Video marketing campaigns are avoided by small business owners because they are sometimes seen as expensive while also taking up too much time to produce. However, smart business owners that have given video a chance have experienced many benefits of it. Video, for example, can help supercharge your social media campaigns and it can also help with your email marketing. Various studies have also been carried out to test the effect video marketing has on sales and adding a video to your page can increase your sales dramatically. We won’t go over the many benefits of using video in your content marketing campaigns because you more than likely already know them, instead we will show you how you can create a video for your business with a very small budget or no budget at all.
Equipment needed to shoot video
If you have a small budget and want to shoot professional video you can consider purchasing a DSLR camera with video functionality, but if you go down this route you are going to invest in a good camera and lens which can eat into your budget. What you can do if your budget is tight is to buy a second-hand camera and lens from a reputable website or company.
You can take more of a risk by buying second hand from websites such as Craigslist, Gumtree or the Facebook marketplace but be careful in these instances you won’t have any guarantees if your camera stops working. Another good place to visit would be a camera club, quite often members will sell their camera equipment to others at a lower price. Purchasing a DSLR camera is a great investment if you have an eCommerce store too as it can double up to take photos of your products.
If you can’t afford a DSLR camera at this point don’t despair because you can use the phone in your pocket. Most phones these days can film HD quality movies which are good enough for use in your marketing campaigns. If you do go down the phone route I would advise purchasing a tripod along with lighting and a microphone. Most viewers of your content are going to turn your videos off if the sound is bad so be sure to invest in an external microphone. You can get good cheap microphones on the internet so there is no excuse for not investing in one.
Editing your content
Once you have shot your content you will need to edit it, even if it’s the case of making sure you haven’t made the video too bright or too dark. There are many tutorials on the internet which can show you how to do this, but if your a busy business owner you should consider using something called LUTS or lookup tables.
Lookup tables are preset digital files which you run your video through so it gives you a consistent look and feel in your videos. Hollywood directors use LUTS so you know you are in good hands if you choose to do so too. If you are on a budget you can use free LUTS or if you have a larger budget you can buy a cinematic LUT bundle which has more presets than you are probably going to need but the options are there if you want to get creative.
Once you have the overall look and exposure of your video right you can then edit out any mistakes or trim sections which you feel aren’t up to standard. Editing does take time but will make your video look more professional even if you are on a small budget.
Skills for creating movies
You may think you need the best editing skills, or best cinematography training to make profitable videos for your business but that couldn’t be further from the truth. All you need to do is make clear videos, well lit, have good sound and interesting content. If you can create a video with all of those attributes it will be useful to your audience and will move them along the buying process nicely, and at the end of the day that is the main reason for why you would want to create movies in the first place.
Where to use video
Video has many uses. All of which will help your users learn more about your product or service. Some of the best places to use video would be on your website, your social media channels and in your email marketing campaigns. Firstly you can use video on your website by adding it into your testimonial sections, most of your competitors won’t be doing this so if you can get past customers to give you a video review you are well above them in terms of trust.
You can also use video on your website to explain your products or services. If you provide a product or service that is complicated or need a lot of detail to understand then using a video to explain your processes or your products could save you time on customer service issues while helping your potential customers understand the product better. Product explainer videos will increase your conversion rates and by creating them you are helping your business stand out from the competition who won’t be putting the time and effort into creating videos like you are.
Conclusion
Video content is becoming more important in a world where everyone is creating content to stand out. If you are struggling to keep up then video content marketing is a great way to start. Video can help keep your visitors on your website longer, it can attract them to your service or offer through your social media channels and it can even help with email marketing open rates.
If you aren’t using video yet, you should be as video is becoming more popular by the day. To start making video you don’t need the best equipment and using your mobile phone and some editing software you can even compete with some of the biggest businesses around.
