If you’ve ever been lucky enough to fall head-over-heels in love, you may have once been the type (still, now – really?) to desperately Google “Valentine’s Day on a budget gift ideas.”
We know how this goes …
It was Valentine’s Day Eve. Even though you started with plenty of money, you spent it all on beer and long-shot Super Bowl bets. Broke, confused, and close to single, you start rationalizing your upcoming terrible decisions:
“Oh, she doesn’t want flowers, chocolate, and a nice dinner – something homemade and ‘unique’ would mean so much more!”
Where is that relationship today? Long gone, like the rest of your dreams and your inner peace? We thought so.
Rest assured, you were the thing that drove her away – not your cheapskate “love coupon” gift.
Now, let’s not make the same grave mistakes when it comes to video marketing. The stakes are just as high.
You can either stretch your dollars for a decent result – or end up with a video that’s a feast of failure. Look, you’re in good company, limited marketing budgets are the main reason people are torn between DIY video production vs. hiring professionals (but it might be cheaper than you think).
Affordable Video Production
There’s a time and a place for crafting video on a budget.
DIY video marketing can be a fantastic approach for social media content, for instance. That’s because – despite everyone projecting perfection on Facebook – what works best on social media technically is authenticity and relatability. Customers value realness over polished perfection and low-budget videos often feel more genuine.
Plus, successful social media marketing demands frequent content, so producing high-end videos for every post can drain resources. Budget-friendly videos allow you to maintain a steady stream of engaging content without breaking the bank, making it easier to experiment and adapt based on audience reactions.
To be sure, there’s a wide gap between on-a-budget video and no-budget video. Your love coupons for free foot rubs were no-budget. Even on a budget, you could have spent $20 to print out a few sweet photos for a clothespin picture display, gifted with a crappy red blend wine.
Back then, of course, you didn’t have a clue. Now, you lucky dog, you have a wingman – us, Hackstone!
This guide will cover tips to create budget-friendly videos that won’t make your brand look like it’s operating out of a basement. We’ll give you some basic direction on affordable video production and show you how to plan for high-quality video content on a budget.
Before we jump in, don’t forget: Saving money on video marketing production isn’t saving anything if you torpedo your company’s sales because your video content sucked. We’ve said it before so we’ll say it again: Video is king in marketing. You may spend some upfront dough on hiring a creative studio or team but effective video marketing more than pays for itself.
Budget Video vs. Professional Production
There are a few mainstays of video marketing that you’ll find in both the budget approach and in working with an agency. A few of those include following best practices for video SEO, using a mobile-first approach for most videos, and generally being less self-absorbed.
But let’s focus on the main differences in these pros and cons.
The Pros and Cons
Low-Budget Video:
- Pros: Cheap, easy to make, and perfect for a casual vibe on social media.
- Cons: Often looks amateurish, suffers from poor quality, and can tarnish your brand’s image if overused.
Professional Production:
- Pros: High-quality visuals and sound, aligns with your brand, and enhances credibility.
- Cons: Expensive, time-consuming, and not always budget-friendly for smaller campaigns.
Video content is the crème de la crème of digital marketing. People binge-watch online videos like they’re preparing for a marathon – with the average person doomscrolling their way through 17 hours of video content per week.
It can be hard to get noticed, but high-quality video is half the battle. Let’s face it — some budget videos look like they were made in a high school AV club. Here are the top signs your budget video might be more “meh” than “wow.”
Top Signs of (Bad) Budget Video:
- Awkward Cuts: When your video looks like it was edited by a caffeinated squirrel, you know there’s trouble. Abrupt transitions and clunky editing scream amateur hour.
- Bad Lighting: If your video looks like it was shot in a cave during a blackout, it’s time to rethink your lighting strategy. Bad lighting can make even the most exciting content look dull and lifeless.
- Low-Res Video: Nothing says “cheap” like a video that’s as pixelated as a vintage video game. High-definition footage is a must for any content aiming to impress.
- Cringe-Worthy Acting: If your actors look like they’re reading from cue cards while fighting off sleep, it’s a major red flag. Poor performance can kill even the best scripts.
- Overused Stock Footage: When your video features stock footage that seems to have been used in every other corporate video, it’s not just uninspired — it’s giving “love coupons.”
But even on a tight budget, you can still make your content look as though it was created with care and expertise. Here’s how.
10 Tips for (Better) Budget Video
- Understand Your Audience: Know who you’re talking to and what you want to achieve. Professionals start with this to tailor their content precisely.
- Crafting a Compelling Story: A great video needs a good story, even if it’s short. Pros make sure every frame tells part of the story.
- Choose the Right Format: Select a format that suits your message and audience such as an explainer video, product demonstration, customer testimonial, or behind-the-scenes footage.
- Don’t Skimp on Equipment: Invest in basic gear if you must, but remember, even pros use high-quality equipment to avoid technical issues.
- DIY Production Techniques: Utilize what you have — like good lighting and a steady hand. Keep your shots simple and your runtime short.
- Leverage Low-Cost Editing Software: It won’t look as polished as a professional but some tools will even use A.I. video magic to make an initial round of cuts for you.
- Incorporate Stock Footage and Music: Use stock footage wisely (or even branch out and craft your content around user-generated video). Make sure you have the rights to what you use!
- Use Graphics and Overlays: Enhance your video with graphics. Pros use these to make the content pop and keep it engaging.
- Optimize for SEO: Make sure your video is easily searchable, paying close attention to meta fields like the headline, SEO summary, and keywords.
- Do It on Social Media: People are more forgiving here (if they don’t like it, they’ll ignore and simply forget you). Social media can handle casual content.
Video Content for Marketing
Most likely, you’re probably not contemplating doing your 10th-anniversary film or go-to-market video campaign on a DIY budget (we hope).
Definitely, hire professionals for that.
We do things like…
Completely custom-build a 1950s pre-Great War telethon set…
Put Max Scherzer in commercials…
And craft video stories about people who actually understand love (no supermarket flowers or love coupons here).
When you do video content marketing on the cheap, it generally shows. It’s not always a cost-cutting disaster but 100% of the time, there’s a better way (that will provide a much higher ROI).
Plus, at Hackstone, we’re not like the people in your office – we’d love to get a call from you, set up a meeting, and then interface with you regularly for months as we prep, film, produce, and deploy your next commercial or digital video ad! Send us an email or pick up the phone today and get started. Our crew won’t work for love coupons but we will deliver great creative that makes you unskippable.