With people spending on average 2.6 times more time on pages with video than without, there’s no doubt that making more videos should be a vital part of your content strategy.

Unfortunately, creative teams often get caught up in the cost when talking about adding more video content. It simply takes too much money and too much time. But the good news is that informative videos don’t have to cost thousands of dollars or hundreds of man-hours. You can create high-quality videos in-house from your home, on a budget.

Step 1: Choose the Right Style

The first step to creating videos on a budget is to take the time and plan everything out. There are many video styles, from animated to still images, social media posts, stock videos, voice-over and/or subtitled videos, and more. Every style performs well in a specific situation, and you need to know when and how to use them.

When planning your video style, first you need to answer a few questions:

• What is your budget? How much money do you have to spend on your video creation? This can help you make a decision in regards to the style of your video. Some videos require more production time and expertise, making them more expensive.
• Who is your audience? Your audience will help you determine the type of video that will be most effective. There’s no reason to spend thousands of dollars on professional filming if you can provide the exact video your social media audience wants using video clips, still images, animation, and other features.

• What are your message and tone? What solution are you trying to offer with your video? Are you introducing a new product or sharing a news story that demonstrates your thought leadership? You should always keep in mind the end goal of your video.
• Where will you share your video? Will your video be published on social media, on your website, in emails, on landing pages, or in your blog? Where you decide to distribute your video will change how you make it. Here are some ideas for Content Marketing in the Social Media Era.

The more you know about your video, the easier it will be to choose the right style in order to use your time and budget effectively.

In addition, you need to choose a style of video that fits the skills of your existing team. If you can make a great video in-house, that will drastically decrease your budget. With the right tools, such as video creation platforms, no video style is outside of your skillset. Such platforms make it easy to create any style of video, even if you are starting out with zero video experience or skills. Just remember that as marketers, you are also your brand’s storytellers and that you already  have the talent and insight needed to make impactful videos your audience wants to watch.

Step 2: Utilize Pre-Licenced Content

The most time- and cost-intensive aspect of video content is the media—filming and music. Hiring an outside firm to professionally film a video or record music can be ridiculously expensive. However, pre-licensed content can be highly cost-effective.

All you have to do is utilize a video creation platform that offers a vast licensed library of premium visuals and music tracks to bring your video to the next level. Then, your creative team can easily edit the content and repurpose it for different social platforms. For example, this video created by Il Sole 24 Ore, Italy’s financial newspaper of record and a leader in financial news online, created this informative video about the influence of the Coronavirus and the impact on the Italian stock exchange

Step 3: Keep It Simple

Last, but certainly not least, keep your creation process simple. When creating videos, you don’t need to go all out and reinvent the wheel. Instead, you can use templates and storyboards to quickly and easily create one-of-a-kind videos that your audience will love. And the best part is that a template can be used over and over again to create new videos using simple drag and drop.

You can also simplify the video production process by using a predictive video creation platform. Wochit Studio provides professionally crafted storyboard templates; offers a collection of licensed graphics, videos, and music tracks you can use at will; includes advanced editing capabilities; and streamlines the distribution process. From ideation to publication, your video creation a process can be both cost- and time-effective.

Creating high-quality videos doesn’t have to be complicated or cost an arm and a leg. You can create awesome videos on a budget with your own in-house team, from home by choosing the right style, licensed content, and tools.