Getting into Video Without Being Movie Producer
For many small and medium sizes businesses the idea of getting into video is a scary prospect.It seems that so many of the YouTube generation seem to have the innate ability to shoot, direct and edit video; and this is because they have grown up with that technology and with the tools at hand to make their own videos. Those of us who own and run our own businesses are unlikely to be teenagers, familiar with video editing apps on a smartphone, so naturally we can be hesitant to get involved with video for fear of the cost, time and value of such an exercise.
The fact is though, that video is an incredibly valuable content asset for a modern business. No matter what your product or service, a video instructional can make all the difference to customers choosing between you and a competitor. Even a simple video which shows a 360° view of a product is more appealing to a customer than having to click through several similar shots of the same product from different angles – a video makes the product more real.
Video is also a great medium for advertising content, especially for social media marketing. Videos are widely shared, and despite some discussion about the ideal length for videos, even longer videos will be watched all the way through if they are of interest. A comedy viral video should be short as it is competing for attention with other, short viral videos designed for sharing. An interview, product tour or demonstration can be much longer, because the people watching it are interested in the product; they're not looking for entertainment.
There are many freelance video producers out there and we work with some for our clients. Vimeo, a leading online video sharing platform has recently announced a “For Hire” marketplace which connects brands with video production talent and vice versa. As it's already hosted on a video sharing platform you can easily check out the work of anyone you're interested in hiring, and look at the competition very easily as well.
We think this is a great idea for encouraging brands to dip a toe in the water of the online video world.This idea makes video much less daunting as you can commission a one off video, without committing to a long relationship or contract with a production company and see how it fares on your website or social media channel.Whether you start with product videos for your website or you have a great idea for a viral video to be posted on social media, Vimeo's “For Hire” marketplace allows you to give video a chance.
Video performs equally well compared to image based ads on social media, although video adverts tend to have a slightly higher level of engagement compared to a static image.If you're looking at getting more involved in your social media advertising campaigns and going down the path of A/B testing to refine your ads to the most effective, then why not trial a static ad against a short video version of the same content? A simple video can actually just stitch together images into a slideshow, thereby giving more information than a static image but retaining the dynamism of the moving image, meaning you don't need to actually create any new video content, just work with what you have.
If you think video could play a part in your advertising this is something we can include as part of a content creation strategy; we know some excellent video production freelancers already, saving you the hassle of finding one on an open marketplace.
