How to do video marketing on a budget
Lots of people ask our agency: ‘How can I do video marketing on a budget?’
We believe that budgeting is not about cutting costs, it’s about setting a goal and then achieving it within your allocated resources. This may differ depending on what kind of business you work for.
In Shrewsbury in Shropshire where StoryThreads are based, we have a lot of SMEs. Just down the road, we have Telford and the M54 corridor, home to some of the biggest multinationals in the UK.
What do both have in common with video marketing on a budget?
They have to justify value for money on any marketing activity. We’re talking about the effort put in by your team members, be that meetings, coordination or even production. Then there’s the financial outlay too.
So how can you do video marketing on a budget? Follow these steps and you’ll be somewhere close.
As yourself, ‘why’ do I need to use video for marketing my business?
Sun Tzu, probably the most famous war strategist of all times, wrote a very influential book about The Art of War. His lessons have been applied to all forms of business and video marketing is no exception, take the following saying for example: “Know yourself and you will win all battles”.
What Sun Tzu is saying is, focus on your internal needs. Just doing something because someone else is doing it, you don’t have to.
Concentrate on why you want a video first.
Is it because your salesforce wants a new tool to help them convert customers? Do you have a new product and you want to promote its features? Are you looking to build your brand positioning? Hit people in the face with a new message?
Whatever your impetus for making a video, make sure you can measure it.
Case Study: Albert’s Shed Southwater Launch Video
Albert’s Shed, although relatively new on the scene in terms of live music venues, is expanding rapidly. Their second venue, costing over £250,000 was to become the crown jewel of Telford’s Southwater complex, offering a diverse program of entertainment, seven days a week.
As the full-service digital marketing agency behind Albert’s Shed Shrewsbury and the new Telford development, we knew their weakness was not the lack of interest from customers, the enemy was time. Following production delays, StoryThreads were asked to develop a strategy to get the message out there that the venue was open.
Following a soft launch, we scrambled to produce a positioning video within 24-hours which was supported by a digital PR campaign, aimed at reaching all local media using Facebook as the social media marketing drive and encourage the sharing to a wider network.
The statistics above come from the Albert’s Shed Launch Video Marketing Campaign, you can click on the image to launch the video on YouTube.
Keeping your brand values on top
Great video marketing ideas often fail even when you have a clear strategy and have honed your target audience.
While creativity is the key to engaging content, it can sometimes stretch too far from what you’re all about.
Keeping your video content on-brand is probably the hardest thing you can do, even when it should be the most natural. That’s because as humans we take things for granted, it’s called cognitive bias.
When planning out your marketing videos, put yourself in the position of a new customer and spell out your competitive advantage.
Case Study: Thai-D Food Bar Marketing Video
Thai-D Food Bar are something very unique. A startup with zero experience in running a restaurant, yet heads are turning.
The reason why?
They’re all about the food and it’s hard not to taste the love and dedication that goes from kitchen to plate at this little Thai Food chain. But with ups come the downs. When you’re in the kitchen, customers don’t get the essence of what makes this brand so great. We’d already told their story through their website and build solid organic reach but something was missing.
StoryThreads developed long-form video content for Thai-D Food Bar, letting that passion shine through. It’s storytelling within a recipe.
Statistics above come from the launch of the Thai-D Food Bar channel on Facebook. You can launch the video on YouTube by clicking the image.
Build in the long-tail effect in your video marketing
One of the most important parts of video marketing is brand consistency, but another is to use the long-tail effect to your advantage.
But what is the long-tail effect?
It’s a fancy way of saying don’t just compete in a crowded marketplace, but go niche too. Some examples include:
- Producing your video then breaking down your content into bite-size chunks aimed at different groups. Ideal for short-form PPC campaigns.
- Creating content that reaches different target audiences (but still wrapped within your core brand messaging). See the Henge Make Music Day parade video below, sponsored by Albert’s Shed. This is also evergreen content, making it usable again in the future.
- Repurposing your content for different platforms, for instance, producing written blogs, presentations, encoding video for different platforms like Instagram, YouTube & TikTok, releasing podcasts.