You know how competitive your industry is and how difficult it can be to be found online.

You may have a fully optimised website with keywords for search engines (which is a place to great start - view our post on this topic). Nonetheless, it’s important to utilise other marketing strategies to continually improve your SEO.

The hot marketing strategy of the moment is ‘Content Marketing’. Within this strategy, video marketing is growing in importance everyday. If you visit Facebook regularly, you’ll have noticed how many videos are now populating in your feed.

With the continued rise of YouTube, Instagram and SnapChat, short promotional videos are now an essential element of this strategy.

In this post, we’ll provide an introduction into how you can begin to promote your business using video. We will be looking at the following topics:

Getting inspiration for your video
How to plan a shoot
Buying equipment on budget
Learning some simple camera techniques
Optimising your video for SEO

If you're not already using video on your website, blog or social media platforms, now is the time to start getting serious about online video.

Why is this important now?

Firstly, Google and Facebook have recently altered its algorithms to place greater emphasis on video content and content marketing in general.

More importantly, potential customers can view first-hand the type of product or service you provide and the experience they can expect. This helps your customers make better, informed decisions.

Small businesses owners may think creating promotional videos is an expensive process. However, this isn’t the case and with a little investment, you can begin creating great video content which can be produced in-house.

All you need to begin with is an affordable HD camera, a cheap tripod and microphone and a little bit of time, imagination and patience.

You may be thinking this all sounds well and good, but how I am, with little or no video editing experience, going to create professional looking videos for my website or blog?

Well, to be honest, at the start there will be some trial and error but if you follow some simple ideas, techniques and rules as outlined in this article as a starting point, you can begin to create great video content for your business and begin to build a real online marketing presence.

Getting Inspiration.

Before you begin any video project, have a look around some of the video sharing sites such as Vimeo or YouTube for inspiration. Find videos within your industry which you believe work well.

If you liked a particular video, watch it a few times and take notes on what you liked about it.

Was the script good? What was the mood and tone of the video? How was the message delivered?

For example, if you work in the restaurant industry think about how did the video promote and capture the atmosphere of the restaurant (see example above), were you getting to see specific dishes on a menu (see example here), or maybe they’re highlighting a unique selling point or demonstrating how to create a particular dish (see examples here & here)?

By watching these types of videos, you’ll start to build up an idea in your head of the type of video you want to create.

Some of the videos may be professionally made and perhaps outside of your budget or know-how but do not be intimidated. You’ll gradually pick up tips on how to best compose your video, what content is truly compelling and which camera shots that work well.

Planning A Shoot.

As the proverb goes, “He who fails to plan, plans to fail.”

Before you write anything down, take some time and think about the exact message you want your video to convey.

Are you looking to promote your business, product or services?
Are you releasing a new product or highlighting a new promotion?
What do you want the outcome / call-to-action to be?

Once you understand your message, begin writing and developing a script and topics to be covered.

There are many studies highlighting the attention spans of people watching online videos. For example AdAge, the Advertising Agency & Marketing Industry News site, reported “within the first 30 seconds of a video, you can expect to lose 33% of your viewers. At 60 seconds, 44% ...”

However, not all is lost.

If your content is engaging, compelling and well prepared, users and potential customers will stick around to the end. Bearing this in mind, you still want your video to be short – aim for around 2 minutes (you may go slightly over but shorter is almost always better).

Edit down your ideas – one video does not have to cover everything you offer (that’s what building a YouTube channel is for!).

Equipment on a budget.

Nowadays HD cameras and smartphones are very affordable and accessible, so there’s no excuse saying “they are out of my price range”.

Websites such as Amazon, eBay and online camera shops can be a great place to find cameras and deals that suit your needs.

When shooting video, you’ll need a tripod. Nothing screams amateur more than shaky video footage. Again there are tons of affordable tripods available from Amazon for £25 or less.

Also, I highly recommend investing in a microphone; nothing can turn a viewer off as quickly as muffled or inaudible sound. Yes, you guessed it; Amazon again is a great place to find reasonable priced lapel mics.

Finally, when purchasing video editing software, do some research and find the editing package that best suits your needs. If you are completely new to video editing, there are some excellent reasonable priced packages from Sony and Adobe that can get you up and running quickly. If you are using a Mac, iMovie is a great place to start. For more advanced editing, check out Final Cut Pro or Avid.

One of the major factors influencing any video shoot is the Lighting. Lighting can make or break your video. However, don’t fret, you don’t have to buy professional lights, simply use what is available to you.

One of the best sources of light is the natural light of the sun and of course, it’s FREE (just be wary of the time of day and clouds!). If you’re recording indoors, try and use as many lamps and lights that are already available.

Learn some simple Techniques & Rules.

I’ll fill you in on a little secret - shooting professional looking footage isn’t as hard as you think.
By implementing some of the following camera and editing techniques, your final video production will improve immeasurably.

The first technique which is extremely useful is the ‘Rule of Thirds’. By using the rule of thirds, you’ll make the shot instantly more compelling by either placing your subject in the first (left) or last third (right) of the screen. Most camcorders and smartphones now display these grid lines on their screens (simply check the camera settings).

The next technique that will dramatically improve your footage is ‘J and L Cuts’. These are particular edits you see everyday on TV but never knew they were there.

For example, a news reporter may start his piece with footage of him/her talking directly to the camera and then it will cut away to a related video with the narration still talking over the footage. This is called an L Cut. The J-cut is when the dialogue/voice continues to play over imagery and then returns to the original source of the dialogue/voice.

J & L Cuts are used in nearly every video you see and once you understand how to implement them, your video is well on its way to looking professional. Check out this design course video to see these techniques in action

Optimising your Video for SEO.

We all know the importance of optimising your website for search engines with keywords etc., but the same can also be said for online videos.

When uploading your video to YouTube, Vimeo or any other video sharing site, be sure to fill out all the fields correctly.

Enter a relevant keyword-rich title and use words which will help search engines understand the content of the video.

Fill out the description (always enter your website address at the start) and add tags, category, and keywords.

Choose a thumbnail that best represents your video and will encourage clicks. Enable comments, ratings and video responses so viewers and potential customers can provide feedback and in doing so, influence other decision makers. Remember to answer any questions or queries you may receive.

If you have a website or blog, be sure to embed your video on it. Also, utilise all of your social media profiles - Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.

Lastly, link your video to your profile on Google Places for Business - this can give your business a real advantage when your video appears with your listing in a Google Search.

Wrapping Up.

Online video is here to stay and I believe it will be the most utilised marketing tactic for the foreseeable future. If you haven't already, now is the time to embrace this medium.

In this article, we have looked how to begin to plan for a shoot and get inspiration for it. Using affordable equipment and utilising some simple camera techniques you too can easily begin to create professional looking content.

However, it is important not to be intimidated by video marketing. With the continued rise of social video platforms like Instagram and SnapChat, you can easily reach your target audience with low budget video content.

What is important, however, is how you tell your story and communicate your message.

In our next post, we will be looking at how you can develop an external communication strategy for your business and start to build brand awareness for your brand.

Creating Promotional Videos For Your Business - An Introduction.