Four Myths Stopping Your Business from Producing Great Videos More than 60 per cent consumers say they are more likely to buy a product online after watching a video

If you were starting a business, one of the first pieces of advice you'd hear is to make sure people are able to find you on Google. Even from people who don't own businesses. But why is it that so many people place importance on being listed on the world's largest search engine, yet neglect the world's second largest: YouTube?

This is especially astonishing when so many statistics point to video marketing as a crucial part of business. YouTube has over a billion users, 45 per cent of people watch over an hour of Facebook or YouTube videos per week.

This isn't merely entertainment, either. Ninety per cent of users say product videos are a helpful part of the decision-making process.

Perhaps the most convincing statistics? More than 60 per cent of users say they are more likely to buy a product online after watching a video. In fact, video in an email leads to a 200-300 per cent increase in click-through rates.

In speaking to businesses, many want to work with video but they carry unfounded assumptions about how much it's going to cost, or the type of investment they need to make. But getting started with video doesn't mean you need to buy a professional rig, or even be a tried and tested host on camera.

You Don't Need Professional Equipment to Start

If you have an iPhone or Android smartphone created in the past few years, then you have enough to begin. HD cameras are good as well, and starting with a tripod means you have more than enough to get started.

You can buy lens that attach to your smartphone to get a better angle, and they often come in kits so you can adapt the lens to your filming environment. One of the best investments you can make in video is a lighting rig, but you don't need to spend a lot of money to get an impressive lighting effect. Just pick up some LED lamps and use them as a basic starting point.

Your Buying Journey Can Be Enhanced with Video

One of the objections businesses come up with is that they don't understand where video can play a part in their buying journey, especially if they're a B2B organization. A few videos on your website describing your services are a great start, and these videos don't need to be more than a few minutes long. Don't commit yourself to a series of videos when a handful will do.

If you use email marketing, throw some videos in your messages and see how they perform.

Find your highest converting pages, then see what adding a video or two will do to them. The point is, your customer's journey can be enhanced at some point. You just have to spend some time finding the right point for your business.

You Can Speak Directly to the Camera

Video works for one reason: authenticity. If you speak directly to the camera, explain who you are and what you do, that will resonate. In fact, videos recorded by CEOs themselves holding the camera are often perceived better by customers because they aren't pretending to be flashy or particularly fancy.

You don't need to be a trained video host, you just need to be yourself. Of course, writing down some notes before you start doesn't hurt—no need to record off the cuff.

You Don't Need to Spend Too Much on Editing Software

Editing software is extraordinarily cheap, and you can even edit clips directly on an iPhone if you don't care so much about adding other effects or music. But if you do need to, there are plenty of free services online you can use to edit and spruce up your clips.

For something that has a huge impact on sales, recording videos doesn't take much effort at all. So why not get started now?