If you Google “web videos” you ‘ll see hundreds of listings for the funniest videos, the most passed around viral videos, animal videos and a hundred or so others.  What you won’t see much of is how to use web videos to your advantage.  Everyone knows about YouTube and its cultural significance and sometimes insignificance.  There are plenty of ways you can use web video to move your business forward.  Here are six ideas you can use:

1.  Instructional videos

If your product needs installation, maintenance, assembly or special operating procedures, a web video is an excellent way to communicate with your target audience.  You can put the videos on your website, or put them on YouTube or a host of other video sites.

2.  Product demonstrations

Do you have to see to believe?  You can do it on video

3.  Employee communications

Have an important message that employees all over the country need to hear?  Put it on video and publish it on your password protected employee site.

4.  Sales video

Reference your sales video in marketing materials with a URL that goes directly to it.  If you’ve got an email list, you can even monitor who watches it.

5.  Brand Manifesto

Need to communicate your brand far and wide?  You can produce an entertaining video that will drive your brand strategy home to employees, sales, dealers and customers alike.

6.  Testimonial

Testimonial videos done well can be effective, done poorly, deadly.

There are some guidelines that go along with web videos.  Don’t make them too long, don’t bore people, have enough professionalism so it reflects positively on your company, humor should be left to the funny and have realistic expectations.  Your installation video is not going to be a YouTube sensation and that’s okay.  Videos should accomplish an objective.  Unless you have experience in video production, consider hiring a company to produce them for you.  They’ll be better and more effective.  If you need the name of a company who can do it well, we have a name for you.

Here’s a great site about the video phenomenon.  Digital Ethnography