Video production for small businesses is not for the faint of heart. I mean, how hard can it be, right? You have a value proposition, or a great product or service, and you sell the hell out of it with a great video. Only, things can always be much, much, harder than what may initially appear. As with anything, video production can have its own set of pitfalls and little setbacks that can make life difficult for you. Today, I’ll teach you how to avoid ’em.
Why Video, Though?
Easy! It’s one of the most immediate, attention-grabbing ways to engage your audience and never let go. Humans are primarily visual creatures, as you know. Therefore, we love it when brands can tell neat little stories in videos. When done right, video can increase sales, maximize engagement, and keep your audience coming back for more.
In our “Hire a Corporate Video Production Company to Unlock Your Business’ Potential,” we get into the raw numbers:
In 2019, 85% of American internet users watched online videos monthly. A 2020 HubSpot Survey says, 54% of consumers would love to see more branded video from their favorite brands. In the same report, 83% of video marketers reported video as a useful lead generation tool. Another study shows how video is the most popular form of content among consumers.
Suddenly, video production for small businesses seems like a big idea, doesn’t it? If you’re not doing it already, you should definitely get in on the action. Below are some more reasons to really whet your appetite.
Video Production for Small Businesses: Immediate Benefits
#1 Boost Conversions Like Nobody’s Business
We’re living in attention-starved times. Beyond the usual bromides about shortened attention spans, something rings true: you’ll be competing for people’s limited time. The good thing is that if you manage to capture and hold people’s focus, you’ll likely end up selling a bunch more. For instance, adding a video to a landing page could help boost conversions by a staggering 80%, according to Hubspot. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Small businesses need all the help they can get, especially after 2020. Do yourself a favor and make video a focus of your marketing strategy.
#2 SEO, Baby! Wait, What’s That?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. In plain English, it means that video makes you rank higher on searches. It’s actually much more complicated than that, and it requires a careful liaison between SEO professionals and your marketing team, don’t get me wrong. Still, the plain truth of this statement stands: Google likes video, and so do other search engines.
Having a video strategy, then, goes way beyond the surface-level value of looking good. It also makes people find you more. And the more people find you, the more prospective clients you’ll get. The more prospective clients… well, I’m sure the picture is forming in your mind. Hint: it also means more sales.
#3 Credibility is the Name of the Game
Video production for small businesses also aids you in other, more intangible areas. You see, sometimes it’s pretty hard for medium and small companies to really connect with consumers. Why? Because it’s hard for the passing, would-be client, to connect with their brand. Just think about big brands like Apple or Coca-Cola. Whether you like their business model or not, you can’t deny that they have a brand identity, a look, a feel. Even if you don’t know who’s the CEO of Coca-Cola or Apple in 2021, you know what they’re about.
Video marketing can help you grow closer to your audience. It can help them understand what you and your brand are about. It can bridge the chasm between consumer and company, allowing for an immediacy and intimacy that are hard to achieve unless there’s a visible face. Employee and customer testimonials, brand awareness videos, product introduction videos: you name it. Establishing trust is what it’s all about.
#4 Be Versatile
Nobody said it better than our article: “Outsourcing Video Production: What is it All About.” Here are our words about how many approaches you can leverage with video:
Video production provides content for multiple applications. From educating, entertaining, informing, employee training, product launch, email marketing campaigns, SEO, reputation management to promotions, there’s no limit to what you can do with this kind of content.
#5 Social Media Shares and All That Jazz
What’s more immediate than video? I’ll wait. Nothing? That’s correct! In the world of marketing, nothing is more immediate and attention-grabbing than a good video. Want to know something else that’s great about it too? It’s sharable, and that makes it your secret weapon for creating organic marketing. Our Outsourcing article goes on to say: “A 2018 study shows 92% of mobile video viewers share with others in their contact/friends. It is a compelling reason to include this type of content in your marketing campaigns.”
If that ain’t compelling, I don’t know what is.
#6 Return of Investment
Hah, you thought I was going to go obscure and throw something like “ROI” at you, right? To make a long story short, unless you’re planning on making a multi-million dollar video, video production for small businesses has something great going for it: it’s cheap. At least, cheap when you take into account what you put in vs. what you can actually get in return.
#7 Mobile, Mobile, Mobile
Everybody and their grandma is on a mobile device these days. That number seems to be trending ever upward, in fact, without any sign of slowing down. One of the great things about the widespread adoption of mobile technologies is that people are watching more video. If you want a really staggering statistic, here’s one:
Video consumption on mobile devices is growing by over 100% per year. That should be enough to give you food for thought for now, I reckon.
But really, try not to mull it over too much. The main takeaway here is that mobile is king, queen, and everything in between now. If you really want to grab a piece of the action, you should pay plenty of mind to what you’re doing with video marketing.
#8 Customization
It’s easy to customize a video project to suit a given budget, business, vision, and other metrics. It is one reason this technique is prevalent across all sizes of companies and industries.
To make it even easier: your video, your way.
Video Production for Small Businesses: Avoiding Pitfalls
Once upon a time, I was working at this small, family-owned company. Our mission for the year was to create videos for our flagship products. I should’ve known that something was amiss when I heard my ex-boss say something to the tune of “I want a viral video.” Don’t let this be you. Please, don’t let this be you. For one there’s no telling about the success your video marketing strategy will bring you. Video production for small businesses can be a hit-or-miss affair. Sure, if you make a decent video, you can be sure that the previous 8 points will come to pass, but if you’re expecting overnight success, you’ve got another thing coming.
You can’t manufacture overnight sensations. Especially in our age of flash-in-the-pan videos, who can tell what works at the “blockbuster” level anymore?
But what’s sure is that if you follow some common-sense guidelines, you can benefit from plenty of success and increased sales.
Story Time
Continuing my previous story about the “viral video,” things quickly went south from there. We languished in what’s called “development hell,” a place that’s actually more like purgatory. We tried endless iterations of the video and attempted to produce most of our material in-house in desperate cost-cutting measures that we didn’t need. In what could’ve been solved by simply outsourcing our video needs, we lost months, and then years.
These setbacks led to fractured relationships and plenty of tension within our work team. We could’ve solved things really easily if we’d only set our goals on the tangible goals that were within our reach.
The main takeaway from this: don’t try to do what you’re not equipped to. When in doubt, outsource! It’s quick, easy, painless, and it’s a great return of investment.
Why Outsource Video Production for Small Businesses?
In life, many things are complex. The reasons to outsource are not. You’ll have access to professional teams with the gear and experience you need. This, in turn, will help you avoid all of the issues that come with first-timers to video production. It’ll also save endless headaches, redos, reshoots, and going back to the drawing board.
Another great thing about outsourcing is flexible pricing. While there’s no one-size-fits-all package, most companies can tailor their rates to your exact needs. You’ll also end up saving costs, and most of all time. Redoing extensive parts of your production because of errors or bad ideas can cost you more than you think. While paying for a video outright may seem like a big expense, if your production drags on for too long it could end up costing far, far more.
But, most of all, the reason you should outsource video production for small businesses is leaving it to pros. Leveraging people who actually know what they’re doing for your project will help you sleep tight in the knowledge that you’re in good hands. While you may be tempted to go it alone, trust me that it’s rarely worth it unless you’ve got people on your team who know what they’re doing. Amateurs rarely produce anything beyond amateur results, and your clients will certainly tell the difference.
Starting to see the light? Then, if you need to produce a great video to get it on that sweet action, there’s no place better than Bunny Studio. You — and your clients — will be happy you let the pros take care of things.
