Secrets to Producing Effective DIY Marketing Videos on a Budget

DIY marketing videos are a great way to get your message out on a budget. Whether you work for a small business or a large corporation, you don’t have to spend tens of thousands of dollars on videos anymore. With some creativity and know-how, you can make your DIY videos look professional and engaging so that your audience will pay attention. Here we share the secrets for shooting the best DIY marketing videos.

Keep It Simple
The key to making a great DIY marketing video is to keep it simple. Don’t overwhelm your viewers with too much. Avoid adding too many elements or packing too much information in one video that may distract your audience from your message. Plan out your video before you start shooting and make sure you highlight the most important information. The most effective short videos in today's age of small attention spans are 15 to 30 seconds. This will help keep your video short, sweet and focused on what matters most: conveying your message. Make sure you have one, clear call to action to let your audience know what to do next if they like what they see.

Get Creative With Your Equipment
It's possible to create high-quality marketing videos without expensive gear. Take advantage of what you already have by getting creative with the equipment and materials at your disposal. You don’t need the most powerful cameras or the latest software to create effective marketing videos; Your smart phone will do the trick. Especially if you have an up to date iphone. The quality of videos taken on an iphone is so great that even some of the Apple commercials are shot on iphones. Put your creativity and ingenuity to work. A small tripod that carries your phone may be a good investment. If you can’t afford a tripod, stack up some books, use a selfie stick or prop your phone up against something that will keep it steady, focused and at the level of whatever you are shooting. Use everyday, inexpensive items like cardboard, fabric, yarn, paint, markers and more to give your video a unique look and feel. Remember your audience doesn’t care about what's behind the camera. They care about the finished product.

Know Your Audience
Knowing your audience is key when creating DIY marketing videos. Make sure you understand who you are targeting and how your video will reach them. What keeps them up at night? Why would they seek a brand like yours? How are you helping them? This can help you ensure that the look, feel, and tone of your video properly resonates with your target market. Additionally, understanding who you’re making the video for can help shape its key points and keep it focused on what is important to the viewer. Remember to outline benefits instead of features of your products or services. They are interested in the end results, not in how it works yet. Armed with this knowledge, you can design effective campaigns more easily by making sure each asset is tailored to a specific audience.

Prepare a Script Ahead of Time
One of the biggest secrets to creating effective DIY marketing videos is to make a script ahead of time. If a word for word script doesn’t work for you, then create an outline, bulleting the topics you are going to cover. This will help ensure your video stays on track by creating structure and continuity. A script also prevents you from going off on too many tangents or rambling as you film. Don’t risk losing quality content due to lack of direction. Make sure your script engages viewers in an authentic way and covers all the key points and a call to action at the end. If you can speak confidently without a teleprompter then it's always best to talk more naturally on video. If you need to read your script make sure the teleprompter you use allows you to change the font sizes and speed at which the words flow across the screen. You don’t want the camera to capture your eyes moving back and forth. Consider sprinkling in some humor as well, if appropriate for your target audience, to keep things interesting.

Optimize Sound Quality and Lighting
You don’t want your marketing videos to have low-quality sound, or poor lighting so make sure you have some kind of microphone or other audio equipment with which to capture audio. This could be a lavalier mic (this is one that can be clipped onto the person speaking in the video), or a shotgun mic for an omnidirectional pickup. Also make sure you are in a quiet place. There is nothing worse than hearing voices, pinging notifications or doors slamming in the background. So clean up your background noise! Poor sound quality will diminish the effectiveness of your video - and it may even turn viewers away! Poor lighting can do the same. If the camera is filming in front of you, always make sure the light is on the other side of the camera facing you or the object in the video. This will brighten up your face or the object. The lighting or window should not be behind you with the camera in front of you. This will cause a shadow, darkening of your face or the object being filmed.  

DIY videos can be professional and affordable! If you don’t have the time to put these videos together yourself, send your footage over to the busy bees at Clairant. Every day we do video editing for our happy clients and we do it without breaking the bank. Check out some example videos here and sign up for our video packages.