requirements, a corporate video can be a simple but effective way of getting your message across and, perhaps just as important, communicating your company’s values to a wider audience in a way that no number of mission statements or printed material can match.

There are many companies offering corporate videos; some high-end and expensive, with top-quality production values. But this sort of outlay may not be appropriate for every organization, so don’t be afraid to seek out value rather than paying top dollar. As long as you are happy with the outcome, an effective corporate video can be made without undue expense.

Distribute Your Corporate Video: As new technologies reach further and deeper into our everyday lives, it’s time to throw out some outdated ways of thinking. One of these is the idea that distributing your corporate video means a trip to the mailroom. On the contrary, video streaming and filesharing sites give us a clue as to the way forward; the Internet provides a powerful distribution tool for any company’s promotional material.

First and most obviously, put a copy of your corporate video on your website. Companies have created significant “buzz” by putting advance copies of new commercials and corporate videos on their website before utilizing their traditional advertising market. We can’t all sell lingerie, of course; but we can bring in web users with an imaginative and interesting corporate video or web advertising campaign, while at the same time benefiting from increased traffic to your site.

Without doubt the Holy Grail for marketers is the “viral” ad campaign, the material that catches people’s attention and which they then spread of their own accord, without requiring you to spend a cent on expensive ad buys. But this is not all that common. So don’t neglect those traditional marketing tools we mentioned earlier; clients (both current and potential), customer-facing areas in your offices or public spaces, and so on.

What is crucial is that, once you have a corporate video, which you are pleased with, you distribute it as widely as possible. In today’s information age you may find customers in places that you never imagined and spreading your company’s name and message far and wide can only ever be a good thing.