Video marketing is a pretty big deal nowadays. As of 2019, over 80% of all customer-oriented traffic on the internet was from video content. It’s no surprise that more and more businesses are following this trend, risking becoming obsolete, otherwise.
Video can be used pretty much everywhere as part of your digital marketing strategy – from your website’s landing pages to product pages ( explainer videos), social media campaigns (testimonials) to email newsletters for lead conversion. However, video production can also be more expensive when compared to, say, blog writing. Nevertheless, there are some cost-effective ways to get started on video marketing.
1. Tools and Equipment
Probably the most significant concern most businesses have when they get started on this journey is in regards to the tools and equipment costs. Luckily, it has come a long way since the early days of video marketing, and you can get away relatively cheaply. For example, newer smartphones have excellent cameras, and by investing in a tripod (for extra stability), your videos will be more professional. Similarly, you can use two phones, one for recording video and the other for recording sound, and later sync the two in post-production. And as far as video editing software is concerned, there are numerous free examples to choose from.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that you can’t invest in more expensive and professional video and equipment, but this is a good start.
2. Using Live Video
Another excellent use for your smartphone camera and your budget video marketing strategy is live video. Since its launch in 2016, Facebook Live has become a serious broadcasting and marketing tool. They get around six times more interactions than regular Facebook videos, are not expected to be of particularly high quality, and are great for creating a more intimate connection with your audience without having to spend a fortune.
3. Hiring Freelancers
If you do want to get a bit more professionalism into the mix or don’t want to do everything yourself, you have three options. You can hire an in-house video marketing team, outsource video production to a video dedicated organization, or work with freelancers.
Sites such as UpWork or Fiverr can connect you with skilled freelancers from all around the world. They can take on the entire project or certain facets of your video marketing strategy at competitive prices.
4. Repurposing Content
The best thing about video content is that you can repurpose it. There’s really no need to create new material all the time. This is one of the best practices when it comes to content marketing in general, not just video. For example, if you invest in a higher-quality how-to video, you can use it on the product’s page, as a YouTube video, and add it to a newsletter after a customer has made a purchase. All you need to do is to adjust the video for the different platforms and channels, and you’re ready to go.
5. Design Wizard
For marketers without any knowledge or experience in video editing, tools like Design Wizard allow you to create different types of visuals in minutes. You can create eye-catching videos and images even if you don’t have a budget or enough time to dedicate to creating videos. There are many shortcuts through the design process, it comes equipped with thousands of templates, and provides a lot of content for the purpose you need.
Video marketing is an incredibly useful tool to have at your disposal. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that it’s something too expensive because there are ways to still use it without breaking the bank.
