9. Create human connections

It’s all too easy to talk at your audience in a product video instead of to them. Because your goal is to start a conversation with a potential customer, do your best to connect with the human on the other side of the screen.

You can help create genuine connections by sharing the “human” side of your own organization. Try creating product videos that showcase the real people behind the business, or success stories from real customers.

How to shoot product videos

You don’t need a video agency to make a stunning explainer video. While we love the glossy elegance of a majorly produced product vid, in today’s lightning-paced marketing world where many companies sell products online, enterprise businesses need to be able to make video content faster, more efficiently, and at scale.

There’s no shortage of marketing channels to push content out on, and we’d venture to guess that you could probably use more videos. This is where agility and scalability come in.

Shooting product videos, explainers, and demos can be intimidating, so here are a few pointers:

When in doubt, use a flat lay or a white background. The simpler the background, the better — after all, you’re not selling the background. Your product should be the thing to grab attention.
Aim for consistent lighting. Even though golden hour is beautiful, it’s finicky and unreliable. You know what’s reliable? Good old studio lighting. Even a simple ring light can be enough to create some of the best videos.
Leverage AI to optimize your creative workflow. Video production and editing can take time. With AI tools like one-take video creation, marketers can generate product scripts and quickly edit videos to minimize the time from shoot ideation to final production.
You don’t need a DLSR. Use your iPhone or Android’s portrait mode against your simplistic background to get high-quality product shots in minutes.
Lean on user-generated content. Are people using your products in social media posts and tagging you in their videos? Ask them if you can use their UGC as part of your promo!

Product videos we love

▶️ Samsung Notebook

The product video from Samsung is simple, clean, and creative. It highlights the product in a unique way with close-ups of the device paired with colorful, geometric 3-D shapes. It feels futuristic, but straightforward.

Takeaway: If you’re promoting a technical product, consider creative ways to show off your hardware.

▶️ Small Improvements

The video from B2B brand Small Improvements immediately states what the product does up front and uses on-screen text to highlight key aspects of the tool. The text helps to outline the rest of the video and organizes the information for the viewer. Shots of use-cases “show and tell” how the product works.

Takeaway: Lead with benefits that solve user problems.

▶️ Vidico

Viewers can tell this video is for a specific audience. And the more specifically you can speak to your target consumers directly, the better.

Takeaway: If your product supports it, don’t be afraid to lean into a niche interest or audience.

▶️ ROBE Lighting

This video creatively matches the product offering to the messaging. It’s promoting a lighting rig, and the video pulls this theme into the editing. With tons of beautifully lit product shots and explainers, the video really lets the use cases for the product shine.

Takeaway: Matching the tone of your video with the tone of your product adds another dimension of visual storytelling.

Product video FAQs

How long should a product advertisement video be?

The short answer is: It depends! You want to tailor your online video marketing efforts to the type of content you’re creating. Here are a few loose guidelines:

Quick demo: Anywhere from 15 seconds to one minute
Explainer: Anywhere from 30 to 90 seconds, depending on how complex your offerings are
Quick tutorial: if you’re sharing on short form-friendly social sites like Instagram, shorter is better. Shoot for around one minute.
In-depth tutorial: For channels like Vimeo and YouTube, long-form content (anything up to 15 minutes) is fair game. Although you do want to keep editing tight and keep “fluff” to a minimum.

When you’re selling a product online, you want to make sure your online ads and video executions match the nature of the product or service you’re offering.

What should be included in a product video?

Plenty of product photography, ideally a 360° glance at your goods
Dimensions, so viewers know how large, heavy, or feather-light your product is
A call-to-action to your website, follow your biz on social, etc.
Social proof, like testimonials and reviews to show why your product or service is better than the competition
Your unique personality and spin on things

How do I create a product video in Vimeo?

Making a product video doesn’t have to be an expensive, outsourced to-do. Open up Vimeo Create on mobile or desktop and use an AI-powered guided template to make a product vid in minutes.

Answer a few easy questions, upload smartphone photos or videos of your product, tinker with text, and add a call to action. Save, publish, and share to any (or all, we won’t judge) your social channels.

What should I include in my video product marketing strategy?

Your strategy will depend on your specific product and target audience, but there are a handful of considerations that should be made when creating any product marketing strategy:

As mentioned, first, determine your target audience.
Connect with your team and internal stakeholders to determine your video plan (type of video, creation, and execution).
Determine a budget and timeline for your campaign.
Choose a video platform that works for your goals (we suggest Vimeo!).
Create your video messaging, script, and on-screen personalities (pro tip: Use Vimeo’s AI script generator and get completed video scripts based on brief descriptions and input. Then use our teleprompter tool to make voiceover easy on your talent!)
Decide the video metrics you want to track and determine KPIs to measure success.

What is the best way to add text to video?

The best way to add text to a video really depends on what you need and your skill level. It can be anything from simple overlays to more complex animated titles. Online video editors like Vimeo provide easy-to-use, browser-based tools that let you add text, customize fonts and colors, and even animate text, all while offering other editing features like trimming and adding music. In the end, many platforms, whether they're online or desktop-based, are designed to make it easier to add impactful text to your video content.

Besides Vimeo, there are other popular options that offer similar text-to-video features, such as Adobe Express, Clideo, VEED.IO, and CapCut, which is often a solid free choice. If you're a more advanced user or working on professional projects, software like Adobe Premiere Pro, Filmora, and Camtasia give you a lot of control over text styles, animations, and how they fit with other video elements. However, some of these might have a steeper learning curve or require a subscription.

Create product videos at scale

If you want to be able to compete in today’s modern marketplace, you need a video partner that can help you take your customized, targeted, human-centered product spots to the next level and create marketing videos at scale.

Your video ad maker should allow you to host and brand your content and track analytics, all in one place. Get started with Vimeo today, and help your audience discover exactly why you’re the product or service solution they’ve been looking for.

Vimeo makes product marketing videos pop

Vimeo is one the best product video marketing solutions available to individuals, small businesses, and large enterprises. Our software empowers businesses to craft impactful product marketing videos that can include interactive or shoppable features. Vimeo's professional, ad-free player ensures your product shines without distractions, while advanced customization options allow for seamless brand integration within the video player.

From stunning 4K showcases to in-depth product demonstrations and customer testimonials, Vimeo provides the tools and platform to present your products in the best light.

You can also leverage other cutting edge tools from Vimeo for your product marketing videos like our AI-powered script writer, video teleprompting tool, automated subtitle creator, and intelligent video translator to reach global audiences.

Make a stellar product video in minutes →

Caitland Conley