Finding Inexpensive Video Content

Whether we’re in the office, at home or on the go, our always-on, screen-based existence has turned most of us into heavy consumers of video. For businesses looking to connect with customers and prospects, video has become a critically important component of today’s multi-device marketing landscape. Having video screens up and running both in-store and on-site can drive greater levels of customer engagement – which in turn drives the bottom line.

But keeping those screens filled with compelling, customer-focused, market-driven content is easier said than done. In an ideal world, we’d shoot and edit all our own material, then cut it into viral-ready videos. But most businesses don’t have the time or the money to do it all in-house.

That’s where stock video footage comes into play. Just like stock photography and music, there’s a huge amount of great material out there. But where do you find either free or affordable footage? And how do you keep quality high while still meeting your video-based marketing needs?

Here are a few places to start:

Look for Creative Commons-licensed content. Creative Commons is a non-profit organization whose mission is to make a wide range of creative content available for fair use. Creative Commons licenses allow copyright owners to define what others may and may not do with their content – and it has become a widely used standard for online content distribution and sharing. Using the Creative Commons-enabled search service can quickly locate legitimately usable content.

Dig into the archives. The Internet Archive is a comprehensive website designed to serve as a permanent library for digital artifacts. In addition to serving as a repository for a wide range of content types, it includes a searchable archive of video content. Just make sure you obtain the proper permission to use anything you find.

Leverage stock footage sites. Some that immediately come to mind are XStockvideo, Stock Footage for Free and OpenFootage.net.

Use Google Video Search. Point your browser toward http://www.google.com/video and simply search for whatever you need. Include the “creative commons” search term to more easily locate properly licensed content. Use the YouTube video editor to similarly search for creative commons-licensed videos.

And if you’re looking for easy ways to utilize video content that isn’t specific to a message or program from your business, Bell’s own Fibe TV for business can be a great source of video content for your customer-facing screens. The wide variety of programming options available ensures you can easily tailor programming to your audience, and because it’s wireless, you have the flexibility to place your customer-facing screens virtually anywhere within your establishment.

The bottom line
Your customers and prospects are increasingly using videos to learn more about your company – and presumably your competitors. Finding the right content to share on your customer-facing screens is crucial to your overall marketing mix. Fortunately there’s lots of help available.

What content are you putting on your website, and where are you finding it? Let us know in a comment below this entry.