Over 100 million hours of video are watched on Facebook everyday and YouTube has nearly 4,950,000,000 daily video views! This goes to show just how much video is being consumed on a daily basis. These are statistics from only two social media platforms, can you imagine what those stats would look like if all the other networks were included?

These numbers are not stagnating and are well and truly on the rise which makes video an important part of content marketing. We are after all for the most part, visual beings and video is one of the easiest forms of content to digest.

This makes video something that marketers need to pay attention to and include in their marketing strategy if they haven’t already done so. Video is a medium that allows people, companies and brands to connect and engage with their audiences ‘in the moment’ and to help in getting a message across.

Now, armed with a list of video content ideas, the next step is to turn those ideas into a reality. For those who see the prospect of creating videos as a daunting prospect, the first thought would be to hire a professional but, this could turn out to be an expensive exercise. A second option is to do it yourself but, you feel that you don’t have the expertise or necessary equipment to carry out this task.

The thought or idea of creating good and engaging video content may seem daunting but that thought may be far from reality. In this day in age, we have easy access to tools and technologies, some of which we use on a daily basis that we can use to create great video content.

The first and most important piece of tech that many of us have on is a smartphone. With the addition of a few reasonably priced accessories, you can be up and running and on your way to creating professional marketing videos.

A little while ago, I was listened to a podcast that outlined the basic bits of equipment that are needed to aid in creating good video content. The guest, Justin Brown has more than 20 years experience in video production who now teaches people how to create their own video content. In the podcast, he outlines a few dos and donts to creating video content and also talks about a few bits of equipment that you will need.

Smartphone video creation equipment

Lighting

The right kind of lighting is something that is important so that people not only see you, but connect with you better. Apart from natural light, good lighting is a must and at a minimum, LED lighting such as the NEEWER 160 LED CN-160 Dimmable Ultra High Power Panel is recommended. This light can be attached to a tripod or just placed on a desk or stack of books.

Softbox lighting is also recommended but not 100% essential. Given their size, they may not be practical if you are working in an area with limited space.

Smartphone rigs & tripods

When shooting videos with a smartphone, more often than not, people just hold their devices in the hand to shot. Holding your device with your hand may result in a shaky unstable video.

Rigs are recommended as a good solution for adding stability and enhancing videos. They are designed in such a way that the phone is mounted in the middle of the rig which has handles to add stability. The beauty of rigs is that not only can they be handheld, they can also be mounted onto tripods and many allow for other accessories such as lighting and a microphone to be attached. There is a whole range of rigs on offer but as a start, take a look at what iOgrapher has to offer.

Another solution for video stability is a tripod such as a JOBY GripTight GorillaPod Stand which you can get for large or small smartphones. There is a whole range of tripods to chose from and as per Justin’s comments, when choosing a tripod, be mindful or where and how you will be using it so that you can chose one that best suits your needs.

Audio

Whenever you watch a video online, how annoyed do you get with poor audio quality? Your answer more than likely points towards the fact that audio is just as important as the video. As recommended in the podcast, a good start would be a BOYA BY-M1 omnidirectional lavalier clip-on microphone that connects directly into a smartphone. The BY-M1 is a wired mic that works great for interviews. If a wired mic doesn’t suit your needs, you could take a look around for the various options such as a shotgun microphone.

Lenses

At this point you are pretty much all set to go with the accessories listed above. But, depending on the type of video you are creating, a lens may help make your creation stand out even more. There are a whole range of smartphone lenses to chose from and what you decide on all depends on what you are trying to achieve. For example, if you need to zoom in on something, it is recommended that you don’t use the zoom feature on the smartphone and instead get a telephoto lens.

Without a doubt, video is one thing that is sure to boost your marketing efforts. It doesn’t have to be something complex for it to be engaging but, having a quality finished product will go a long way towards your efforts. Creating visual content that hits the mark doesn’t have to be an expensive exercise that eats into your marketing budget. Armed with your smartphone and the inexpensive accessories mentioned above, you are well on your way to creating content that where you will see a return on investment.