The product video: show the use, not the spec sheet

The confusion is common and it costs money. An ad tries to interrupt: it speaks to people who don't know you yet, on a screen where they were doing something else, and it has to win them over in three seconds. A product video speaks to someone who is already interested: they're on your site, on your LinkedIn page, or in a conversation with your sales rep. They don't need to be dazzled, they need to be informed and reassured.

That difference changes everything: the tone (show rather than promise), the pace (you can take the time to explain) and the budget (no need for an ad-shoot crew to answer the questions a buyer actually has). If a provider immediately pitches drone shots and actors to present your management software, ask them which buyer question that answers.

Nobody buys a list of specs. People buy what the product makes possible: time saved, a mistake avoided, a task made simpler. Video is the only format that shows this literally, with the product in someone's hands, in a real context, solving the problem you designed it for.

The rule I apply: every feature mentioned has to be shown in use. You don't say "intuitive interface," you film someone completing the task in three clicks. You don't say "compact size," you show the object fitting where the old one didn't. The viewer needs to be able to picture themselves: it's them you should see on screen, not your marketing team.

Corollary: the best backdrop is often your workshop, your offices or a client's premises, not a studio. A real environment tells the story of the use far better than a white background.

Short. One to two minutes for a general presentation, sometimes less for a social media cut. The temptation to say everything is the enemy of the format: your product may have ten strengths, the video should embody two or three of them, the ones that matter most to your typical buyer. The other seven will live perfectly well in your documentation.

If your product is complex, several short, targeted videos, one per use case or client profile, work better than a six-minute tunnel nobody finishes. I wrote a whole article on the ideal length for a corporate video if you want to dig into it.

Everywhere a prospect is wondering whether your product is right for them. Your site's product page first: that's where it works the longest, for the visitors closest to a decision. Sales conversations next: a video attached to a proposal or sent after a meeting covers the product better than a brochure, and it circulates easily inside your prospect's company, all the way to decision-makers you'll never meet.

LinkedIn last, in a short cut recropped for mobile. And a use that's often overlooked: trade shows, where the video loops on your stand and catches visitors' attention while you're busy with someone else. One well-designed video feeds all of these channels at once.

The first: having the video approved by the people who know the product best. They'll want to say everything, correct every shortcut, and the video will end up looking like documentation. The right judge is someone discovering the product, not someone who built it.

The second: filming without knowing where the video will be published. A format designed for a web page doesn't always recrop well to vertical for mobile, and vice versa: the channel gets decided before the shoot, not after the edit. The third: opening on the logo and the company's history. Your prospect wants to see the product; they'll go looking for the company afterwards.

My method comes down to three steps: framing, production, delivery. The framing call (30 minutes, free) is used to define the target buyer, the two or three uses to show and the priority channel. The shoot happens on your premises or in real conditions. You get a first cut within 3 working days of the shoot, with revision rounds built into the schedule rather than sprung on you.

On budget, a simple two-minute video starts at €900 excl. VAT. And if you're still torn between a product video, a customer testimonial or a corporate film, the article on which video to start with will help you decide based on your situation.