As of late, many companies and organizations that have expanded their marketing strategies to the internet have begun to take serious interest in the production of web videos. With the recent shift to web videos as a source of entertainment for many, promoters and businesses alike have begun to recognize the true value offered by web video marketing as a means of tapping into this flourishing market. With web videos quickly becoming a crucial aspect of any well-rounded marketing strategy, the competition has begun, with organizations striving to produce the highest quality videos that will be able to top search engine rankings, draw in a vast number of viewers, and translate those views into sales. However, before a video can go into production a decision must first be made about what type of video is going to be used. The three primary video styles are viral videos, conversion videos, and tutorial/educational videos.

The recent growth of YouTube – which now clocks in over four billion video views daily – along with the current boom in social media networking, has brought about the birth of viral videos. It has become one of the ultimate goals of almost all web videos to achieve viral status. This, however, is difficult as there is no strict formula or standard by which to determine a video’s likelihood of going viral. The two most defining factors that can be seen in most viral videos are originality and a tendency towards humor, while the content or subject matter remain as varied and far reaching as it is possible to be.

Companies attempting to use viral videos should begin by uploading and sharing their videos through various video hosting and social media sites to initiate the spread. Some companies claim to be able to bolster the chances of videos reaching viral status through the use of analytical technologies that help identify the ideal placement and distribution of a video to reach the right audience. However, whatever methods may be used to push for viral status, in the end there is still a degree of luck involved. Also, you should always keep that the number of achieved is not the ultimate goal of your videos, rather than the number of sales leads that are generated by these views.

As opposed to the happenchance methods of viral videos, conversion videos are a far more reliable, and work most effectively when embedded in the front page of an organization’s website. Properly executed, conversion videos snare the audience’s attention right away and works in various roles. Conversion videos can be used to inform the viewer of the company’s products and services, let them know of any current deals and offers, and function as a spokesperson and guide to help the visitor navigate the site. Therefore, for a conversion video to work effectively it must contain a clear call to action and be persuasive in its message, in order to convert visitors into customers. Another benefit of the conversion video is that its level of success is easily measurable by comparing your number of visitors to sales.

Tutorial and educational videos are also important options to take into consideration when developing your video marketing campaign. These types of videos are best used to illustrate the products and services being offered by the company, and are therefore most ideally placed within the company’s website.