Sometimes when clients hear the Rainier team suggest video, they shy away from the idea thinking they can’t afford to spend a lot of money producing this type of content. Or they’re scared off by the perceived time commitment to create a new video. But video for your content marketing program doesn’t need to cost an arm and a leg, and it doesn’t need to take days, weeks or months to produce. While there’s a time and a place for professionally shot, highly produced videos, simple videos can sometimes be as – or even more – effective.

What do we mean by “simple?” Videos can be recorded just using a great phone camera or with a video camera you may already have. And as for the topics? They can be as basic as quick explainer videos, a demo, or a little more in-depth with commentary on a new product or a topic important for your industry. And none of these need to be shot in a studio.

Example: Rainier CEO Steve Schuster created a  video 1:41 in length that introduces a new offering to clients (video to right). He recorded it using a Nikon D850 DSLR camera on a tripod and Presentation Prompter free software on running on his Mac. Any DSLR camera with HD video (1080p resolution) will work. He also used two studio lights, one to light the speaker and one to light the green screen used (background added later with video editing software).

What’s more, these types of video can be produced quickly and with tools readily available. Don’t have the time to map it all out? Work with your PR firm to get them done quickly and effectively. Here are a few tips to get started:

• Brainstorm on all the topics and types of videos that make sense for your company. Popular videos are explainers, demos, commentary, educational, customer testimonials, and interviews.
• Think about the spokespeople for each of the video types. Maybe it’s the CEO or CTO for an upcoming company or product launch. Perhaps a sales engineer who spends a lot of time doing demos and speaking with customers could create a demo video or one educating prospective customers on the need for your technology. Make a quick list of customers that might be willing to do a short video case study or testimonial. Heading to an event or tradeshow? Plan ahead of time to interview a few different people in your organization or maybe even partners while you’re all together.
• Think “short.” Thirty seconds, one minute, two and half minutes. Those are all great lengths for videos like those suggested above. Consumers of video have short attention spans these days, so create a compelling story and tell it succinctly to make the greatest impact. You can even create two versions of a video: a short 30-second clip and a longer version. Use them in different ways and on different social platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter.
• Create a YouTube Channel (please subscribe to Rainier’s!) for your company, if you don’t have one already. This will make it very easy to post the videos to your website and on social using an embed or share code. Added bonus: YouTube is also great for SEO.
• Consider getting a tripod for your phone or camera to make the video shoot easier. Also, invest in a decent quality wireless lavalier mic for better sounding audio – you can find one for less than $100.

In future blogs, we’ll take a look at ways to create those videos, how to plan out the talking points and the best ways for you to work with your PR team to accomplish your goals.