By now, most of us know the importance of video in engaging our website viewers.
Video accounts for 50% of all mobile traffic, and 55% of people watch video online every day. Take a look at this blog on vlogging for more statistics on video and how it can boost your SEO and help convert your potential customers: http://graemewinchester.co.uk/blog/blogging-v-vlogging-whats-best-for-your-seo/.
There are different video options depending on what you need for your site and your budget. Commissioned video is original, personal, engaging, and shot by professionals. The downside? It costs more than other options.
If, however, you want a top-of-the-range website, it’s what you need to give it that quality feel.
Stock video is affordable, sometimes free, and readily available on the internet. It’s often of good quality – many clips are shot in HD or 4k. The downside? If you can see it so can many other people, perhaps your competitors.
Animation is both engaging and can be personalised to your business. The downside? A full animation will blow a substantial hole in your budget.
So is stock video right for you?
It provides useful images for moving backgrounds, explainer videos, and images illustrating different industries or areas. When sourcing your videos, it’s important to find out whether there are licence agreements for them, whether they are royalty free, and whether they need to be attributed to a creator or agency. If you want to provide your own voice-over, look for licences which allow you to edit or change the video.
Here are 15 of the best free and paid for stock video agencies you could check out:
Pexels provides free HD quality stock video footage under the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) licence. That means you can change and edit videos, and use them for both personal and commercial reasons. https://videos.pexels.com/
Videvo has a wide range of free HD stock video footage and motion graphics. All of its clips are free, and licensing is simple – either Videvo’s own, or the Creative Commons 3.0 meaning you can use them in any project providing you credit the creator. http://www.videvo.net/
Shutterstock has more than four million video clips from which you can choose, with prices starting at £14. https://www.shutterstock.com/video/
Dissolve prides itself on the quality of its stock video clips. It has over a million videos on its site. Its royalty-free licences range from $49 to £299 depending on the subject matter and whether the footage is HD. http://dissolve.com/footage
iStockPhoto from Getty Images has HD footage and royalty-free videos. You’ll need to buy credits to download videos. It offers essentials at the lowest price (six credits – £36) alongside its high quality videos. http://www.istockphoto.com/footage
VideoHive http://videohive.net/category/stock-footage?ref=Ewan25
Pond5 https://www.pond5.com/?ref=Ewan28
FotoSearch http://www.fotosearch.com/
T3 Media http://commerce.wazeedigital.com/license/home.do
Footage.net http://www.footage.net/
Stock Footage For Free http://www.stockfootageforfree.com/
Bottled Video http://www.bottledvideo.com/
Motion Elements http://www.motionelements.com/stock-footage?p=-1
Vidsplay http://www.vidsplay.com/
Footage Crate http://footagecrate.com/
Could whiteboard videos be the answer for those who want animation on a budget?
This is probably the most cost-effective method of getting animation onto your website. You can create a whiteboard video, create your own voice-over, and make something a little more personal than a stock video.
One of the easiest products on the market is VideoScribe. It doesn’t need technical skill or graphic design talent, and says whiteboard videos are 15% better at making your videos memorable than traditional talking heads videos.
Access to VideoScribe is priced at £96 a year, so you could change your whiteboard video a number of times in a year to reflect the seasons or your promotions. They’re ideal for your own YouTube channel and sharing on social media, too.
Find out more here: http://www.videoscribe.co/
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