Tag Archives: amateur video

Last week I was blogging about when it’s okay for a business to produce its own videos. Basically, it boils down to budget and size. If you’re a small business owner with zero budget for marketing, please feel free to produce your own stuff. Everyone else… you should look for a video pro.

What I didn’t get into was WHY everyone else should get professional help. So… here it is…

You want people to take you seriously. You want clients and prospects to look at your company and have a sense of confidence. You want them to look at you as professional.

Your reputation is on the line

So why would you entrust your company videos to non-professionals? Video has never been more accessible to the masses. Anyone with a smart phone can shoot, edit and post videos to the web. The problem is most of what they post is garbage. Not exactly the image you’d like to give people about your company.

If you’re a small shop and people know and understand this, an amateur video is kitschy. It can work to your advantage.

If you’re a solid business with an earned reputation, an amateur video is cheap… and it makes you look that way.

Show some pride and find a video pro to tell your stories. They get paid to make your business look like it deserves that reputation.

–Tony Gnau

Mrs. G and I are terrible dancers, and yet on our wedding day we chose to do a choreographed dance in front of all our guests. I blame my in-laws for providing the dance lessons gift certificate prior to the big day.

We took lessons at Ballroom Dance Chicago. Our teacher was very good and very patient. She needed to be, but what it earned her is recommendations like this. It’s a great place to take lessons.

where am i going with this?

Ever since then I’ve been following the business on Facebook, and over the last three months they’ve been posting more and more videos.

The videos… aren’t great. Some are better than others, but you know what I like? They’re trying.

Someone they know clearly has a little editing ability, and they create their own videos. Like many business owners, I’m sure they’d love to have professionally produced videos, but this is what they can manage.

worth doing an amateur video?

There are some video pros who would tell you, if this is all you can manage… you’re better off doing nothing. If we were talking about a good-sized company, I’d agree. But what we’re talking about is a very small business, so to them I say go for it.

The lesson here is if you have a marketing budget, pay a pro to produce your videos. If you’re a small business owner with no budget (and I mean NO budget), go forth and produce your own videos.

There’s room for us all.

–Tony Gnau