Four Ways to make Great Video Content on a Budget
What is “Content” and Why Should I Care?
“Content”: the word we hear thrown around constantly. And not conTENT, as in happy or satisfied, but CONtent as in… well, what does the word content mean, exactly? To be perfectly honest, the term is kind of nebulous. Does it mean graphic design, videos, blog posts, etc? Yes! And…well, also no. “Content” can be used to refer to just about anything your org or business makes available to your audience/ customers — usually free of charge — and is certainly not limited to the short list above. “Content” usually ends up on social media platforms, because those are the easiest ways to reach large numbers of people quickly and efficiently.
To be clear, the word “content” doesn’t usually mean it’s an advertisement. Ads are something that people are generally annoyed by and press the “skip” button as soon as they’re allowed to. Social media content is aimed more at engaging, entertaining or informing the user somehow. And while it’s not an “ad”, per se, the goal is ultimately pretty similar: get your brand in front of people in a way that they think of as positive.
You post a video that makes the user laugh? Positive.
You create an infographic highlighting the dangers of alcoholism? Positive.
You create a pushy ad campaign that makes your brand seem overly desperate for sales? Probably not-so-positive.
Creating engaging content has far less to do with driving sales, as it does creating positive impressions. That’s not to say that creating positive impressions won’t help sales, but most people can sniff out a sneaky sales pitch from a mile away. We’re much more concerned with getting people interacting with our social media pages in a positive way!
“Ok, but what does any of this have to do with video?”
A fair question! Video content is some of the most effective social media content, but it’s also harder to produce. A well-made video can really drum up a lot of interest in the message you’re trying to communicate, while a boring one will likely have people clicking away in mere seconds. This scares off some smaller brands from even trying, figuring it’s above their paygrade. Creating engaging video content doesn’t have to be expensive, and certainly doesn’t have to be so scary either. All it takes is a little determination and some creative thinking.
So, here are four of Branch & Vine Media’s ideas for making great video economically:
Embrace the Low Budget
We’ve all heard the phrase “you have to laugh at yourself sometimes”. By laughing off a silly mistake, it makes you look like a more secure person and by embracing the low budget, it can make your brand look more confident and trustworthy. Plenty of marketing strategies have used the low-budget nature of the videos to create a humorous effect. For example:
You have to admit, some small part of you wants to adopt a cat now, doesn’t it? It’s hard not to find the whole thing quite endearing, considering how much heart was put into this project. The ad was clearly thrown together by the employees on a shoestring budget, and they managed to make something pretty memorable and funny. Would a major corporation ever put out an ad like this? Probably not, but this shelter clearly can’t afford something of the same caliber as a major corporation. Instead of trying to pretend otherwise, they decided to lean into their limitations to create something memorable.
Are there problems with it? Yeah, there are a few (most notably, the music is a little too loud and it’s hard to hear the dialogue sometimes), but you probably weren’t thinking about that much, were you? You were probably much more focused on the creativity of the people involved (my personal favorite is the lady pretending to be one of those inflatable men with the flappy arms) and furry animals. While working on little to no budget is far from ideal, you can certainly make it work for you with a little creative problem-solving.
2. Focus More on the Content Than the Equipment
The harsh reality of working on a small budget is that you can’t afford the best equipment. Heck, sometimes you can barely afford anything other than the camera! While there’s certainly a reason that high-end production companies spend top-dollar on the very best equipment, you don’t necessarily need it to make something worth watching. In today’s world, smartphones have become so powerful, that most come with cameras which are orders of magnitude more sophisticated than even high-end consumer camcorders sold less than a decade ago. If you have someone with a decent smartphone, you can probably shoot decent footage. Here’s an example of an ad we worked on where the live-action footage was all shot with an iPhone (live-action footage starts at 0:32):
So there you have it! It looks quite professional, and when combined with all the other elements, results in an ad that we’re very proud of (no, ads aren’t the point of this blog, but the example footage is still relevant here). It certainly isn’t going to win any Oscars for cinematography, but it doesn’t need to. The footage clearly communicates the information, and isn’t so low-quality as to be distracting. You may think all the graphics would be prohibitively expensive, but it probably costs less than you think. Paying a whole crew to do a shoot on-location is always going to cost more than paying one or two artists to create something like what you saw in the video. We plan to cover the topic of capturing better footage in future posts, but you get the basic idea.
As for capturing better audio, well… that can be a bit more difficult. Audio is notoriously tricky to get right, particularly because microphones can be so finnicky. They tend to pick up unwanted background noise, and can become almost unusable in windy conditions unless you have specific equipment to deal with it. There are ways around these obstacles, of course, but they tend to require experience to know to deal with. A good rule of thumb is: get your microphone as close to the subject as possible. In other words: standing ten feet away while filming with your iPhone probably isn’t going to cut it. Here’s an example of a lapel mic that works with a smartphone and doesn’t break the bank. Please note that we have NOT tested this microphone. This is just meant to serve as an example that there are budget-friendly options out there if you’re willing to do a little research.
Audio is another subject that deserves its own post, so I won’t go into much more detail here. The basic point is: don’t worry so much about getting the best equipment. You can still make great videos without spending a fortune!
3. Make the Kind of Content that YOU Want to Watch
This may seem painfully obvious, but it can be shocking how how many people fail to understand this simple point. If the videos you make aren’t interesting, no one is going to care. So, how do I know if my video content is “interesting”? Here’s a good litmus test: would you watch this video in its entirety if you’d stumbled across it randomly? Be honest with yourself, because the answer is probably “no” a lot more often than you realize. For example, I was once scouring the depths of YouTube for some obscure information regarding a tech problem I was having. It was shocking how frequently I stumbled across videos with ZERO views. That’s especially significant, because it means the uploader couldn’t even be bothered to watch their OWN VIDEO! And bear in mind, YouTube counts it as a “view” if the user watches the video for even a few seconds before closing it. If the person who made it doesn’t care enough to watch even a few seconds, why should I?
It doesn’t matter what you do for a living; there’s a way you can make it interesting to the average person. For example, if you sell replacement parts for industrial mining equipment, that’s probably not the sort of thing most people would be naturally interested in. That makes creating engaging social media content a little harder, but not impossible. For instance, the average joe might not care about industrial mining, but he might be interested in learning where the copper in his smart phone’s components came from. This would be a great time to create an informative video about how the process works. It’s important to keep things brief and simple. Drawn-out, technical details and industry-specific jargon aren’t likely to hold someone’s attention for very long. By way of example, here’s a video that became unintentionally hilarious due to the insane amounts of techno-babble it contains:
Now, considering the age of this video, it probably wasn’t intended for anything like social media, but you get the point. Who, exactly, was this video intended for? Could anyone other than a small handful of industry experts understand what’s actually being said in this video? I found myself laughing at how I didn’t understand a single thing that was discussed. Being hilarious can get people to pay attention to an otherwise uninteresting subject, but being unintentionally hilarious will probably just make you look bad.
Having said all of this, it’s always easier to explain what not to do. As for what you should be doing? Well, you’re probably the only one who knows that. You likely know your audience better than anyone, and you alone will have to decide what sort of videos they’d want to watch. The simple answer is that you have to be willing to fail a few times, and while starting out, you most likely will! Nobody is an overnight success, and nobody makes a masterpiece the first time they try. Remember that you can’t ever get good at something if you don’t do it poorly a few times while you learn.
4. Develop Relationships With Creative Professionals
Let’s be real for a moment: creativity is not everyone’s forte. Fortunately, there are creative professionals who specialize in this sort of thing, like us! While hiring a professional studio to make an ad for you can get pricey fast, social media content often doesn’t need to be so sophisticated. Sometimes, simple is best. One person in front of a camera, speaking in an engaging manner, accompanied by some simple graphics, can be just as effective as a full production. Maybe all you need is some text, arranged with interesting typography and set to music. The point is, you don’t have to pay top dollar to get help from creative professionals. Better yet, some might even be willing to work for a reduced rate if you develop an ongoing relationship.
Consider having someone on retainer to help with your social media needs. A good graphic designer, video editor or motion graphics artist can more than pay for themselves with all the traffic their work can help drive to your social media pages or website. Maybe you know one of these people personally and can develop a “work exchange” type of relationship. For instance, I have an ongoing relationship with a friend who does maintenance for a living. He and his wife run a YouTube channel as a side project, and I often do graphics or special effects work for their channel. In exchange, he does various maintenance work for me, saving us both the hassle of having to pay someone else hundreds of dollars for that same work. These kind of relationships can be incredibly valuable if you can find the right person to work with.
Even if you don’t know someone or have a relationship with an artist willing to give you a discount, that’s not to say it’s still not worth your time to network with creative professionals. Having someone who’s familiar with what you do will often result in better work that’s more relevant to your audience. Even if they’re working at their usual rate, they’ll be more likely to “nail” it the first time if they know you well, meaning you won’t have to spend as much time or money going through edits. And since money is such a concern for smaller entities, don’t be afraid to communicate your limitations to the artist you’re working with. Most of us are perfectly willing to work around your budget, and will tell you what’s realistic for the budget you have in mind. We’re not out to empty your wallet, because just like you, we also want customers to use our services many times. It’s to our benefit to make sure you’re happy, so please be honest about your needs!
The long and short is: video and social media are here to stay.
You might be able to get by without worrying about it, but wouldn’t you rather have the peace of mind knowing that you’re doing all you realistically can to stay in touch with your customers? Making great video content doesn’t have to be a headache, and there are many creative professionals who’d love to help you get started!
Stay relevant, and have fun doing it!
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Cover photo by Kushagra Kevat on Unsplash
