Thanks to social media and an Internet-centric world, video marketing is an incredibly powerful communication tool. Whether you are big business or small business, videos can help you connect with your customers, demonstrate your product or service, tell a story or share news. According to a report from Digital Sherpa, videos increase people’s understanding of a company’s product or service by 74 percent. The report also found that 75 percent of users visit the marketer’s website after viewing a video. Pretty impactful stats on how important videos are in your marketing.
The good news is that you don’t have to have a big budget to produce an effective video. There are many ways to cut costs without taking away from your key points and messaging.
- Get organized! Create a clear outline of what topics should be included. Define your audience. What are your key messages? What is required to accomplish your visual goals? What visual components do you need to accomplish these goals? The more organized you are on the front end, the easier your video will be to produce and will take less time, thus less money.
- A video shot on location can be one of the biggest budget eaters. Minimize locations and bring interviews to one or two locations. You can use different backgrounds to change up your surroundings.
- Shoot your own b-roll of scenes or activities where a simple, single camera shot is sufficient. If you are hiring video production team, the less places they have to go and shoot will be a cost savings to you. They can easily integrate your b-roll into the video.
- Consider using photos, animation and graphic elements in the video. These elements can often better communicate your message to your audience in a more personal and visually appealing way. For some segments, you can purchase inexpensive royalty free footage rather than going to the expense of shooting specific scenes.
- Using in-house talent vs. paid actors or spokespeople will be a huge cost savings. A good producer can coach the talent on how to present while on camera.
- Interview in-house experts on the topics that are relevant for your video. Let them be your narrator versus paying for professional voice-over talent or script writing.
- Avoid special effects, like green screens. There are better, more cost effective ways to visually communicate your message.
- After you’ve produced your video, use social media and your website to share with your targeted audience. YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. Take advantage of this Internet powerhouse.
The percentage of consumers using videos for information is incredibly high and growing by the minute. As a result, videos need to be a vital part of your content marketing. Videos will help you be seen and stay seen!
