Why Cheap Business Video is a Bad Idea
I remember the first business I ever had. It was the early nineties, and I was probably six or seven years old. My siblings and I started our own version of Blockbuster Video, loaning our VHS tapes out to cousins and friends.
Of course, there was a logo, made proudly in Microsoft Paint. The image of a television set, pasted from ClipArt, and a “quirky” font ( jokerman or similar). And that would become our go to process for all future endeavours that required a logo. Whether we were writing a school magazine, or creating posters for our band, the winning combination of Microsoft Paint and Clipart never let us down.
Of course, times have changed and technology has evolved. But there are still very quick, easy ways to create logos and branded content. Apps like Canva are hugely popular, boasting over 250,000 free templates, and hundreds of thousands of free photos and graphics. Yet, when scrolling through Instagram feeds or browsing online, you can still spot instantly which businesses are using a template rather than investing in a quality original graphic design.
Brand identity is everything, which is why businesses invest so much money at getting it right. Using templates can instantly make a small independent business look mistakenly like an MLM seller. It cheapens the look of a social media page or website, appearing amateur or small time. It is widely accepted that, in order for a business to look professional, they need professional logos and branding.
It is time to accept that the way businesses use video is subject to the same level of scrutiny from a consumer.
Straight away, when viewing online content, even the untrained eye can tell very quickly whether the video has been produced professionally, or is home made. Whether or not the footage has been shot on a phone. Whether or not a ring light has been used. Whether or not it has been edited using imovie ( the amateur video producer’s equivalent of MicrosoftPaint ).
Whether it be the poor lighting, or less than perfect audio, amateur videos are easy to spot, and weaken the overall image of the brand they represent.
Your marketing material and content, done right, gets shared a lot. It is important to create quality content that you are proud to share and want seen far and wide.
Videos are one area of your budgeting plan where you really can’t afford to cut corners. Youtube has now replaced Facebook as the number one influence to effect consumer behaviour. We know that videos generate a lot of leads for businesses (83% of marketers claim that video creates the highest portion of their sales leads, according to Hubspot). They are a whopping 1200% more successful than any other type of content shared online.
41% of marketers say that Instagram stories became one of their most important marketing strategies in 2020. It is extremely important that your brand is consistently seen as high quality, across all platforms and communication. You wouldn’t cheat or rush a mail-out , sent to all your past clients and business contacts. So don’t scrimp on the instagram stories either… as those same contacts are watching what you’re posting over there, too!
You wouldn’t send an instructional leaflet to the printers to be mass produced, had you created it on a Microsoft Word template. You accept that wouldn’t set the correct tone. It wouldn’t reflect the levels of professionalism your customers expect. Therefore, your “how to” video also needs professional direction and production. In fact, consumers are statistically much more likely to watch an explainer video rather than read an instructional pamphlet or manual , so the ROI on making sure it is shot correctly is very high.
In business. cheap video is a very bad idea purely for the fact that it is one of the most visible tools you have that really defines who you are and what you stand for. It forms the posts you’re most likely to pick up engagement with. Through shares, it’s the content that is most likely to appear on the news-feeds of consumers that don’t already follow you ; making it the very first glimpse they get of your company and your products.
As the saying goes… you don’t get a second chance at making a first impression. And you’re better than a template, right?