Video: Utilising it for Your Business With and Without a Budget
Now more than ever, we are constantly told how important video content is as part of your marketing strategy. As someone that has built a business around creating videos, of course this is something I would actively promote. But, that said, what do you do if you are an SME without a substantial marketing budget and still want to implement video as part of your day-to-day content strategy?
The key thing to consider here is that video is only worth doing if it’s going to be done well. An unprofessional or disengaging video can do more harm than good for your brand. You ultimately want to be creating content that drives conversation, informs your audience and entertains the viewer to some degree. This is a lot to consider and also a lot to achieve for someone that may not have any experience in making videos before.
A great deal can be said for how a video is shot, how it’s lit and how it sounds, but fundamentally it is the actual content that will get people listening and engaging. Let’s say you’re a website designer, you don’t necessarily need to have an overarching promotional video for your business. What could be more beneficial to you is to create smaller videos for LinkedIn giving your target market tips on what makes a good website. This could be very simply shot on your phone – combine it with a basic thumbnail and some good copy and you’ve got a strong post right there.
Let’s look at another example, this time with a restaurant owner. The likelihood is your potential customers won’t be on LinkedIn, they are more likely going to be on a platform such as Instagram. Instead of providing tips to your audience like the above example, showcase recipe videos customers can do at home. TikTok has now made it easier than ever for you to create montages that are perfect for videos shot on a phone, and if your food is visually appealing, there’s a good chance you’ll gain traction on TikTok as well as Instagram!
That’s using video without a budget, but what should you do if you have put budget aside for video to use it as part of your marketing campaigns?
Quite literally any business in the world can benefit from video – doesn’t matter whether you’re a yoga studio, a school, an audiologist, a football club, a waste management service… Every company can benefit from good video, with those industry examples all being companies FOSTER Studios have worked with over the past year.
However, you want to pinpoint why you’re using video. Is it to win more clients? Hire new staff? Grow your social profiles? A video’s narrative should always be geared towards an objective. For example, if a bar or restaurant wanted to grow on social media, they would be best served creating regular content every month around their cocktails and food. They could even do short ‘meet the team’ videos with members of staff. Whereas a company like an estate agent or a school may want to have an overall promotional film highlighting the organisation in a lot more depth with interviews from various key people. This can be particularly impactful for any business looking to get video incorporated into their website somehow – having a strong piece of film on your ‘About Us’ page is a fantastic way of informing an audience about the work you do, and it also gives you the opportunity to go into the origins of the business and make it that bit more personable.
All in all, video is one of those key marketing components that can be used very effectively for businesses and individuals with and without a budget. No matter how you plan to use it, I would always say to take the time to research into what videos perform well in your industry, the goals you want to achieve from utilising it and perhaps most importantly don’t feel pressured into making video because you’ve seen someone on LinkedIn say your business is behind the times if you’re not using it – this is nonsense. Video has to be right for you if it’s going to work for you.