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Excited to watch a “corporate video”? Neither are we.

And we don’t blame you. Corporate videos—in other words, non-advertising video content produced by a business—are hardly known for their artistry. Still, it’s true that the quality of corporate videos has been steadily improving over the years, and businesses can no longer afford to wing them.

Corporate video content is expensive, labor-intensive, and requires significantly more moving parts than other pieces of content your business might produce. Don’t approach it lightly, and keep these concepts in mind as you structure strong corporate video content for your business.

Find a focus for your corporate video — and stick with it.

A corporate video needs a clear goal in mind. Remember: No one is watching this content for groundbreaking acting performances and cinematography. Ask yourself why someone would watch this video? What is the purpose? The goal?

Once you have the answers to these questions, you have the north star for structuring your corporate video. You can break down each decision—from the script to the editing—and weigh if it sharpens or obscures this central purpose.

One more thing to consider: Once you’ve found the focus for your corporate video, stick with it. Employees, prospects, and other members of your potential audience are busy enough as is. Ensure that you are respecting that time by choosing a tightly-focused topic that the video doesn’t stray from. Save the digressions for the lunch meeting.

Be entertaining.

Don’t hold your breath waiting for that employee video to win an Oscar. The expectations aren’t Hollywood-level, but the increasing quality of corporate videos means this isn’t an area of business you can sleepwalk your way through.

The relationship between brands and consumers is changing, becoming more personable. There’s less of an expectation these days that a company will present itself in video material as stiff and cool and distant—in fact, the exact opposite has come to be expected from many companies.

Still, it’s important to ensure that you aren’t cracking jokes or turning your corporate video into a skit simply for the sake of making something that will stand out from a crowd. Consider your brand, and the voice that’s appropriate for this particular setting—and the purpose of the video, as above.

Prioritize quality.

These days, anyone can make and edit videos. But for the purposes of a corporate video production, we suggest leaving it to the professionals. In the same way you might want to put your best foot forward in a meeting by wearing formal clothes, you’ll be able to feel more confident in your video's structure if you hire producers who know what they’re doing around a camera.

When it comes to video production, there are few tips for the inexperienced business owner better than to outsource talent. Attempting to produce a high-quality product in-house will require skill sets that are very likely outside those of your employees.

What’s more, audiences are smart. They can sniff out poorly produced video even if they can’t quite identify it as such. Make sure you aren’t leaving a bad taste in their mouth, or making them scratch their heads as they try to understand poor quality sound design.

Keep it engaging.

Is there anything worse than sitting through monotone for fifteen minutes? Of course there is, and it’s sitting through monotone for thirty—or even longer.

Time is precious to everyone, and attention spans are more zapped than ever. In the end, your corporate video must compete for eyes like any other piece of media. So use the time you have wisely. Structure is an excellent way to keep the audience engaged. Are there ways you can break up longer pieces of information in order to add variety? Can you add graphics or recap sections to review important information? Your audience will thank you for taking their exhaustion into consideration.

Don’t overload.

It’s great to give a corporate video your all. But that doesn’t mean you should.

A tight and focused piece of content will always be more effective than a longer one, even if the longer one technically covers more information. Video content simply isn’t the place to dig into the weeds of a specific topic. Instead, corporate videos excel when they offer the highlights, the big picture points that the audience can’t miss. Focus on those points—and only those points—and you’ll naturally add structure to your corporate video content.

Ready to get building?

A good foundation of structure will support corporate videos much more than flashy graphics or sleek content will. What’s more, by building structure with intentionality into your corporate videos, you’ll ensure that they stay on topic and as focused as your business goals.

Hoping to improve your corporate videos? Adding structure will make your videos accessible to a broad audience, increase knowledge retention, and cultivate a stronger relationship between you and your audience.