Small Businesses: Affordable Ways in Video Content Marketing

Content marketing has burst beyond the confines of articles and into the realm of videos. If you’ve got a phone or tablet, you’ve probably shared a video or two with your friends. In fact, you probably do it regularly. That fact has given rise to a different kind of content marketing, one that small businesses can’t just leap into with a keyboard.

Video content creation is a difficult task, or at least, one that requires specialised equipment. However, small businesses don’t need immense capital to make it work. Here are five ways companies can engage in video marketing on the cheap:

1. Use of Simple Animation

Big flashy effects may catch the eye, but they’re also quite expensive. Fortunately, simple graphics and animation can accomplish the same thing if utilised well. If you have someone on staff who has a creative streak, put them to good use. There are many affordable, if not outright free, animation tools that can allow them to express themselves and help the small business enter the realm of video marketing. Animaker, for example, utilised a drag-and-drop system that anyone with vision can use.

2. Outsource

In-house content creation teams are expensive, which is why many small businesses opt to outsource and hire freelance article writers. The good news is, technology has marched on. Just about anyone with the right gear can come up with amazing videos and animations, which means that your company can hire video editors and creators just as easily as you could a writer. Just remember that you need more than just a video maker and editor. You’ll need audio engineers to make sure everything’s audible, and a writer or marketer to help script it. While that seems like a lot, it’s still more affordable than getting an in-house team.

3. Go Live

Much of the expense and struggle in video content marketing comes from pre-productions. Scripts, equipment, editing – all of these require time, money, and skilled personnel. Fortunately, there’s a simple option, and that’s to cut them out of the equation. Live streaming or live video is a relatively new way to approach video marketing. Instead of preparing a video, you just do something and broadcast it on the internet. Not only is this relatively easier on the pocket, but it can also help generate a greater level of intimacy with your community and customers.

4. Utilise Slideshows

If your small business has only started dipping its toes into the video marketing lake, you may want to consider starting small. Animations and well-cut videos are nice, but they’re far from the only way to make a video. Plenty of videos – many of which are well-regarded – are essentially slideshows with a compelling voice over. Production is a matter of creating a slide, recording a narration, and then editing the two so they match well. It’s still time consuming, but it remains much cheaper than an animated video.

5. Put Up Testimonials

Testimonials are powerful pieces of social proof that can help small businesses get traction. Because your company is new, customers have nothing to base decisions on regarding your product or business. Testimonials can tip the scales in your favour and convince people that yes, you’re worth trying.

Video testimonials are a fine way to promote your product. You might not even need a camera yourself. Just email a few satisfied customers asking for a video testimonial, and they might just give you one. You can even throw in a discount to encourage them to say yes. It doesn’t matter if it’s recorded on their phone and sent to you; a testimonial is a testimonial.

Marketing has had a long history of arms racing, and video content marketing is just the latest addition to the arsenal. It might not be relevant forever (nothing truly is) but it’s something your small business will need to use to stand a chance in today’s highly competitive world. Fortunately, your limited capital does not need to hold you back. All you need to do is to approach things from a different angle.