Is video marketing expensive in 2018?

Are you wondering, “Is Video Marketing expensive in 2018?”

That’s a great question — and many business owners and marketing people have been asking this ever since video starting being the most important tool we can use to build our businesses for the future.

The quick answer is, “No – it can actually be free, depending on how willing you are to try.”

What I mean by that is:

1. do you have a smart phone which takes videos?
2. can you add video editing apps to your phone?
3. do you have an SEO-ready Youtube Channel?
4. do you have an opt-in link to add to the video and Youtube Channel?
5. do you have a valuable freebie to offer those who opt-in on your website or other web platform?

All of these are free — if you are willing to learn the HOW, the WHAT (listed above) is a great way to proceed.

So now, let’s take a step back and think about why so many people believe video marketing is expensive.

One of the main reasons why our competitors probably haven’t jumped into video marketing is because of their fear of cost.

It’s important to understand that the reason our competitors are not quickly publishing one video after another is probably NOT due to their inability to appreciate the power of video marketing.

It’s more likely that:

• they don’t know enough about making videos
• they don’t really understand the marketing required for videos
• all these “unknown” factors make them think this is a really expensive exercise
• they have not been shown how powerful video marketing is for all business – large and small.

In fact, most people in the marketing field would agree that video marketing brings a lot of value to the table.

This is not the argument.

This is not where people disagree.

Instead, many people have all sorts of misconceptions regarding the costs of video marketing.

Some folks can see the benefits without any problem.

When it comes to price, that’s a different kettle o’fish :-)

Getting videos created can have prices from $50.00 to thousands of dollars.

It all depends on what you need, and how much research you do.

Spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on getting a video made doesn’t mean it’s going to be effective at bringing potential customers to you.

 

Most people are unclear about whether the costs of video marketing would justify the benefit.

For these reasons, it’s a shame that most video marketing attempts fail the first time round, and the business owner gives up.

So – what ARE the benefits?

The benefits are fantastic:

1. create 10 videos which answer the top 10 questions asked about your business, and those videos are “mini advertisements” – just like TV ads — out there on the internet working 24 hours a day
2. now imagine if you published ONE video per month, or (even better) one per week, that’s quite an arsenal of wonderful knowledge being shared with people watching those videos
3. imagine having those weekly videos up on Youtube — that’s 52 mini adverts, right? Now think about if those same videos are posted on our website or other web property — that’s now 104 videos. What if we posted them on Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook and/or Instagram? See how powerful this can be? AND it’ll beat the pants of your competitors
4. let’s go a step further — if the Call To Action at the end of the video is compelling enough, it can convince interested viewers to visit the online platform (website, training course etc) and sign up for a freebie offer of great-perceived value (PDF, video series, Cheat Sheet, Blueprint etc)
5. once people sign up they are now considered to be “warm” prospects because they want answers to their own questions about this product or service that’s being talked about
6. now – imagine if this little process brought warm prospects to you 24 hours per day — even while you sleep — and then you can go BACK to them and keep them interested in what else is available
7. by offering ANSWERS to most commonly asked questions, the videos start to show the knowledge and expertise of the business owner, and over time the viewer starts to know, like and trust them (this is the most valuable trifecta!).

 

What’s the best way to start?

What really clouds this whole picture is the fact that when we try anything the first time around and we don’t have some sort of blueprint or plan, our chances of failure are quite high.

• This is not just for video marketing  – this applies across the board to many things we don’t understand.
• Maybe you’re trying to learn how to ride a bike.
• Maybe you’re trying to build a new house, renovate an old one or build a new addition to one.
• Maybe you’re trying to be an artist painting their first painting, or you’re a new sculptor trying to sculpt.

I believe that our first few attempts at creating a video are not going to be fabulous. We know it takes TIME and PRACTICE to build a skill — and yes, we can probably all admit this.

So why should video marketing be any different?

When we just jump in because we are all excited about the benefits we’ve heard about video marketing, we might end up making “newbie” mistakes:

• we create a couple of quick videos
• we quickly upload them to video
• we wait for the phone to ring … and we wait … and we wait … and we wait.

Why didn’t anything happen?

Nothing happened because we did not have a step-by-step process to follow — we did not include all the steps to ensure the video content included all the necessary bits and pieces. But don’t worry — there is a solution:

• With the proper blueprint, coaching or video marketing consulting, we don’t have to commit those beginner mistakes ever again.

Our videos don’t have to look amateurish or basic.

We can come up with something professional enough the first time around.

In fact, it’s not uncommon for small businesses to do well with videos that connect powerfully with their prospective clients and customers.

The secret is that there is no secret.

By following mentors and role models — people online who’ve used tried-and-true blueprints, and being guided in producing appealing, educational, informative quality videos one after another, it’s definitely possible to create videos which do not cost an arm and a a leg.

• There are many types of video to be used to solve the video marketing problem
• One of the main reasons why a lot of people have this idea that video marketing has to cost a lot of money is the misconception that they have to produce Hollywood-style blockbuster videos.
• In fact, in certain niches, audiences respond favorably to very more natural and very simple videos.
• We really just have to know our niche and give it a try.

More specifically, we just have to know how to segment and break up our niche into little sub-markets.

Put simply, the better we know our audience the more powerful our video can be and has nothing to do with how polished or smooth it is.

Instead it has everything to do with our video’s ability to communicate with our target audience members on a very human, personal and emotional level.

In fact, if we create videos answering every questions we’ve ever been asked about our business, and publish each question and answer as a separate mini-video advertisement on our Youtube channel, website etc, we can be quickly found in all kind of search engine results. We may be seen as the go-to person in our niche — and that’s a huge bonus!

There are many video marketing tools available at low cost

The good news is that we can drastically reduce our video production costs by using one of the many different levels of video tools.

We may not need to hire professionals if we start with inexpensive video making tools available

We can make great videos using the tools at our disposal without hiring any experts (we can always hire a professional after we’ve tried making them ourselves, if we feel we don’t have the skill).

The most cost-effective video making tool is our smart phone, iPad or other Tablet which can take videos.

These videos can include:

1. Talking Head videos with a person talking direct to camera.
2. Interview style videos which can make the person being filmed even more comfortable in front of the camera, and possibly looking to the side where the interviewer is off camera.
3. Slideshow-style videos made using presentation software like Powerpoint for Windows, Camtasia for Mac and Windows, Screenflow for Mac (my personal favourite).
4. Animated videos using cartoon characters and moving objects.
5. Kinetic videos using animated text flying across the screen, left to right etc, zoom in and out.
6. Testimonial videos where happy customers and clients are thrilled to tell others how much they loved working with us — these are worth their weight in gold :-)
7. Product videos where we see the product being used or displayed, and walking us through how to use it.

I highly recommend creating a few videos with a smartphone:

1. face-on-camera Talking Head
2. or walk around the office or building taking videos
3. film staff or products
4. and then download them to a computer and see what you think.

If you involve your staff, did any of them have a personality which really jumped out on camera?

They might be perfect to help you as a person to feature in your marketing videos as they might keep the viewers interested and entertained. Don’t be afraid to have a bit of fun and share some banter in the videos, if that’s appropriate for your business.

If you need help with any of this, please do get in touch with me today — I’d love to chat more with you and see what your dreams are for helping your business shine with video marketing! PS — I’m in the process of creating online video training to walk folks through the step-by-step processes, and you might be a perfect fit for this option.

Chat with me in one of these ways:

1. send an email
2. call me in Australia (+61) 0408-801-808
3. on Facebook

PS — In August 2018 I’ll be launching a new series of Video Training Courses!

• How To Create Your First Video for Marketing
• How to Set Up Your Youtube Channel to Convert Followers to Customers
• 30 Day Video Marketing Blueprint To Skyrocket Your Business.

If you’re interested in any of these, please pop over to this form and join the exclusive Early Birds and grab any discounts I announce:

• Join the Early Bird List for Online Video Training

Cheers

Teena