What Brand Video Content Does Your Creative Business Actually Need? Key Questions to Ask

“You should really be posting videos.” 

“Have you tried Reels yet?” 

“No one’s looking at still photos anymore—it’s all video now.”

Sound familiar? As a maker, artist, or craftsperson, these well-meaning but overwhelming suggestions probably hit your inbox and social feeds constantly.

And when you’re already up to your elbows in clay, covered in sawdust, or managing your business, the thought of adding “video producer” to your already overflowing list of roles feels impossible. 

Your hands are busy creating—when are you supposed to find time to film, edit, and strategize brand videos too?

The good news? You don’t need to become a professional videographer overnight, and you definitely don’t need every type of video content the marketing experts are pushing. What you need is a simple brand video strategy that works specifically for creative businesses like yours.

Instead of diving headfirst into brand videography without a plan, take a step back and ask yourself a few intentional questions to decide what video content will actually serve your specific business needs and help you connect with your audience in meaningful ways.

Brand Video Starts With Your Visual Storytelling Goals

Before deciding what kinds of brand videos to create, consider your business goals. 

1. What are you trying to accomplish with your visual content (and what metrics will measure success)?
   • Are you looking to attract new customers (track website traffic and inquiry rates)
   • Want your work to reach more people (measure view counts and share rates)
   • Need to grow your community (monitor email sign-ups and follower growth)
   • Hoping to increase direct sales (track conversion rates and revenue)
2. What would your customers most love to see in motion?
   • Your hands creating your work
   • Your studio space and tools
   • Your finished pieces being used or displayed
   • You talking about your inspiration
   • Your special techniques in action
3. Who is your target audience, and where do they typically spend their time?
   • Are they primarily on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or your website?
   • Do they attend markets, craft fairs, art shows, or gallery exhibitions where you showcase your work?
   • Are they collectors, fellow artists, or everyday customers who appreciate handcrafted items?
   • How do they typically discover and engage with artists and makers like you?
4. What resources (time, equipment, budget) do you realistically have available?
   • Can you invest in professional brand videography, or do you need to start with smartphone videos in your studio? (No wrong answer here!)
   • Do you have time to learn video editing between creating your pieces, or should you focus on simpler content?
   • Would documenting one complete creative process (from raw materials to finished piece) be more valuable than frequent, shorter content?
   • Can you capture footage while you’re already working, or would it interrupt your creative flow?

Brand Video Format Options for Creative Businesses

Once you’ve gotten clear on your goals and resources, consider these powerful brand video formats that work well for artists, makers, and designers like you:

Creative Process Videos

Best for: Ceramicists, woodworkers, printmakers, metalworkers, weavers, and other makers whose value lies in their unique process or techniques.

Process videos let customers virtually step inside your studio and watch you work. When people see the skill and time that goes into making your pieces, they can better understand why handmade items cost more. Seeing your process in motion creates a unique connection in a different way than static photos.

Examples:

• A potter turning a lump of clay into a finished mug
• A blacksmith hammering red-hot metal into a knife
• A printmaker adding each color to build a complete print
• A weaver showing how natural dyes create beautiful colors

Key question: Would seeing your process help customers appreciate the time, skill, and materials invested in your work? If so, brand videos might be the best boost for your visual storytelling strategy. 

(Hint: this is true of most creative businesses, whether you offer products, services or both!)

Product and Environmental Brand Videos

Best for: Creative businesses wanting to showcase their offerings both in detail and in real-world settings where they’ll actually be used or experienced.

These videos show off details that photos miss. 

For product-base businesses

These environmental videos show your creations in action and in context. They demonstrate how products move, function, and fit into real environments, helping customers picture your pieces in their own spaces and lives.

For service-base businesses

Environmental videos showcase both your process and its impact. They connect what you do with the actual results clients experience afterward so that prospects understand the true value of working with you.

Examples:

• A jewelry maker showing the necklace up close, then cutting to a woman wearing it at dinner with friends
• A painter zooming in on texture details, then showing how the art transforms a plain living room wall
• A ceramicist showing a mug’s glaze, then people enjoying coffee from it on a cozy morning
• A furniture maker showing craftsmanship details, then the piece looking amazing in someone’s actual home
• A web designer showing the website they built, then their client getting excited about their first online sale

Ask yourself: How can I show not just my work, but how it fits into people’s actual lives and makes them feel something?

This works whether you make physical products or offer services – people want to see the end result and how it changes things for them.

Studio/Workshop Tour Brand Videos

Best for: Makers and artists with inspiring workspaces that add context and story to their brand.

Studio tour brand videos give customers a behind-the-scenes look at where the magic happens, helping them feel more connected to your work and process. These videos showcase not just your space, but the tools, materials, and environment that influence your creative practice.

Examples:

• A printmaker showing off their press and workspace
• A jeweler displaying their tools and workbench
• A calligrapher arranging their inks, nibs, and papers
• A sculptor explaining how they work with large pieces

Key question: Does your creative space reveal something meaningful about your process, influences, or the care you put into your craft?

Testimonial Brand Videos

Best for: Established makers and artists with collectors and clients who can speak authentically about their experience with your work.

Testimonial videos build trust by showing real customers talking about your work. When shoppers hear from happy clients, they get more confident about buying from you.

Examples:

• A customer showing off their custom piece and why they love it
• Someone using your handmade plates at their dinner table
• A bride and groom sharing how your floral designs made their wedding day special
• Quick clips of different customers sharing what they like best

Key question: Do you have clients who connect emotionally with your work and would be willing to share that genuine enthusiasm on camera?

Educational Content

Best for: Creators who want to position themselves as experts in their field.

Educational videos allow you to share your knowledge, building authority and trust with your audience while providing real value.

Examples: 

• A textile artist explaining different natural dyeing techniques
• A woodworker demonstrating basic joinery methods.
• A soap maker explaining the properties of different essential oils
• A glass artist showing how to safely use a torch

Key question: Do you have specialized knowledge that your audience would find valuable?

Personal Brand/Introduction Videos

Best for: Creators whose personal story and connection with customers is central to their brand.

These videos help customers connect with you as a person, not just your products. They put a face to your brand and build relationships with your audience.

Examples:

• A candle maker sharing how their hometown’s natural landscape inspires their scent blends
• A letterpress printer demonstrating their vintage press and why they preserve this traditional craft
• A stationery designer explaining how their illustrations evolved from personal sketches to products
• A graphic designer sharing their journey from corporate design work to building their own creative studio

Key question: Is your personal story and connection with customers important to your brand identity?

Where to Use Your Brand Video Content

Once you’ve gotten clear about the types of brand videos that make sense for your creative business, think about how you can begin to leverage visual storytelling across several different platforms:

Website

Your creative business website is the perfect home for compelling brand video content:

• Homepage banner: Short, captivating clips that showcase your craftsmanship in action (silent loops work beautifully here)
• About page: Personal introduction videos that connect visitors with you as the maker
• Product pages: Detailed brand videos highlighting the features and qualities of your handcrafted pieces
• “How It’s Made” section: In-depth videos showing how you create your work, from start to finish
• Portfolio section: Curated brand videos of your most significant or representative works

Social Media

Social media is a powerful stage for showcasing your craft, but not all platforms work the same way. Each one has its own style, audience behavior, and preferred video formats. The key is to match your content to the platform where your ideal customers spend the most time.

Grab the 25 social media video ideas guide for Makers, Artists and Designers!

In-Person Events

Don’t just think of video as something for your website or social media. Brand videos can create powerful in-person experiences too! Video can significantly enhance your presence at craft markets, art fairs, gallery openings, and studio sales:

• Booth displays: Silent process videos playing on a tablet or small screen can draw visitors in and show techniques that would be impractical to demonstrate live
• Virtual studio visits: When you can’t bring your entire workshop, video can transport visitors to your creative space
• QR codes: Placed next to physical pieces leading to videos showing how they were made
• Post-event follow-up: Sharing event recap videos with email subscribers who met you at the show
• Demo reels: If you’re applying to juried shows or markets, process videos can strengthen your application

Email Marketing

Don’t forget about your most engaged audience – your email subscribers! Adding video to your emails can significantly increase open rates and click-through rates.

• Welcome sequences: Introduction videos for new subscribers
• Product launches: Showcase videos of new collections
• Behind-the-scenes: Studio updates or work-in-progress clips

One Brand Video, Multiple Uses

A key strategy for making brand videography manageable is repurposing. Instead of feeling like you need to create brand-new content for every platform, think of your brand video as a flexible asset—one that can be adapted to fit multiple marketing channels without extra work.

During a brand photography and video shoot with IV Lounge CT medical spa, we created a full suite of marketing visuals that showcase their expertise and welcoming atmosphere. The project covered everything from their website launch to promotional content across multiple platforms.

Instead of filming separate content for each platform, we strategically repurposed footage from that single shoot to create:

• Website Header Video: A dynamic introduction giving visitors an immediate feel for the spa’s environment and high-quality services.
• Walkthrough Video: A guided tour showcasing the space, treatments, and overall experience, helping potential clients feel at ease before their visit.
• Testimonial Videos: Two client testimonials highlighting the spa’s impact and the trust they’ve built with their community.
• Photography: A full gallery of professional images, ensuring consistent branding across the website, social media, and marketing materials.
• Instagram Reel: A behind-the-scenes look at how Mary, the owner of IV Lounge CT, empowers confidence—not just in the services she provides but also in the way she cares for and mentors her team.

The result? A cohesive and polished brand presence across multiple channels—all from a single, thoughtfully executed video shoot. By capturing both the expertise and inviting nature of IV Lounge CT, we created versatile, high-impact marketing assets that elevate their online and in-person experience.

This same approach works for any business—whether you’re a creative, maker, or artist building your brand or a service provider looking to attract more clients. The key is planning your video content with repurposing in mind, so you can get the most out of a single shoot. No matter your industry, this strategy ensures you have marketing assets that work seamlessly across all your platforms.

Start Small and Build

Remember that you don’t need to implement every type of video at once. Start with one format that aligns with your most important business goal, create it well, and use it across multiple platforms.

As you become more comfortable with video, you can expand your content types based on what resonates with your audience.

Questions to Ask Before Starting Your Brand Video Project

Before you hit record on your brand video project, ask yourself:

1. What is the primary purpose of this brand video? What story am I trying to tell?
2. Who is my ideal audience, and what will resonate most with them?
3. Where will this brand video primarily live (website, social media, in-person events)?
4. How can I repurpose this footage for different platforms to maximize its impact?
5. What visual elements of my process or products would be most compelling in motion?
6. Is this something I can create myself, or would professional brand videography better showcase my work?
7. How will I measure whether this brand video successfully connects with my audience?

Final Thoughts on Brand Videography for Artists and Makers

The best brand video strategy is one that:

1. Showcases your unique process
2. Highlights your craftsmanship
3. Genuinely connects with your audience

Quality over quantity: It’s better to have a few well-crafted videos that truly capture the essence of your work than to burn out trying to create content for every platform.

Keep It Simple & Authentic

• Record footage while you’re already working—set up a tripod or phone mount to capture key moments naturally.
  

Treat video as an extension of your creative process, not a separate marketing task.

Start Small, Then Grow

1. Pick one type of video that best tells your creative story right now.
   
2. Create it well—make it visually engaging and true to your brand.
   
3. Repurpose it across multiple platforms for maximum impact.

Let Your Craft Shine

Brand videos bring viewers into your world in ways photos alone can’t. Start with what feels manageable, build from there, and let your authentic artistic voice lead the way.