Video marketing is one of the hottest ways to market yourself, your product or your service and it is very cost effective. You no longer need to go to an ad agency or expensive production house, spending thousands of dollars to get great results that people will respond too. You can do it yourself for less than $300 and distribute your videos to the world for free.
As an old advertising guy that really bugs me, but having re-branded my company and services over the years I know that new is good. And video marketing is still relatively new for many of you small business guys because you don't have time to surf the net, hang out on Facebook all day or play YouTube for kicks. You are too busy trying to increase your sales to fill revenue gaps in your budgets.
So for you the small business owner or entrepreneur the use of video in your marketing plan makes a lot of sense. You should consider utilizing it, soon and often.
What do you need?
Turns out, not much. I talked to quite a few video marketers over the past two years to see what they use and none of them got started with very much. Keep in mind that as your business grows you can and probably will want to upgrade, but there is no reason to start out that way.
A space to record.
This can be your office, your house, a gathering or meeting place, Restaurants, bars, parks, buses and trains. How big is your imagination? And how does it tie into your business? One of my clients uses the same upstairs bar every week. He promotes the location in his videos and on his website and they allow him great use of awesome setting. I set my studio up in my home office. Where do you want to have yours? Experiment, mix it up if it fits your niche.
A video recording device.
I prefer a Kodak Zi8 Pocket video Camera. It has pros and cons but the one pro which you can't afford to overlook is it's capacity to use an external microphone jack that supports stereo. Your viewers can and will forgive mediocre video but not bad audio. The biggest con to me is the inability to flip the screen toward you when you are recording. I like to see what I look like and the set up while recording so it does require a little more preparation since I shoot 90% by myself. There are many others, just make sure you can use an external microphone.
An external microphone.
I like a lavalier lapel mic. I use a corded model but you can find wireless ones too. I just don't like having to many variables that can go wrong, and in my experience if it electronic and doesn't have a cord, I worry.
Remote Control.
Kodak makes one for their cameras and you can Google search or go to Amazon. Makes life so much easier.
Tripod.
Nothing fancy. I use two. My favorite is a little 10 inch tall pocket model, the other is a full sized. Take your pick. It really depends on where you record.
Set Background.
Like I mentioned above, this can be whatever is behind you in the space you are in, or you can have something fancy built. In my office studio I have great cherry bookcases full of books (and yes, I have read one or two of them). But many times I use a solid black sheet that I bought for about $13. I just tack it up and stand or sit in front of it while filming. Nothing too distracting. What lends itself to your niche? Oh yea, if you are a video techie, and if you are "what are you doing reading this," you can manipulate the backgrounds while editing.
A computer.
Make sure it is less than 2 years old. I am a pc guy so I won't even touch on Apple products because I wouldn't have a clue. Most pc's run Windows.
Movie editing software.
Windows Movie Maker comes with Windows 7. There are many options for editing but like I said, you can get started for under $300 if you don't try to play with the big boys. That's not what this is about. This is about getting you online in videos - cheaply! (I heard a rumor that Mac's have incredible video capabilities built in.)
YouTube account.
You can set up your businesses channel and use your logo and graphics to customize it. But for now, just open your account. There are other video distribution sites, but YouTube is number one.
You don't need any more than this. Space, camera, microphone, remote control, tripod, background, computer, editing software and a YouTube account.
What's next?
Be creative! Don't be stiff and boring (like most of mine) be exciting, be daring, express yourself and most of all have fun. Ever wonder why those stupid so so videos on YouTube get so many views? Because YouTube viewers aren't looking for professional quality videos, they are looking for relate-able videos. Normal people that they can relate to in their own lives. Make them funny and enjoyable so your viewers will want to tell others about them.
Okay, that's the setup. Simple, inexpensive and doable on a tight budget.
One more thing that we teach our clients, share with all your current customers, prospect and most of all friends. Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are great ways to share. If you don't tell people they won't know you are there.
Good Luck
As an old advertising guy that really bugs me, but having re-branded my company and services over the years I know that new is good. And video marketing is still relatively new for many of you small business guys because you don't have time to surf the net, hang out on Facebook all day or play YouTube for kicks. You are too busy trying to increase your sales to fill revenue gaps in your budgets.
So for you the small business owner or entrepreneur the use of video in your marketing plan makes a lot of sense. You should consider utilizing it, soon and often.
What do you need?
Turns out, not much. I talked to quite a few video marketers over the past two years to see what they use and none of them got started with very much. Keep in mind that as your business grows you can and probably will want to upgrade, but there is no reason to start out that way.
A space to record.
This can be your office, your house, a gathering or meeting place, Restaurants, bars, parks, buses and trains. How big is your imagination? And how does it tie into your business? One of my clients uses the same upstairs bar every week. He promotes the location in his videos and on his website and they allow him great use of awesome setting. I set my studio up in my home office. Where do you want to have yours? Experiment, mix it up if it fits your niche.
A video recording device.
I prefer a Kodak Zi8 Pocket video Camera. It has pros and cons but the one pro which you can't afford to overlook is it's capacity to use an external microphone jack that supports stereo. Your viewers can and will forgive mediocre video but not bad audio. The biggest con to me is the inability to flip the screen toward you when you are recording. I like to see what I look like and the set up while recording so it does require a little more preparation since I shoot 90% by myself. There are many others, just make sure you can use an external microphone.
An external microphone.
I like a lavalier lapel mic. I use a corded model but you can find wireless ones too. I just don't like having to many variables that can go wrong, and in my experience if it electronic and doesn't have a cord, I worry.
Remote Control.
Kodak makes one for their cameras and you can Google search or go to Amazon. Makes life so much easier.
Tripod.
Nothing fancy. I use two. My favorite is a little 10 inch tall pocket model, the other is a full sized. Take your pick. It really depends on where you record.
Set Background.
Like I mentioned above, this can be whatever is behind you in the space you are in, or you can have something fancy built. In my office studio I have great cherry bookcases full of books (and yes, I have read one or two of them). But many times I use a solid black sheet that I bought for about $13. I just tack it up and stand or sit in front of it while filming. Nothing too distracting. What lends itself to your niche? Oh yea, if you are a video techie, and if you are "what are you doing reading this," you can manipulate the backgrounds while editing.
A computer.
Make sure it is less than 2 years old. I am a pc guy so I won't even touch on Apple products because I wouldn't have a clue. Most pc's run Windows.
Movie editing software.
Windows Movie Maker comes with Windows 7. There are many options for editing but like I said, you can get started for under $300 if you don't try to play with the big boys. That's not what this is about. This is about getting you online in videos - cheaply! (I heard a rumor that Mac's have incredible video capabilities built in.)
YouTube account.
You can set up your businesses channel and use your logo and graphics to customize it. But for now, just open your account. There are other video distribution sites, but YouTube is number one.
You don't need any more than this. Space, camera, microphone, remote control, tripod, background, computer, editing software and a YouTube account.
What's next?
Be creative! Don't be stiff and boring (like most of mine) be exciting, be daring, express yourself and most of all have fun. Ever wonder why those stupid so so videos on YouTube get so many views? Because YouTube viewers aren't looking for professional quality videos, they are looking for relate-able videos. Normal people that they can relate to in their own lives. Make them funny and enjoyable so your viewers will want to tell others about them.
Okay, that's the setup. Simple, inexpensive and doable on a tight budget.
One more thing that we teach our clients, share with all your current customers, prospect and most of all friends. Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are great ways to share. If you don't tell people they won't know you are there.
Good Luck
