Month: October 2018

Ever since the advent of digital marketing, video has played an extremely significant role in “getting the word out”. Now, with social media, things have only become “crazier”. According to a recent study conducted by Forbes, around 500 million people watch videos each day and that’s on Facebook alone.

Videos will account for about 80% of all internet traffic in the next 4 years. If that’s not convincing enough, how about the fact that over 60% of customers make a purchase right after viewing video content on social media?

Or, the fact that people spend almost double the time on internet pages with video than they do on pages without video.

In another study conducted by Invisia.com, around half of the internet using population searches for videos of a product or service before they hit the store. What that means is video is invaluable even to a brick and mortar operation.

Humans are visual creatures and we’re always going to prefer visually stimulating material over simple text. This is why a majority of customers will watch a promo video rather than read a brochure.

Anyway, getting to the point, producing videos for your brand is where the real challenge lies, especially if you’re a small business. The entire process can prove to be quite expensive. However, thanks to technology making video production tools more accessible, it is possible even for small businesses to produce videos on a limited budget. “Do It Yourself” or “DIY” videos are a brilliant example of this. They are far more cost-effective to produce. In fact, DIY video marketing is a thing and several brands have already leveraged it to their benefit.

But, it can’t compete with a commercial, can it?

Technically speaking, you’re right. But, video marketing is more than just creating stellar videos. It’s also about how you leverage your videos. For instance, the social media population actually prefers an assortment over just the usual professional stuff.

So, it’s not a bad idea to put up a few DIY videos every now and then as part of your overall video marketing campaign. Apart from saving you money, DIY videos have a certain advantage – they offer a strong sense of authenticity. A commercial is a commercial at the end of the day and people can see through most of it. However, a DIY video is far more original and natural.

Needless to say, this brings up the question of how you’re planning to use your DIY videos again. You need to decide if the video is going to be used on social media or on your website. Are you going to use it for a vlog?

Basically, you need to make a few considerations before getting involved with a DIY video marketing project. To make things easier, we’ve listed out a few key factors you need to consider.

The purpose of the video

Make sure you know why you’re creating the video in the first place. Ask yourself what purpose the content serves and what you want viewers to take from it.

The most important quality for a video to possess is value. Your audiences need to derive something from your videos. In digital marketing, there is something we call intent. Intent must be navigational, transactional, or informational.

You must know why you’re doing what you’re doing. Once you figure out what the real purpose is, it becomes easier to figure out the other aspects such as style, quality, and the equipment needed.

Actionable information

One of the more obvious expectations from a DIY marketing video is that it should offer something actionable. You don’t want to just stand there and talk about something. That’s just going to look and sound monotonous.

In order to keep people engaged, you need to offer actionable information. For instance, if you’re looking to talk about your product, then show how your product works. Talk about all the features and how the product can be utilized in various scenarios. In other words, think of a DIY video as a visual instruction manual.

The right distribution medium

Next, decide how you’re going to distribute the video. Each channel or medium is associated with certain expectations. For instance, YouTube is known for its entertaining content. So, if you’re looking at YouTube, you’re going to have to make your video extremely entertaining.

On the other hand, platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook are better for casual, low-budget videos. So, an instructional DIY video would have a better impact if it was posted on your social media page.

That brings us to the next bit…

Technical nitty-gritty

Just because you’re doing a low-budget DIY video doesn’t mean you get to ignore the basics. It’s a video at the end of the day and the basic rules apply. To begin with, make sure you have a script to refer to. You can’t create a flawless video without a script.

A script is like a plan. It tells you what you need to do and where you need to go. For example, a script will tell you if your video is too long or too short. Apart from that, it will also help you deal with the post-production process. For example, you’ll know when and where graphics need to be included or editing needs to be done.

Scripts aside, you also need to make sure you shoot your video properly. One thing you must never forget is the aspect ratio. A video must always be shot horizontally. Though other aspect ratios have been experimented with, a horizontal video is still the preferred method.

Then, don’t forget about the audio. People must be able to hear what’s being said. So, make sure you choose a quiet location to shoot the video. Or, if possible, find an application that helps you add and sync video during the post-production process.

So, there you have it – a few key considerations to be made when DIYing your video marketing campaign. But, as you can see, even creating DIY videos requires a fair bit of work. So, why not hand it over to the professionals?

For more information, get in touch with Crafted.