How to make low-cost content that converts

So you want to create a video. Like most marketers, you know that one of good quality could do wonders for your brand. 84% of them claim that the medium is effective for generating leads, and it’s no surprise why: 4 in 5 people say that they’ve been convinced to buy a brand’s product or service by watching their videos. Your ambitions are sky high, you can’t wait to get started and do the same for your firm—and then it hits you: the budget. It’s not nearly as much as you imagined, and now you’re stumped.

Still, not all is lost just yet. Read on to find out just how to create effective video content that actually converts, without having to break the bank (or your mental psyche in the process).

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Formulating your tactics

Believe it or not, much of a video’s success is determined even before a single cent is spent. This mostly lies in research and strategy. To put it simply, you need to know your stuff, both internally—including your own brand’s goals and strategy—and the external video production process later on. This is because everything involved in the video production process, from scriptwriting to video uploading, must be aligned in accordance to your brand strategy in order to reach your overarching goals. Here are some questions to think about concerning your own brand before even thinking about the actual video:

Who are you creating your content for?

Brands must have everything that can be known about their target audience on the back of their hand. This may seem like tired advice, but rings true nonetheless, for a lack of understanding can be costly down the road. Regardless of how big or small a brand’s video budget is, no one wants to waste funds on ad placements for a digital platform none of their target audience actually uses. Knowing the target audience also translates to understanding their preferences, which helps when coming up with the project brief later.

What do you aim to achieve?

The various video marketing goals brands often aspire to achieve depend on where in the funnel you want to target your potential customer. At the top of the funnel lies brand awareness, which is where brand videos are usually deployed. Further down comes the aim to generate leads. Companies usually embark on case studies to draw them in. Driving conversions then, is the end goal for every lead—customer testimonials and product demos are great here. Your goals should be clearly delineated to ensure a clear direction for your video planning.

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Making the first move

Beyond looking into your own brand, you must educate yourself on the video production process. As your team eases into pre-production, you’ll have to make a lot of decisions concerning crew members, equipment, venues, and the like. You’d want to make the most informed decisions and make sure that you don’t regret using another third party vendor later. More than anything, you’d want to be familiar with the process and be prepared for costs popping up along the way. There is always a low-cost option, but understandably can come at another price: it is up to you if it is one you are willing to pay. These are some factors to consider as you move along the board.

Pre-production

1. Go professional or stay in-house for your script. Writing a script in-house will help you trim costs, but can come at the expense of quality scriptwriting if you don’t have an experienced writer within the company.
2. Hire an agency or freelance videographers. Freelance videographers may come at a lower cost at face value, but production houses often have access to equipment and locations you won’t have to dig into your wallet for later. Alternatively, you could always do it yourself—if it won’t compromise your video quality, or if the quality of the video doesn’t affect its effectiveness by much.
3. Decide between a live-action or animation video. Animation videos often cost lower than the former since they don’t need a live location, sets, and require fewer equipment. Depending on the type of video, animation videos can be highly effective as long as they suit the brand’s persona, messaging, and audience.
4. Decide the number and quality of equipment. This is something you’re less likely to have to worry about if you hire a video production company. If not, you must decide between entry level gear or higher tech equipment for the project.

Post-Production

1. Quell your inner editor. It’s likely that your team would’ve enlisted the help of an editor to piece together your video—you definitely don’t want an amateur to do this job. Still, upon seeing the rounds of rough cuts, it may be tempting to keep asking for more and more changes. The more rounds of editing it takes, the more effort and more importantly, the more charges you’re adding on for yourself from your editor. Take your time to really review the video and keep changes to what are truly essential, and list them all in one round where possible.
2. Avoid licenses. The editing stage may give you the biggest itch to add all the bells and whistles. This includes adding excellent music, and should frankly be avoided at all costs if it comes with a license. This is the easiest way to tack on costs without actually increasing the effectiveness of the video.

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Checkmate!

Like most things in life, shaving the costs of your next video project comes at another price—but this doesn’t necessarily include the quality or effectiveness of the video. Depending on your choices, videos can be both low-cost and fulfill your content marketing goals as long as your team is prudent and focused on what you truly need.

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Need a hand on where to begin? Here at Big 3 Media, we're a Singapore video production company that offers a suite of services to market your business during these challenging times:

• Live Streaming services
• Video production
• Website design and development
• Media Buy
• Graphic Design & Mascot design
• Content Marketing Strategy

If you are looking for content marketing options for your business, drop us an email or message and find out how Big 3 Media can help you!