Can I Make A Business Video Myself?

But formidable tools like having a business video come at cost. We’ve already talked about the true ROI of your business video, and how much your business really benefits from having one. But, what if you made the video content yourself? Can you make a business video yourself?

The answer is, essentially, yes. But there are a few things to consider before you dive in.

Making your own business video: The pros

It’ll cost you much less than hiring a video production company. Video production costs can range from a couple of thousand pounds, into many tens of thousands pounds – depending on what you want to achieve. Making a video just costs you your time (don’t forget the cost of equipment – more on that below).

You can drop ideas or change your mind at the drop of a hat. Change your mind about the creative direction of your company video halfway through, and that’s a lot of money down the drain. If you’re making the video yourself, though, you can make immediate adjustments – or even start again!

You can turn around the work quicker. Provided you are proficient at using the technology required (more on that below), and if you have the time to give the video your full concentration, turnaround time can be much quicker. A video production company, with multiple clients, may not be able to turn work around so fast.

You’ll learn new skills. Creating your own business video will help you develop valuable skills in video production, editing, and storytelling. These skills can be beneficial beyond this first project, and will give you the confidence to create more great video marketing content.

Making your own business video: The cons

Video equipment – depending on your plans and expectations – is a considerable cost. Remember we mentioned that making a video just costs you your time? Well, there’s that – and the cost of the equipment. The actual cost is really down to what your expectations are of the results. Want the best 4K video content, perfectly shot and cut together like a Hollywood flick? Time to get your cheque book out.

You may not have enough time to dedicate to it. Again, this depends on your expectations of the end result. But if you bear in mind that a lot of this might be a learning curve, you may decide that, actually, your time is better spent looking after other areas of the business.

The quality of the result may undermine your business message. We’re trying to be as diplomatic here as possible – but you need to bear in mind what you can achieve, and whether you consider that good enough. Sometimes, a short video clip filmed on your iPhone and uploaded to X or Instagram minutes later is fine, and fits with the message, channel and audience. But a business video that represents your company will in most cases need to look the part.

And there’s the learning curve we just mentioned. It’s great to learn new skills, right? But ask yourself this: Is it better to learn video production – filming, directing, editing/post-production and publishing – with this much pressure? Or will you feel more comfortable trying video production as a project for evenings and weekends first, see if it’s something you’re comfortable handling, and then try it for your business video?

Let your expectation of the final result guide you

In summary, whether you can make a business video yourself depends on one thing: your expectation of the finished result. The higher the expectation, the greater the equipment cost, the longer it’ll take, and more you will need to learn.

So, if you do decide to go ahead, how do you plan out a business video?

Planning your own business video

Equipment. You’ll need a camera, microphone (if you are including to-camera pieces, or voiceover), tripod, lighting equipment. For editing, there are many free apps out there, or you could use iMovie, usually free with Apple products. Alternatively, take a look at something like Adobe Premiere, which is very affordable since it can be purchased on a monthly basis.

Content. Planning is key to great video content, and we recommend starting with a script. Even better, if you can storyboard your video, it will help you visualise what it will look like. If you are getting others involved to help you, a script and storyboard will ensure they’re on the same page.

Locations. What does the video need to look like? Where you choose to shoot is important, and ideally the location will tie in with the message. For example, if you’re a shop owner, ideally you’ll be shooting the video inside, and outside of, your premises! If you sell cars, the viewers will need to see those cars. If you’re a hotel, we want to see the hotel, as well as what the rooms look like.

Your team. It’s inevitable that you’ll need to get other members of your business involved. You can’t do it all yourself! So whether they are helping with shooting, presenting the video – or they’re just ‘background artists’ – you need to know who they are and what they will be doing. And so do they!

Time! We keep going back to this… But making videos takes time. So ensure you give yourself plenty of time – and not just to shoot and edit. Bear in mind how long it might take to set up the equipment, shoot what you need, dismantle everything… And then possibly do the same again for the next shot! A couple of shots in and you’ll start to realise why movies often take years to finish.

Distribution. Once your video is filmed, edited and finished… You need to get it out there! Social media is a great channel, as is your website. Read our blog post about video distribution strategies to get some ideas. Don’t forget that Google loves video content – it’s great for boosting the visibility of your website!

What are you waiting for?

With the right tools, good planning and a bit of creativity, you can produce a business video that’ll help elevate your business.

But bear in mind what’s involved, and consider whether you have the time and drive to dive in. Not every video marketing project needs to be of the highest quality. So, consider what you’re using your business video for.

Before you do dive in, make sure you do consider a video production company – even if it is just to get an understanding of the costs. Speak to a few good video production companies, and bear in mind that, even if you do hire in video production professionals, there are still ways to keep costs low – as we cover in this blog post.

We’re here to chat if you need some advice!

WOWVI Video are seasoned pros at creating company videos big and small. We’re more than happy to be a sounding board if you’re unsure whether to create your own videos, or get a video agency to do it.

Click below to get in touch. Or, call us on 0113 403 2037 if you’d like an informal chat about creating video content for your business. Whatever you choose to do, video marketing can help take your business to the next level!