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So you’ve decided to start your own company.
After spending months without any sleep, pissing off your better half and developing an unhealthy addiction to caffeine - you’ve done it.
You are now the proud founder of your very own Startup.
Congrats!
You’ve been using all sorts of guerrilla tactics to get your startup out there – blog posts, emails, targeted ads on social media etc etc et cetera.
And like scores of startup companies before you, you’ve realised the importance of videos in your marketing strategy.
You’ve been Googling for hours on end, trying to find low-cost video marketing tactics that your startup can implement.
Well, you’ve reached the end of your quest.
What if I told you that there are several effective video marketing strategies that require literally zero investment?
Nil. Zero. Nada.
If you’re a company that’s just starting out, you need to know these strategies better than you know your alphabet.
Being the nice guy that I am, I’m going to list these tactics out for you - In the hopes that you rethink your startup’s marketing strategy
As experts in Video Marketing, we’ll be using our daily experiences to update this article with the latest strategies that startups can use - So be sure to bookmark this page and keep checking in regularly!
So without further ado, let’s help you create an explosive marketing strategy with these 16+ (And Counting) Free Startup Video Marketing Tactics:
1. Engage 82% more viewers with live videos
Live video is the future of the social network.
I didn’t say that - Mark Zuckerberg did.
Listen to the Zucc.
Use Facebook Live, Instagram Live and Twitter’s Periscope for your startup’s video marketing.
Live stream your product launch, host Q&A sessions to answer your customers, hold live interviews or create how-to video shows - The possibilities are endless.
Live video platforms are absolutely free.
Plus, they make you more humane.
You’re not going to lose anything using them.
So why not use them in your startup’s video marketing?
If you want to know more about using Live Videos in your marketing strategy, check out our Ultimate Guide now!
2. Save money on Startup video production by using your smartphone
Do yourself a favor. Don’t burn your pockets buying professional recording gear. The smartphone in your pocket is all you need to shoot a quality live-action startup video.
Use your phone to shoot literally any video for your sales funnel. These could be live videos for social media, Vlogs, testimonial videos of happy customers, ANYTHING!
If you really, really, REALLY want to pretend you’re Bill Gates and spend some money, just get yourself a basic tripod to get more stable videos from your phone. Or get a cheap mic that’ll help improve your startup video’s audio quality.
All I’m saying is don’t splurge!
3. Save $$$ by making brilliant product demos for free
80% of consumers believe having demonstration videos are helpful when making purchases.
You’ve probably had to give a demo of your product a bunch of times for your clients or investors.
Why not just do it once?
Record a product demo yourself!
You don’t have to spend truckloads of cash trying to create a glamorous Broadway production for this. A simple product demo will work perfectly for your sales demos, FAQ pages or investor’s pitch.
You could sell a kidney and hire an agency to make your product demo for you.
Or you could use amazing free online screen recorder tools on the net like VideoForm, Soapbox, Vidyard, Loom, and HippoVideo to make one for yourself.
These tools offer more than enough features for free – so go ahead and get the best out of them!
4. Increase viewer traffic with SEO driven videos
Understand your area of expertise and find out what people search for in your niche.
Do a keyword research!
You could use ‘Ahrefs’ – a fantastic online SEO tool – to find keyword ideas. Ahrefs will let you have a 7-day trial for the sum of $7.00. And trust me, you can plan out your marketing strategy for the next 3 months in those 7 days.
The investment is TOTALLY worth it.
- Figure out the popular keywords in your niche using your Google Suggestions and enter them into Ahrefs’ Keyword Explorer keeping YouTube as the search source. We’re going to use the keyword - ‘Explainer Video’ as an example.
- You’re going to be bombarded with the most searched questions and popular keyword ideas around your topic.
- Once you’ve figured out the questions people are asking the most, create videos that answer these queries.
- Use these keywords in your title, description & transcripts to attract your customers through SEO.
If your viewers get solutions to their problems by watching your startup video, they’re going to remember you.
You could even use your products in these videos to cement your brand into their minds!
Help grow your brand image!!
5. Destroy writer’s block by repurposing old content
I know how hard it is to find new content for you to market. So let me give you some good news.
Use your old content and repackage it for your viewers to increase the buzz!
- Have a step by step guide for your product? Use it for a startup video production on how to use the product!
- Turn those boring 50-page reports into a beautiful infographic startup video that will spark your viewer’s interest.
- Have a blog? Repurpose your popular blog posts and create engaging video content to boost your startup’s video marketing! That’s what we’re doing with our blog.
We converted our popular blog on videos in a sales funnel into a video format with amazing results!
I know you’re worried about the budget.
But here’s the thing – you can do all this for free!
We’ve included a list of online video creation tools and software at the bottom of this blog to help you out with your startup video production.
Bottom line – Take your old, popular content and breathe new life into them by converting them into engaging videos.
6. How to increase your video engagement by 6X using silence
Consumer love content that engages them with minimal effort from their side.
Your viewer could be sitting in a boring meeting, scrolling through social media to pass time. They’re not going to unmute your video and disrupt the proceedings.
So how do you get your message across?
I’ll tell you how:
Make your startup videos work without audio
- Keep things visual.
- Stop them from scrolling away by adding subtitles to your startup video production! We’ve added a list of Free Subtitling Tools at the bottom of this article to help you with the captioning of your startup video.
- Or engage your viewers by making a silent typographic video without the hassle of adding a voiceover.
You’re not going to get the engagement you want if you don’t help your viewers out.
Plus, transcriptions with the right keywords are going to improve your SEO and greatly impact your startup video marketing.
7. Multiply your lead generation with this mind-blowing tactic
Let’s say your startup has a blog where you’re about to put up a listicle. Let’s say the list has 30 entries. I’m asking you to hold back maybe 5-10 entries and publish the remaining in your blog for the world to see.
Then, create a video that explains the 5-10 list entries that were left out and use it as exclusive bonus content to bait new subscribers!
This tactic is simple.
But it’ll soon be pouring leads by the minute. Plus, you’ll start getting more subscribers – once word of your exclusive content gets around!
Content Marketing 101.
8. Lower your video cost by up to 60% with this simple hack
Want to create an amazing startup video but have a dismal budget?
Help the job market out and hire freelancers!
They’re always looking for their next big project. And that project could be your next startup video production!
You can find tons of freelancers on platforms like Dribble, Behance, Fiverr, 99designs, and Upwork who’ll do your bidding for a smaller paycheck.
9. How to decrease your website bounce rate by 2X
Want to stop visitors from leaving your website too soon?
Well then, give them a reason to stay!
Stats show that an average user spends 88% more time on a website with video.
Put up an eye-catching video on your website’s landing page.
This could be an explainer video, a testimonial, a company story – any kind of business video!
Don’t worry that your landing page video isn’t good enough – something’s always better than nothing!
As long your landing page video catches your visitor’s eye, they’re going to want to stick around some more, decreasing your bounce rate in the process!
10. Use this video to attract a talented workforce for a smaller paycheck
No company is going to achieve anything without a brilliant, dedicated workforce behind it. Attract wiz-kids to your company by creating startup video content that defines your company’s culture!
Use your company’s culture and show off your start-up’s story in videos. Explain your vision to the people and give them a strong reason to work for you!
Plus, these startup videos will boost your portfolio. So don’t forget to share these on LinkedIn!
Obvious Disclaimer – Be authentic. Don’t fake your work culture. That’s just sad.
11. Increase email CTR by 65% with this simple hack
Enhance your emails by incorporating Startup Video Content!
Show your email list that you have an extra zing by sending them onboarding videos, personalized sales demos, product updates, etc.
Embed video content into your email using free online tools like Soapbox or Loom.
Or use a Static Image or an animated GIF with a Play button that redirects the reader to the hosting platform where you’ve uploaded your startup video.
You will get a 19% higher open rate for an email whose subject line mentions that there’s a [VIDEO] inside.
Your recipients are going to want to see what all the commotion is about.
Make them curious!
12. How to get 3X more viewers by making fewer videos
Quality Over Quantity. I can’t stress this enough.
If you’re going to go on a video uploading spree with no regard for your content, you’re going to get more than a few customers rolling their eyes at you.
STOP SPAMMING!
All you’re going to do is piss off your viewers. They expect quality content in the videos they watch – Not Clickbait!
If you’re following a startup video marketing strategy where you have to upload a certain target number of your startup’s videos instead of focussing on creating great content – STOP NOW!
Don’t rush your startup video production. Take your time to plan your video content. You need to Engage and Entertain your audience with your startup videos before you can Educate them!!
Create startup video content that glues your audience to their seats and you will create a larger fan-base of loyal viewers for yourself.
13. Use this simple tactic to get your videos to the right audience
Basic rule of startup video marketing:
No one is going to share your videos if you don’t promote them yourself.
No, I’m not talking about the posts you put up on your social media feed. Neither am I talking about targeted Ads – those can be expensive.
I’m saying promote videos in the right LinkedIn, Facebook and Slack groups.
Broadcast your videos to your LinkedIn First connections with a direct message. You can do this in 5 minutes with automation tools like LinkedHelper.
Tag the right people and use the appropriate hashtags on Instagram & Twitter. Put up a snippet of your video on Facebook and Instagram stories.
Invade the right Social Media Feeds!
Make your startup video content visible to the right people, and they will help you get it out there.
Make sense?
14. Re-use videos for up to 4X more social traffic
Sharing your startup video content once isn’t enough.
Ted loves your idea.
But Ted works from 9 to 5. He won’t see your video if you put it up at 12 PM.
Help your content reach him!
You’ll need to share your content again and again, updating your posts every time to suit the timeline so that the right people see it.
Recirculate your content and increase viewership!
But at the same time, don’t spam.
How often you repost depends on the platform you’re using.
You can repost as many times as you want on Twitter.
On Facebook and LinkedIn however, we recommend sharing the post three to four times the first two months.
15. Get your audience to promote your brand with this effective strategy
“Audiences promoting my brand?”
Yep.
Let’s face it – A friend recommending a product to you is always more effective than any advertisement can be.
So here’s an idea:
Upload a video announcing a promotion or giveaway that will encourage users to create content for your brand – in return for a shoutout or a small prize that’ll make them feel all special.
This is what Bangalore based startup Chumbak has been doing. Chumbak regularly hosts contests and giveaways on their Instagram page to interact with their audience and encourage participation.
The result?
They now have a massive following that spans across India.
Surprise Surprise.
16. Save $$$ on startup video production with these free tools
If this was a Kung Fu movie, this is where I tell you that you’re ready.
It’s time to give you your weapons. I’m going to equip you with tools that are going to put a smile on your face. Most of these tools are free, to begin with.
Some tools like Kapwing will give you all their resources for free in return for a simple blog post 😉.
Others have free trials that are more than enough for you to boost your startup’s video production.
But I suggest that you get yourself a subscription anyway. They’re not exactly expensive to begin with.
Plus the added features in the full versions of each tool are going to be useful later.
Go through these lists and pick the tools that suit you best.
Let’s start with the first list:
Online video creation and editing tools
- Rawshorts
- Animaker
- Powtoon
- Wideo
- Vyond
- Viddyoze
- Biteable
- Renderforest
- Animoto
- Moovly
- Wave.video
- VideoScribe
- Loom
- GoVideo by Vidyard
- Soapbox by Wistia
- Hippo Video
- Kapwing
- Adobe Spark
Free stock footage resources
You know what’ll give your startup video productions a more professional zing?
I have two words for you – Stock. Footage.
These platforms offer up free stock footage that you can put into your startup video marketing content.
For free stock photography:
For free stock footage and audio:
Audio resources
If you’re looking to enhance the audio of your startup video production, I have some good news.
Check out this list of extensive audio resources to find that perfect groove for your !
Melody Loops
Search by styles, genres, moods and instruments – Melody Loops is a busy marketplace that offers high-quality royalty-free music and soundtracks for all your startup video marketing needs.
They have music packs that start at $29 for 3 melodies with unlimited downloads.
Audiojungle
Have something specific in mind? Have a dollar to spare?
Well search for the perfect track that suits your startup video marketing strategy by category, keyword or even top artists with Audiojungle.
This database allows you to buy and sell royalty-free music and sound effects starting at $1.
Pond5
Pond5 is another online database that offers royalty-free stock and production music tracks. It has a track for every mood and theme – calm, inspiration, dramatic, you name it!
SoundCloud
You’ve probably been using SoundCloud to listen to you favourite mumble rapper.
It’s extensive library of free tracks under the “Creative Commons” license is perfect for usage in your startup video marketing efforts.
But remember – you can use these tracks as long as you follow the guidelines established by the artist.
Turn on the “To use commercially” filter and look for tracks under a Creative Commons license.
Still, I suggest that you reach out to the artist and make sure they’re okay with you using their track in your startup video productions.
Artlist
The Artlist platform offers high-quality music licensing for any kind of video content.
Does your startup video have babies? Guns? Babies with guns?
Artlist has got your startup video production covered.
For $16.60 a month,you get access to their whole catalogue of music, covering all genres and moods.
This also gives you unlimited downloads plus lifetime use, which in my opinion is a pretty sweet deal.
Epidemic Sound
Infect your viewers with Epidemic Sound.
This brilliant platform will give you high-quality, royalty free background music for your next startup video marketing campaign.
It’s pretty simple to use and has a really big library with a lot of tracks.
Oh and here’s something cool – Epidemic has a ‘find similar’ feature, so you can narrow down what you’re looking for and discover the perfect track for your startup video production!
The “Creator” subscription is priced at $15 per month, giving you access to 30,000+ tracks and 60,000+ sound effects.
YouTube audio library
YouTube’s Audio Library gives you access to a crazy selection of free, royalty-free songs under the ‘Creative Commons’ license.
Filter tracks by genre, instrument, duration, attribution or mood – you’ll have to try really hard to not find the perfect background music for your next startup video marketing effort.
Voiceover resources
Wouldn’t it be great if Morgan Freeman did a voiceover for your video?
No, I’m not going to tell you how to get Morgan Freeman for your voiceover.
Instead, I’m giving you a list of platforms to find the voiceover artist your startup video needs.
Give your content a voice and grab your audience by the ears.
Great Voiceover Artist Marketplaces:
Captioning and subtitle tools
Remember how I told you to make sure your videos work without sound?
I’m going to help you do just that.
These captioning and subtitling tools will also help your startup video production’s SEO.
Subtitles and captions help search engines ‘read’ your videos.
With the right keywords in your subtitles, you’ll boost your video’s Google ranking – by a lot!
Kapwing
Kapwing is a video and image editor, but it’s also a great subtitle maker for your startup video marketing team to use.
Upload your video, type in your subtitles and time them right using the Kapwing editor and you’re all set.
Rev
Rev is a startup that offers many services that can help you enhance your startup video content on a budget.
You get transcription and captioning services at $1 per minute each. It also offers foreign subtitling at a price between $3-7 per minute.
Temi
Temi is an advanced speech recognition software for speech to text transcription.
It’s great for a small budget, priced at just $.10 per audio minute.
Temi’s free transcription editor lets you edit your transcript online faster than you can snap your fingers.
Ok, maybe not that fast, but it’s still a pretty quick process that’ll let you concentrate on other aspects of your startup’s video marketing.
Voxtab
Voxtab is another tool that offers transcription, closed captioning and subtitling services.
Voxtab gives you accurate services in over 16 languages. Prices start at $1.25 per minute for transcription and $2 per minute for captioning.
Hosting platforms
We’re not done yet.
You still need to put your startup video online!
You could put up your video on YouTube, but the ads will distort your viewer’s experience.
Here are some ad-free hosting platforms that you can use for your startup’s video marketing.
Note that these hosting platforms won’t give you unlimited access for free. But, you will be able to put up 5-7 videos per month with an unpaid account, which in my opinion is more than enough.
There you go.
I’ve given you the strategies and the tools to begin your startup’s video marketing.
I’ve thrown everything I know at you with hopes of improving your startup’s video production.
Now the ball’s in your court.
Go crazy! 🚀
Make video content that’ll get jaws dropping.
Get your startup out there.
And most importantly, make your company a household name.
For more tips and strategies subscribe to our blog here!
If you want a one-on-one session to help you out with your Video Marketing efforts, you can book one with our Video Expert – Meera.
Also, once you’ve used these digital marketing tactics, you will have reached that next level as promised. Reach out to us when you have that bigger budget and we’ll help you create professional startup explainer videos 😎.
