Thank you videos are a very good tool for business networking, as well as a lovely touch for your friends and family. Putting the time and thought into creating a “thank you so much” style of message shows that you value the relationship and that you truly care about how they interact with you. In business settings, a quick thank you video also serves as a reminder of the great ways in which the two parties work together and it can be a launching pad for more collaboration ahead. This is why coming up with thank you video ideas should be part of your marketing strategy and your personal planning alike.

In this guide, we’ll look at how a short thank you video can make an impact on your business and how to come up with great ideas to say “thank you” to your loved ones. And, make no mistake, this isn’t about creating cute educational clips like a “Please and Thank You” video - although those are great in their own right! Read on to discover how to make a good thank you video for any occasion.

How to create a thank you video for your business

In video marketing, creating a thank you video can be an opportunity to add a personal touch to a relationship, leveraging a good first impression (even as a follow-up to a video resume) or consolidating an existing collaboration. Moreover, thank you videos can be great for internal team building and developing good morale at work. Whichever way you look at it, the personal nature of a video will make a difference for those you send it to. 

Thank you video ideas for business

Here are a few types of videos you can create for your colleagues or clients to help you make your own thank you video.

• Thank you for your time

This is a short video to film after an initial meeting or interview. It’s great to remind the recipient about you, solidify a first impression, and keep you head and shoulders above the competition.

You can also use this video to remind someone what you talked about and why they should contact you again.

• Thank you for working with me

To nurture an existing relationship with a long-term client, a short video thanking them for their continued support can go a long way to fend off the competition. These sort of videos work best as a message sent around the end-of-year holidays and can finish with some good wishes for the year ahead. 

In this type of video, make sure you mention some highlights of your working relationship to remind your client why they, too, treasure working with you.

• Thank you for the information provided

This is basically a sales video, where you try to establish meaningful contact with a lead. They may have filled out a form on your website, responded to a survey, or signed up via some outbound marketing initiative you have been running.

While this video cannot be very personal, since you don’t know the viewer, it’s an opportunity to make your voice heard and for them to get to know you better. Focus on how they can gain from working with you, but don’t sell aggressively. Instead, treat it as a video introduction. 

Finally, remember to add a call to action at the end, clearly instructing your viewer to get in touch with you.

• Thank you to the team

Looking at your team now and how to build your internal relationships, if you manage a few people, it’s a great idea to send them a personalized thank you video clip to remind them that you value their contributions. This is especially useful in a bigger company, where you may not be able to speak to most people every day.

You have two options:

• A “thank you all” video to the whole team: this will go out to everyone in the business and will be a more generic message, but still filled with references to what has gone well and why you are grateful to them.
• A personalized video for every single employee: this will take longer, but it’s definitely a worthy endeavor! Take every employee and create a short thank you video mentioning why you are grateful for their contribution in particular. It may mean doing a bit of research, but you can keep your introduction similar and just customize one or two sentences.

Make your own thank you video 

Follow these simple steps to make your own video saying thanks to someone you work with, or wish to work with:

• Stick to a script

Invariably, structure helps keep you brief and concise. Start by introducing yourself, then add 2-3 sentences expressing gratitude, and finish with a call to action as appropriate. This can range from asking the viewer to contact you, to asking your employees to send you feedback on how you can improve as a manager in the year ahead.

• Keep it short

You’re just saying “thank you,” so don’t take too long or the element of surprise will be ruined. These videos should be under 1 minute long.

• Be specific

Whether you want to remind someone about key points from their meeting with you or help bring out the best moments of the year that’s just passed, you need to call out specific examples that link to why you’re grateful to the viewer.

• Keep it simple

Now is not the time for a big production. A thank you video should be pared down, without too much fanfare, and without complicated backgrounds or props. At most, you can research online to find suggested background music for thank you videos. However, a musical backdrop could be more suited for a photo collage video (such as for a charity donor thank you video, as below).

How to make a good thank you video for friends and family

If you want to send someone special a thank you video clip, you will very likely make their day. The best way to create a thank you video that they’ll love is to stick to the same broad principles as for business videos, with a few added tips:

• Be yourself

Remind the viewer why your relationship is special by being natural and honest. There’s no point in acting!

• Don’t obsess over perfection

For your loved ones, don’t spend too long re-shooting and editing your video. Of course, a business video needs to be professional, but for a family thank you, you don’t need to work on editing quite as much.

• Link to an event

Maybe you can make your thank you video for their birthday or your anniversary? Or it can be a “Happy Holidays'' video with wishes for the end of the year. Either way, sending a thank you video around a special occasion will make a wonderful impact and additional present. 

Other thank you video ideas

There are some other useful scenarios for thank you videos that you can use the same guidelines for as for the business video, but adapted to your situation.

Thank you to your donors / sponsors

If you run a charity foundation, making a short thank you video for sponsors and donors is an easy way to showcase how their donations have been used to help their chosen cause. You can find inspiration in creative thank you video ideas for fundraising like these ones. 

These videos can be a little longer and feature interviews or photo collages showing the work that is being done thanks to the donations. They should always include a link back to the charity’s page and a suggestion that they can count on their donors in the future, too.

Saying “thank you” on social media

The social media thank you clip has become very popular to raise engagement among your followers. This isn’t new, either: back in 2014, this special feature was introduced to take the pain out of figuring out how to make a thank you video on Facebook. While it’s no longer available in all countries, the idea of creating a nice warm message for friends or followers is still very popular. 

Consider making a short thank you video to thank your followers for subscribing to your channel. You can also do an annual thank you with a giveaway from a sponsor, which always pays dividends in social media popularity.

Whatever the occasion or purpose of your video, saying a heartfelt thank you is always a nice surprise and will be well received. In business, it adds a unique personal touch to your relationship, while in private, it enhances your interactions with your loved ones. With these thank you video ideas, you’ll definitely make someone’s day. Happy filming!