As head of video at IOD, I speak with tech marketers every day. And if there’s one thing I don’t need to convince them of, it’s the power of video—they already know it. According to HubSpot, 96% of marketers said that video marketing delivered a high or average ROI. Yet, even the most seasoned marketers struggle to get it right—and they’re missing out on video’s full ROI potential.
So how do you get video content to pay for itself? The formula is the same as for written content: by attracting high-quality leads and boosting sales by bringing in new users and converting current users to experts and loyal fans.
The challenge? Producing impactful, high-quality videos at scale.
Tech brands often cut corners, release sub-par video content, and get frustrated with lackluster results. But that’s not a failure of video marketing itself—it’s a misunderstanding of what it takes to create video content that actually converts.
And what works in other industries won’t work for tech brands—your audience and their needs are completely different.
This post explores the vast potential of custom tech video marketing content to amplify your message out and establish thought leadership. We’ll then tackle the biggest challenge to achieving ROI from video marketing—and how to overcome it to produce tech marketing videos at scale that fuel your sales and marketing strategy.
The Power of Video Content
Video is today’s most engaging storytelling medium—not just for entertainment, but for education, brand awareness, and sales. We’ve all been drawn into compelling explainer videos or quick how-tos that simplify complex topics.
And science backs this up: A study on animated whiteboard videos in medical education found students scored almost 10% higher on tests and spent 68% more time engaging with the material compared to static text.
As a tech marketer, you can harness that enthusiasm through video storytelling around your products and services.
For tech marketers, this presents a massive opportunity. Video storytelling can help break down complex technical concepts, showcase products, and build brand trust—if done right.
Drawbacks of In-House Video Production & Video Tools
HubSpot reports that 88% of companies surveyed now have an in-house video production department. And in-house video content can offer advantages like creative control and flexibility; and of course, you know your product, brand, and messaging best.
The downside of that is cost. In the same HubSpot survey, almost half of companies attempting video production in-house said they had two to five full-time staff solely dedicated to producing marketing videos.
Plus, you need to:
- Find & hire video staff
- Get them up to speed on your industry, marketing strategy, products & services
- Teach them how to communicate with your exact audiences
Often, the investment just doesn’t pay off.
In fact, 68% of the marketers surveyed said that videos created by a professional agency—as opposed to in-house—looked better and were of higher quality.
So building an in-house video content marketing department might seem like a money-saver up front. But by the time you’ve staffed up the department and you’re keeping video production employees on full-time salaries, you might still be creating videos that simply aren’t as good as what you’d get from a professional marketing agency.
There are lots of tools out there for marketers trying to create videos in-house on a budget, including automated tools or templates and even generative AI video solutions.
The drawback is that videos created with these tools often have a “one-size-fits-all” feel and don’t always align with your brand or speak to your target audience.
4 Benefits of Custom Tech Marketing Video Solutions
Video that delivers ROI requires extensive customization by expert team members, including:
- Technical accuracy
- Appealing storytelling
- Ability to cover complex technical topics in a digestible form
- Creative, appealing, and on-brand visuals
That customization can make a world of difference: higher engagement, better conversion rates, and better return on investment.
Let’s look at some of the immediate benefits of custom video solutions.
1. Targeted Messaging
Making sure your content reaches the right people is never a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, custom videos let you create content that addresses specific needs and interests of particular segments. This includes choosing different video content types—explainer videos, tutorials, demos, and even customer testimonials—that speak directly to each audience segment, grabbing their attention and ultimately driving better results.
Tech Brand Content Examples
- C-suite: High-level video focusing on the improved security posture and reduced risk associated with the CNAPP (cloud-native application protection platform) solution, translating to cost savings, reputation protection, etc.
- IT manager: More technical video showcasing the CNAPP’s ability to automate security tasks, simplify workload protection, and integrate seamlessly.
2. Enhanced Branding
Building a powerful and consistent brand identity with visuals and storytelling that reflect your brand’s personality will strengthen your brand image and make you more recognizable in the long run.
Tech Brand Content Examples
- Software project management solution: Quick explainer video with strong branding elements (consistent logo, color scheme, voiceover tone) can introduce new features clearly and concisely in a visually appealing way, driving adoption and upsell by encouraging users to try premium features.
- Marketing automation platform: A branded webinar featuring industry experts will establish thought leadership with strong branding to reinforce the company as a trusted industry resource.
3. Improved Communication
Simplify complex topics with visuals and demonstrations, making it easier for viewers to connect with your product or platform. Interactive elements keep viewers engaged, and you can reuse the same video content to reach users on different platforms, maximizing its reach and your ROI.
Tech Brand Content Examples
- Security platform: Animated explainer video using a story-driven approach to demonstrate how the platform aids in investigating a data breach, highlighting technical details like threat detection and incident response, simplifying concepts and aiding their understanding of the platform.
- DevOps CI/CD platform: Interactive tutorial where viewers are guided through a common challenge, like fixing a production bug using platform features to identify and resolve the issue, boosting engagement and understanding.
4. Measurable Results
Make sure your content is performing: Find out how many people are watching, how engaged they are, and who’s taking action. This lets you measure ROI and fine-tune your strategy, including A/B testing different video versions.
Tech Brand Content Example
Container security solution: Video showcasing the risk of misconfigurations for containerized applications across multiple cloud environments. The video then demonstrates how their platform solves this problem with clear functionality demos and user testimonials. With a strong call to action (CTA) at the end and a link to a landing page for a free trial, the organization can directly measure the video’s effectiveness in generating leads and driving user acquisition, which can help determine ROI and its contribution to overall marketing strategy.
Custom Video Case Studies and Examples
IOD’s professional tech video production team of video and creative experts offers all of these advantages, along with our extensive hands-on expertise in cloud, DevOps, cybersecurity, data engineering, AI, and more.
Combine that with our streamlined content production process, which serves many of today’s biggest tech brands including Wiz, Microsoft, NetApp, Check Point, and many more, you’ve got a recipe for technical video production success stories like the following.
1. FSx for NetApp ONTAP
Longer than an explainer but shorter than a demo, this video provides a clear, quick, non-technical overview of the product’s capabilities and benefits with the use of animations for ease of understanding.
- Company info: FSx for ONTAP supports all of ONTAP’s storage features, including data deduplication, compression, compaction, thin provisioning, and more.
- Type: Product overview
- Length: 3:00 min
2. Zoho – Site24x7 – Manage Engine Explainer Video
This short explainer walks users through a problem that will be familiar and helps them understand how the functionalities and benefits of Site24x7’s Manage Engine will help resolve the problem.
- Company info: Zoho’s ManageEngine introduces Site24x7, a SaaS-based, website user experience management application. Offers monitoring from 15 locations around the world.
- Type: Problem-solution-based short explainer
- Length: 1:43 min
3. Bright Data – Proxy Explainer Video
This detailed explainer video simplifies the concept of proxy services, tailored to the needs of Bright Data’s audience, with a clear CTA at the end (“Get started for free”) to help achieve measurable results.
- Company info: Bright Data – All-in-one platform for proxies and web scraping. Maximum control and efficiency, premium proxy infrastructure. 100% ethically sourced IPs.
- Type: Product awareness
- Length: 1:53 min
4. How to Harden a Kubernetes Cluster – ARMO Tutorial Video
This educational tutorial provides step-by-step instructions on hardening a Kubernetes cluster, demonstrating the practical application of complex technology. The goal is to educate users who are already fairly technical.
This video uses strong branding and the persona of an actual ARMO employee to connect with users face to face and educate viewers on the importance of Kubernetes security, the associated risks, and best practices, before introducing the ARMO solution.
- Company info: Runtime-driven. DevOps-first. Cloud security. The ARMO platform works to continuously minimize cloud attack surface based on runtime insights, while actively adapting runtime security with real risk context
- Type: User education
- Length: 5:00 min
Custom Tech Videos with Real ROI
Building trust with your audience through tech marketing videos requires content that really resonates, with carefully targeted messaging and strong visual branding.
IOD provides end-to-end tech video marketing—from research and scripting to branding, storyboarding, animation, and final production. Our expert team crafts strategic, custom tech videos tailored to your audience—developers, IT pros, CISOs, and beyond—ensuring every video drives engagement and ROI.
Relying on our deep knowledge of the tech industry and of your user personas, IOD collaborates with your product, tech, and marketing teams every step of the way to produce engaging, informative custom videos at scale.
Want to start making the most of your tech video marketing? Get custom product walkthroughs, developer interviews, explainers, deep dives, and other video content that deliver real ROI. Get in touch.
