There’s no better way to show off your brand or product features than with video.

When it’s done right, a video can show off your business’ true personality. It can build trust and showcase your product or service better than any photo ever could. But it’s important to note that videos take time and can cost thousands of dollars if you hire a professional videographer—let alone an agency to develop the concept, write the script, shoot, and edit your video.

Since we like to focus on and empower small businesses around these parts, you'll be happy (maybe relieved) to know that making a brand video or product video can be done on a budget with results that will make you proud. Here are some important tips to follow (and pitfalls to avoid) when making your brand or product videos.

Your brand and product videos need a concept

1. What is the main point(s) you want to get across? Is the video an introduction to your business—designed to show off your personality, culture, and ideas about working with clients? Or maybe it’s a video that highlights a particular product or service that your small business can get hired for? Whatever the main point is, make sure you write it down and double (or triple) check the concept supports that objective.

2. Next, what kind of video do you want to shoot? If it’s a video about your business, you may want to feature the leaders in a “talking head” interview style.  He/She/They can discuss the vision of the company, how they solve client problems, and share a few interesting facts that make the business relatable. (This is important because people want to work with businesses they like and believe in.) Smile, show the real you, and empathize with your customer’s challenges. Make sure you add some b-roll (lifestyle or background footage) to your video because videos should entertain too. You can shoot scenes of you at work, taking photos, writing an essay, setting up at a wedding, bringing a pizza out of the oven—whatever your business is, show you and/or your team in action.

Pro-tip: You can also bring in shots of your interests beyond the core function of your business. Again, people like to work with businesses they can relate to, so showing your human side is always a bonus!

If the video is to highlight a specific product or service, this will be a more straightforward style production and is a great way to show your product in action. Just keep in mind, your objective should always be highlighting the PROBLEM - SOLUTION -BENEFIT.

Tips to help you write a script for your brand video

1. There are two routes you can go with your video script. You can write it yourself because no one knows your business better than you or you can hire someone (like a freelance copywriter) to write the script for you. Whichever way you go, make sure it's written in your brand voice.

2. If it’s a "talking head" and interview style video, write out the interview questions. Then make sure the subject says or at least alludes to the question in the answer. You will edit out the question if there is someone actually interviewing the person responding.

            Example:

            Q: Why did you start this business?

            A: I started this business because I love working with strong women.

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3. If it's a "talking head" style video with a script, we definitely recommend downloading a teleprompter app! That relieves all the pressure to memorize what needs to be said.

If it’s a product video, just make sure you’re stating (or showing) the problem, how your business is solving the problem, and how your customer or client will benefit.

Shooting your brand or product videos

1. Shooting a video can be a costly endeavor. The lighting, the sound, the 5k cameras, the crew—you don't have to go all out on these videos, but good on ‘ya if you have the budget for it now! If you don’t, the good news is smartphone cameras have gotten so sophisticated that high quality videos can be made from the palm of your hand. For best results, make sure you have two cameras to get two angles on each person you're shooting (one from straight-on the subject and one from the side). One investment worth making is a smartphone tripod or two to keep your camera properly positioned and steady.
2. Consider getting one professional video recording light or ring light. These are available in a variety of price points and can be purchased on Amazon or camera shops everywhere. To start learning proper lighting techniques, here is an article from Masterclass.
3. You will want to get a good wireless lavalier microphone for the subject being filmed as well. These can be purchased on Amazon and other audio/video websites for $25 - $99.

Tips to help you edit your video

1. You did it! You made it to the editing phase of your video. This is where the real skill comes in! To bring all the footage together, you’ll need good editing software. The good news is, the free iMovie editing software that comes with every Apple MacBook is a pretty solid solution for putting your footage together—Canva has video editing now too! For the more advanced editor, or if you plan to make many videos, investing in Apple’s Final Cut, Final Cut Pro, or Adobe’s Premiere Pro is a smart move. For the PC users out there, PowerDirect Essential or DaVinci Resolve are good solutions.
2. Editing takes patience and skill but it’s fun to watch your video come together. If you don’t have the time, outsourcing the editing portion of your video production might be the one place to spend some money. A professional editor can make a     good video into a great video by ensuring video and audio levels are appropriate and cuts between scenes are seamless. You can find freelance editors pretty much anywhere these days. You’ll just need to upload your audio and video files to a shared drive.

Once your video is complete, upload it to a video hosting site (like YouTube or Vimeo), copy the link, and add it to your brand assets in the Enji. And definitely be sure to use your video in more than one way—you can use it on your blog, in your email campaigns, on social media or post on your website. Repurposing your content is not only smart, it saves a ton of time.

You may not become the next Steven Spielberg or Greta Gerwig right away, but becoming a small business film producer can do wonders for your business—even if you don’t win an Oscar!

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