Take your small business to the next level with our free video marketing workbook.
The email you entered is invalid.
Thank you for subscribing.
By entering your email, you indicate that you have read and understood our Privacy Policy and agree to receive marketing from Squarespace.
Video content is a high-impact marketing tool that many people think of as being high-lift. It’s true that video content can be created with a production studio and a dedicated team of professionals, but video marketing isn’t beyond your reach if you don’t have access to those kinds of resources. To make quality video content, all you need is a smartphone and the right guidance.
Read on to learn how to make professional-looking video content for your small business.
Start with eye-catching imagery
There’s a good chance that you already have brand assets you can repurpose for your video marketing efforts. Do you have product images or lifestyle photos that you created for your website or other promotional materials? How about photos of yourself in action, or even headshots of your teammates? Paired with the right components, like music and narration, you can turn still images into a video slideshow that delivers your message.
If you already have visual assets—like photos or short video clips—ready to stitch together in your video, you’re off to a great start. If not, now is the time to capture photos and videos yourself. Even without the bells and whistles that come with a professional production partner, most mobile devices have incredibly sophisticated camera capabilities. That means you can create high-quality photo or video content on your own. Experiment with one of the many editing apps that allow you to apply filters, play with saturation and brightness, and adjust video speed, among other things.
Use text to drive your message home
Text has an important role to play in creating effective video marketing content. The globally-recognized brand names can rely on a distinctive logo or specific imagery, but most small businesses will need to spend more time explaining who they are and what they do. That’s where text elements come into play.
Here are some popular ways to convey your message through text-based video elements:
Title cards: Typically seen at the beginning of a video, title cards can be used to introduce the story you’re about to tell, set the scene, establish the atmosphere, or simply display your brand name and logo.
End cards: As the name suggests, end cards appear when the video is coming to a conclusion. In addition to featuring your CTA and a catchy tagline, end cards can highlight contact information like your website URL or social media handles.
Text overlays: If the message you’re looking to share doesn’t quite fit at the beginning or end of a video, a text overlay may be a better option. These are useful for setting video pace, splitting up scenes, or guiding the narrative of a longer video.
Text is also an important way to make your video as accessible as possible. From key phrases to full captioning, on-screen text will help you connect better with viewers who experience your video without sound.
Set your text elements against specific backgrounds, whether you choose a solid color background, a photo from your collection, or the video footage itself. That way, you’ll be able to create harmony between the visual elements and the text that come together to tell your story.
Turn up the volume with audio components
Don’t underestimate the power of audio in your video marketing. Music goes a long way to set the mood of your video, whether you’re going for a pump-it-up vibe or something more mellow. Choosing the right music can increase production value, and an audio track that works well with the visual components will help keep viewers engaged.
Narration is also a popular feature of video marketing for small businesses. Whether you take a video of yourself talking, record your teammates reading a script, or hire a voiceover artist, narration is a great way to deliver your brand message with a more personal touch. Including a narrator adds depth to your story and helps explain complex processes or business principles that you need your audience to understand.
When you mix all these ingredients together, you get the recipe for video storytelling for small business success. Professional-looking video doesn’t take much more than a creative eye, your smartphone, and the right apps.