If your company wants to start doing video marketing, but you don’t think you have the budget to back up these plans, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. With some outside-of-the-box ideas, you can create cost-effective videos that drive results without breaking the bank on equipment and other expenses.
The justification for investing in video marketing is clear. Researchers at Wyzowl, a leading animated video explainer company, reported that 87% of the video marketers they spoke to earned a positive return on investment from their videos — a 33% jump from 2015. Researchers credit this favorable ROI in part to businesses’ better understanding of how to use video as well as measure and evaluate its impact.
In support of helping businesses make the best use of videos in their digital marketing strategy, let’s see how companies with a small video marketing budget can produce their own videos that are worth the time, effort and, most importantly, the cost.
The first step is to choose the people you want to be on your in-house video production team. On one hand, you’ll need to find someone who is comfortable being in front of the camera, or perhaps providing the voiceover for a video. You may also have to identify someone who is willing to help edit the video footage that’s produced, if needed. In the most ideal scenario, the same individual can handle both of these roles.
Before any videos are produced, it’s important to make sure people who play a role in the videos understand the audience you’re trying to reach. This will help you determine which topics to cover as well as how to cover them.
Start with their pain points. If your audience is engineers concerned about the safety of their products in transit, show them how you design and build packaging solutions that are durable and secure. If your audience is building contractors who need to adhere to strict construction timelines, show them how your plumbing press technology helps move projects along faster than traditional pipe connection methods.
Another reason to have someone who knows your audience well produce videos is they’ll have a better foundation to determine the best tone for each one. You may have room to be more playful and creative in your video content, or if your audience finds a more straightforward approach appealing, you’ll know to stick with that.
Ultimately, taking these measures will save you a lot of time and effort in thinking through what types of videos to create and their relevant messaging.
When operating under a small video marketing budget, it’s even more vital to make use of equipment you already have. Your smartphone, for instance, shoots video in 4K and can be a valuable asset in producing high-quality videos. (Or, if you’d prefer to keep your phone out of it, you can pick up an inexpensive camera that will shoot great video.)
Two factors that can amplify the quality of any video shot on your phone are audio and lighting.
For your message to first resonate with your audience, they need to be able to hear it. Purchasing an external microphone helps ensure good quality audio every time you record — and as an added bonus, it helps you save time as you can use the external microphone to voice your video at the same time you’re filming it. If you're doing a product demonstration or a walk-and-talk around your office or warehouse, your microphone will be a critical asset.
From a lighting standpoint, there’s no better source when you’re filming than natural light. You’ll always want to try and keep your main light source in front of you for the optimal effect. When there isn’t the option to film outside or in front of a big picture window, you can pick up some inexpensive lights to use as a supplement.
There are some videos that you can film on the fly and have footage that’s instantly ready to post. But there will be other times when you’ll want to lightly edit content before your video goes live.
In the latter case, consider using a video editing app. For instance, I use Androvid to edit the videos I take of my kids’ events. The app gives me the flexibility to merge clips, add text or music, and even change the aspect ratios of the videos based on whether they’ll be posted on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc. And I’m using the free version.
Beyond Androvid, there are other video editing apps I’ve heard positive feedback about. I’ve even seen my kids produce some high-quality videos they film on their iPhones with iMovie. It’s impressive.
Your other option is to purchase and install an inexpensive, easy-to-use video editing software on your computer. In this scenario, you’ll upload the video from your phone onto your computer and drag it into your video editor. From there, you can manipulate your video files to create your masterpiece.
The software may seem intimidating at first, but like anything else, the more you use it, the more comfortable and confident you’ll become. Plus, the people who make these products really do try to make it easy on the novice. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be able to market it to newbies.
Video marketing is too important to ignore, and if it's the budget that’s holding you back, it’s time to revisit your approach. Leveraging in-house experience and available equipment, alongside a few inexpensive purchases, can help you achieve your video marketing goals on a tight budget.
At Kuno Creative, we regularly work with clients who provide us with video they’ve shot and we help with the rest. Or, we work to align finished products with the right strategy and methods to get in front of their target audiences. In whatever capacity we can help, we’re there to assist.
To learn more about our video marketing services, schedule a free consultation.
