What videos should we make? A framework for enterprise video planning
Most enterprise teams make the same three video types on repeat and miss the four that actually drive pipeline. The fix isn't more creativity. It's a planning framework that tells you exactly what to make and why.
The planning problem
Why enterprise teams keep making the wrong videos
The issue isn't production quality or creative talent. It's that most teams have no systematic way to decide what to make, so they default to what's familiar.
The hero content trap
Teams default to big-budget brand films because they're impressive internally. But hero content rarely drives direct pipeline. The videos that convert (explainers, testimonials, use-case demos) get deprioritised because they feel less exciting to make.
The 'what worked last time' loop
Without a planning framework, video decisions get made on gut feel and internal politics. The same four formats get recycled quarter after quarter, regardless of what the audience actually needs at each stage of the funnel.
The brief without a strategy
Requests arrive as one-off asks: "can you make a video for the launch?" with no context about who it's for, where it lives, or what it needs to make the viewer do. Each video becomes its own creative problem rather than part of a system.
Video planning is an alignment problem, not a creative problem.
The teams producing video at scale aren't more creative than everyone else. They've agreed on which video types belong at which stage of the funnel, and they brief against that framework every time. Once the framework exists, every brief gets faster and every video gets better.
The fix
The framework that tells you exactly what to make
Four steps that turn a chaotic video request backlog into a structured content system mapped to revenue.
Map your funnel stages
Assign video types to each stage: awareness (brand films, thought leadership), consideration (explainers, use-case demos), decision (testimonials, ROI case studies), retention (onboarding, training). One video type per stage minimum.
Score requests against the gap
When a new brief arrives, check which funnel stage is under-served. If you have three brand films and zero testimonials, the next brief gets a testimonial, regardless of what the requester asked for.
Storyboard before you commit
Use AI to generate a storyboard for the top two video options in 60 seconds. Show both to the stakeholder. The visual makes the decision obvious and eliminates the back-and-forth brief cycle.
Review the mix quarterly
Check your video library against your funnel map every quarter. The gap is almost always mid-funnel: teams over-index on awareness and under-invest in the consideration and decision content that actually closes deals.
Need production support? Shootsta executes video at every funnel stage in 24–48 hrs.What works and what doesn't
Strategic vs reactive video planning
What teams tell us
The problems this actually solves
Four patterns we hear from video and marketing teams every week.
Head of Content
“We produce 15 videos a quarter but I couldn't tell you which ones actually moved pipeline. We just keep making what's been requested.”
Map every video to a funnel stage before production starts. Track plays, drop-off, and conversions by stage. The data shows you what to make more of.
VP Marketing
“The brand team wants hero films, sales wants testimonials, and product wants explainers. Every quarter is the same argument about what we should be making.”
A funnel map settles the argument with data, not opinion. Each team owns their stage. No more budget fights.
Agency Creative Director
“Clients brief us on 'a video' with no context about where it lives or who it's for. We spend more time on strategy than execution.”
A one-page video planning framework turns vague briefs into specific requests. Clients arrive knowing the funnel stage, the audience, and the goal.
L&D Manager
“We have 40 training videos in various states of completion and no idea which ones employees actually watch.”
Storyboard and test before producing. A 60-second AI storyboard review with a sample audience costs nothing. A full video that nobody watches costs everything.
Video planning: FAQs
How many video types should an enterprise team maintain?
Most teams perform well with 6–8 video types mapped across the funnel: one or two awareness formats (brand film, thought leadership), two consideration formats (explainer, use-case demo), two decision formats (customer testimonial, ROI case study), and one or two retention formats (onboarding, training). Beyond that, production complexity outpaces output quality.
How do we decide which video type to make when budgets are tight?
Start with the funnel gap. Pull your existing video library and count formats by stage. The stage with the fewest videos is almost always consideration or decision, and those are the videos closest to revenue. Make those first.
What's the fastest way to validate a video concept before committing production budget?
Generate a storyboard in 60 seconds. Drop in the brief, add the brand URL, and get six illustrated panels with script and shot direction. Show that to your stakeholder or a sample of your audience. You'll know in 10 minutes whether the concept lands, before spending anything on production.
Should social video and brand video follow the same planning framework?
The framework is the same; the formats differ. Social video (9:16, 15–60 seconds) sits mostly in awareness. Brand video (16:9, 60–180 seconds) spans awareness and consideration. TVC-format content is decision-stage for B2C or awareness for B2B. Map each to the right stage and brief accordingly.
How often should we review our video content mix?
Quarterly is the right cadence for most teams. Monthly is too reactive: you won't have enough new video data to draw conclusions. Annually is too slow and your funnel gaps compound. A 30-minute quarterly review of plays, completion rates, and conversions by funnel stage is enough to reset priorities.
Go deeper
Storyboards by video type
How the planning framework applies to each format.