Sharing stories with your customers through an informative video is one of the best ways to create a connection with them. It helps to build trust and engage your customers with what your company does or plans to do. It is an important marketing channel; however, it can also be very costly if it is not planned out well. An informative company video does not necessarily always require a professional team of videographers and directors. It can be economical with the right resources. So here is a list of five different ways to make your business’s videos affordable:
1. Friends And Family
Maybe you do not have a famous video director in your circle, but perhaps you have a cousin or a friend who likes to make videos on his or her spare time. Whether it is just a friend who likes to use a video camera or a sibling that likes to cut and paste videos, you can build a whole video crew out of your circle of friends and family. All you need is someone with a keen eye for creativity to help with the direction and a video camera to help you film an informative video about your business. It should not take more than a day of their time to help you film so ask around!
Also, get your friends and family members involved as actors and actresses if you need people to be in your video. Why pay for expensive models and actors/actresses when you already have free resources all around you?! The best method of payment to your friends and family—in my opinion—is through a platter of delicious food and lots of gratitude.
2. Outsource
There are dozens of sites nowadays where you can hire outsourced workers. For instance, oDesk has thousands of people signed up to be video editors and creative directors. If you are able to film some footages of your business yourself, you could send it over to an outsourced worker to professionally edit it for you for half or even a quarter of the cost of your expected budget. Some of these outsourced workers ask for hourly wages as low as $3 per hour. It is definitely a trusted site because there are already millions of businesses that have already used it and testified that they already are or they would use it again. It’s perfect if you can film, but don’t know how to edit.
3. Networking Events
Each month there are dozens of film-related networking events, hosted in the hearts of metropolitan cities. You can easily find these through the Meetup.com websites or subscribing to your city’s film festival email list. Go to these networking events to see if you can potentially meet someone who would be interested in taking on your business video as a project to add to their portfolio. You may even meet someone who is trying to start his own studio who may help you film your video for a much lower price than a developed professional studio. These networking events could also be a great way for you to gain some ideas of how you would want to stage your direct your informative video. Some of the videographers you may meet might give some brilliant theme idea or even inspire you to film the video yourself.
4. Craigslist And The Classified
If you don’t have the time to go to the networking events, try posting to Craigslist.com or your local newspaper classified section. Most of the replies you will receive will either be spams or beginner videographers who want to test out their new cameras, but if you have the patience, you could also end up with a jackpot. In my experiences with Craigslist and the classified section when it comes to video-making or anything creative-related, there is about 1 really good qualified person to every 10 not-so-good ones. Usually the good ones are the ones who ask for more money, but I still find them a lot more affordable than going directly to a professional studio. These freelancers usually have a small studio in their apartments and are looking for more projects to add to their portfolio. They tend to be a lot more flexible too with negotiation on price and their schedules.
5. Hire A Student Intern
College students are always looking for internships nowadays to build their resumes. If you live within a driving distance radius of a college campus, hire a film intern. Advertise on their school newspaper or post up fliers in the art/film departments explaining the internship position, the compensation amount, your contact information and the duration of the internship. The best thing about hiring students is that they are always eager to learn and experience, so they are not just working with you for the money.