5 Ways to Create Marketing Videos on a Budget

Over the last few years, video has taken its place as the highest-performing form of marketing content. Customers want more of it, marketers are reporting its increasingly high ROI, and it even has the potential to boost your SEO rankings.  

Once Cisco reported that by 2022, video content is expected to account for 82% of all internet traffic, the writing was on the wall; any business not embracing online videos will eventually fall behind.

However, the unfortunate truth is that many businesses, especially small-medium ones (SMBs),  see video marketing as a burden they are forced to bear in this digital climate (they shouldn’t 😁). But we’re here to tell you that making marketing videos is actually much easier (and enjoyable) than you would expect. 

The industry rule of thumb used to estimate the cost of one minute of finished video at $1000. Luckily, that is no longer the case today. Thanks to the digital age of social media and video making platforms that have leveled the playing field and democratized the use of videos, we can all get on board with this effective marketing strategy.

There’s no reason to break the bank in order to make the much-needed marketing videos for your business. In this post, we’ll look at 5 ways to create videos on a budget:

1. DIY video creation and editing platforms

Video making platforms, like Promo.com, help you make professional-looking videos without the stress of shooting it yourself or hiring a studio. You can skip the casting, the equipment, and the set; all you need is your laptop. The best part about most of these platforms is that you don’t even need any video editing skills.

With vast libraries of stock footage and music tracks, you can select the perfect clips for you, upload your own footage, or combine the two. To make sure you don’t lose your brand identity along the way, you can insert your own logo, font, and brand colors. Basically, DIY platforms are a great way to make professional, high-quality videos without hiring outside help.

For a more complete list of the top accessible online video editing platforms, click here.

 

2. User-generated content

UGC (user-generated content) has proven to be a coveted marketing commodity. It costs virtually nothing and offers the most meaningful impact, since customer satisfaction is the ultimate stamp of approval. Get your customers involved by encouraging them to share their own video content on social media as part of promotional contests or in exchange for discount codes and other rewards. With their permission, you can always repurpose these videos on other channels.

Beyond the money you’ll be saving, consider the amount of money you can potentially earn. In a study conducted by Yotpo, we see a significant lift in conversion rates across all industries. The average conversion rate of visitors who saw UGC is 161% higher than those who didn’t.

It’s not always the easiest task to get UGC out of your customers, especially at the beginning. Check out this post for more effective ways to get user-generated content for your business.

 

3. Use live video

The Facebook Live video view count reached 2 billion viewers last year and the best part is that anybody with a smartphone can do it.
It’s a great way to increase your business’s social media engagement as it gets 6X more interactions than regular Facebook videosWhile lives might take a hit in the quality department, they more than make up for it with their authenticity and spontaneity. What’s more, viewers don’t expect perfect video quality on live streaming videos. They watch for a more intimate and engaging connection with your business.

The nature of Facebook lives allows you to do interactive and behind-the-scenes content that you normally wouldn’t be able to do with regular videos. So take advantage and create videos that allow you to ping-pong with comment sections, like Q&As, polls, and courses.

If you still insist on making your live videos more professional-looking, you’ll be happy to know that Facebook recently released new features to help you make this happen, including rehearsals and trimming.

4. Look within

One of the hardest parts of producing a video is casting talent. Whether it’s actors, models or spokespeople, it’s not only pricey but difficult to find.  We’re here to tell you that you might be surprised with the kind of talent you can find within the walls of your own company. You can create great video content from the comfort of your office or by using your own employees. Showcase the guy from the front desk sporting your newest item. It communicates a refreshing and authentic feel – it’s real people, making and using real products.

 

 

This also gives you an opportunity to present a likable persona for your company. People buy from people that they like, and while you might think that likability is a difficult task to accomplish in the digital sphere, there are actually many ways to do so and the first among them is being real. Putting your own team on camera can definitely bridge that gap. You can even conduct a video tour of your facility, a Q&A with members of your team, or other behind-the-scenes events.

Not only can you save a lot of money this way, but you also make an important human connection with your audience.

 

5. Hire freelancers

If, after all of these options, you still feel compelled to hire outside help, the most affordable way to do it is with freelancers.

Hiring in-house editors or producers is usually not doable for most small-medium businesses.

You can save money by hiring freelancers not only on per-project-basis, burt on per-task-basis, as well.

If there are parts of the production process that you feel you can execute on your own, you can loop in the freelancer only for the specific stages you need him or her.

Basically, you’ll only pay for what you need.  On platforms like Fiverr and Upwork, you can search for freelancers according to the price point, but make sure you also take a look at the quality of their past work before you make a decision.

 

Getting started

We all know that marketing videos can make a huge impact, but the most important takeaway from this article is that there is no business too small or too new to adopt this practice. 

Whether you are a one-man show or an established company, no business in 2020 can afford to neglect the not-so-new video trend. The good news is that you don’t have to invest exorbitant amounts to get started.

 

About the author:
Tamar Freundlich is a content marketer at Promo.com, an affordable, easy-to-use video-making platform for businesses and agencies.

 

Originally published on February 13th, 2020, updated on September 22nd, 2020
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5 Ways to Create Marketing Videos on a Budget

by Tamar Freundlich time to read: 5 min
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