What Types of Business Videos Should a Company Make in Its First Year?
In your first year, make six videos in roughly this order: a short explainer of what you do, a product demo, one promo or ad for a specific offer, a customer or case-study video, a recurring company update, and a set of recruiting and onboarding clips. Each solves a problem you already have (explaining your business, closing deals, running ads, building trust, keeping staff aligned, hiring) and each can be produced in-house from a template in an afternoon. Start with the explainer because it feeds everything else.
Which video should a new company make first?
Make the explainer first. It answers the one question every visitor, investor, and new hire asks: what do you actually do, and why should I care? A 45 to 90 second explainer forces you to say your value in plain language, and once it exists you reuse it on your homepage, in sales emails, and in pitch decks.
Keep the structure tight: name the problem in the first eight seconds, show how you solve it, then give one clear next step. Script it before you touch any software, because a loose script is where explainers go to die. Build it from an explainer video maker template rather than a blank timeline so the pacing and transitions are already handled, then swap in your own words, screenshots, and logo.
What videos actually help you sell and run ads?
Two videos do the heavy lifting here: a product demo and a single promo built for one offer. The demo shows the thing working. For software, that means a screen walkthrough of the three features people care about, not a tour of every menu. For a physical product or service, show the before and after. Sales reps can send a product demo video instead of scheduling another call, which shortens the cycle.
The promo is different. It targets one campaign: a launch, a seasonal offer, a webinar. Make it short enough to run as a paid ad (15 to 30 seconds) and make the offer and deadline unmissable. Do not try to explain your whole business in a promo; that is the explainer's job. If you are running paid placements, cut the same footage into the aspect ratios each platform wants using a video ad maker, so you are not re-shooting for vertical and square.
These are the videos your revenue team leans on. If selling is the priority, point your sales team's video work at demos and short follow-up clips before anything fancier.
Which videos build trust and keep the team aligned?
Three types earn their place here: a customer story, a recurring company update, and recruiting plus onboarding clips.
A customer story is your most persuasive asset because a buyer trusts another buyer more than they trust you. You do not need a film crew. Record a happy customer on a video call answering three questions (what was the problem, what changed, what would you tell someone considering us), then cut it down and add captions. Even one strong story beats a page of claims.
A recurring company update keeps a growing team on the same page as you add people faster than hallway conversations can keep up. Keep it to two minutes, same format every time, and make it skimmable with on-screen text. A steady habit of company and team update videos beats one polished all-hands film you never repeat.
Recruiting and onboarding videos are the quiet multiplier. A short role video shows candidates what the job and the team feel like, and a handful of onboarding clips save you from explaining the same process to every new hire. Hand these to your HR team's video toolkit so they stay consistent as headcount grows.
How should you actually produce these in year one?
Produce them in-house, from templates, in a browser. In year one you want speed and repeatability over cinematic polish, because you will remake most of these as your messaging sharpens. A browser-based tool means anyone on the team can create from any device with no software to install, and a brand kit keeps every video on the same colors, fonts, and logo even when three different people make them.
A practical rhythm: script first, build from a template, use an AI draft to skip the blank page when you are stuck, then swap in real footage and captions. A dedicated business video maker covers all six types above without you jumping between apps. Caption everything, because most people watch on mute.
| Video type | What it does | Length | Produce it with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Explainer | Says what you do in plain language | 45 to 90 sec | Template plus a tight script |
| Product demo | Shows the product working, shortens sales cycles | 60 to 120 sec | Screen recording plus voiceover |
| Promo or ad | Drives one offer or campaign | 15 to 30 sec | Multiple aspect ratios for ads |
| Customer story | Builds trust through proof | 60 to 90 sec | Recorded call plus captions |
| Company update | Keeps a growing team aligned | Up to 2 min | Repeatable template |
| Recruiting and onboarding | Attracts candidates, saves repeat training | 30 to 90 sec each | Brand kit for consistency |
Do not try to make all six in week one. Ship the explainer, then add roughly one new type a month. By the end of the year you will have a small library you can recut instead of starting from scratch each time.
Frequently asked questions
How many business videos does a company really need in year one?
Six core types is a sensible target: explainer, product demo, promo, customer story, company update, and recruiting or onboarding clips. Most companies overestimate how many one-off videos they need and underestimate the value of repeating a few formats, like the monthly update, until they are routine.
Do I need a video crew or an agency to make these?
No. All six types can be produced in-house with a browser-based tool, a script, and a screen recorder or a phone. Agencies make sense later for a flagship brand film, but in year one speed and the ability to remake videos cheaply matter more than production value.
What if I only have time for one video?
Make the explainer. It does the most jobs: it clarifies your own thinking, it answers the question every visitor has, and you can reuse it on your site, in sales emails, and in hiring. Once it exists, the demo is the logical second step.
How do I keep videos consistent when different people make them?
Use a brand kit that stores your logo, colors, and fonts so every video applies them automatically, and work from shared templates so a marketer and an HR lead produce videos that look like they came from the same company. You can see how the pieces fit on the features overview.
Should I use AI to make these faster?
AI is useful for beating the blank page. Generating a first draft from a short text prompt gives you a rough structure and scene breakdown you can then edit, which is faster than starting empty. Treat the draft as a starting point, not a finished video, and always rewrite the script in your own voice.
Last updated: October 2026