We often praise video as the most cost-effective use of marketing dollars - it is a piece of content that you can use in multiple channels without more production costs. The most obvious use for video is on a company website, but there are multiple other channels both on and offline where you can use video at no additional cost.

Company Website: We encourage our clients to use their video on their homepage, but there are other areas on a website where video should also be used.

1. Product pages: Did you know that using video on a product page increases a customer's likelihood to buy? If your video could also be a product demo, place the video on the page where your customer is likely to make a buying decision. 
2. Customer testimonial: Having a customer testimonial in text is one thing, but seeing and hearing praise come directly from the customer is another. Create customer testimonial videos to show potential customers how great real people think your product or service is. 
3. Other pages: Make a video about your company and put it on your About Us page, or create a video case study. Both types of video are great ways to show and tell your story quickly. 

Social Networks and Blogs: Use video to enrich your social profiles, and encourage employees and customers to share with their networks. You can also add a YouTube application to your Facebook page to enrich the user experience. LinkedIn now allows companies to create "Custom Company Profiles" that allow users to upload more modules including a video about your company. This can be a great way for potential employees and partners to get to know more about what you do. Also be sure to send a link your video to popular bloggers in your industry, including a brief description of why it is newsworthy.

Video Shares: YouTube is the king, but other video shares appeal to niche social networks. We use TubeMogul to push content out - it is an easy way to post and track video content across multiple shares. However, you may consider uploading some videos to networks individually - this will allow you to adjust file names and titles to target to multiple audiences. See our Beginner's Guide to Video SEO for more info 

Email: Email is a great way to connect with current and potential customers that may not regularly visit your website. Some email services, like Eyejot, allow you to embed video directly into your email. 

Local Search: Enhance your local listings with video. Right now, Google Places is the only of the big three search engines that allows you to add video to your local profile for free. Although it has not been proven yet, some experts have suggested that video may help improve your visibility in local search results. 

Tradeshows: Showing video in your tradeshow booth is a great way to attract attention and start a conversation. Some tradeshows have restrictions on audio in booths, so be sure to either include captions in your video or provide headphones for your visitors.

Sales Meetings: Arm your sales force with the video to add to their sales presentation. Just like on a website, a video is a great way to give potential customers a quick overview of your company, product, or service, leaving more time for sales people to answer questions and sell product.

Any more suggestions? Leave them in the comments!

Producing video used to be a very labor-intensive technical process, involving both high costs in equipment and personnel. A typical video shoot 10 years ago for a 30 second cable TV commercial would run anywhere from 50-100k, if not more! Equipment rentals, post-production costs, media buys, and actor and writing fees all added up to a costly budget for your video.

Now, with both the costs associated with hardware and equipment coming down and easier access to an audience via the web, video production is much more cost-effective and affordable. HD cameras are cheaper than ever, and video post-production is no longer a budget-eating endeavor with the proliferation of home computer editing software. You can shoot and edit video on a much more reasonable budget, without sacrificing the quality.

Expertise is still needed however, in managing the scripting and shooting process itself. The camera does need to be in focus, and bad writing can't be edited out once your video has been shot. It pays to find the right creative professionals to help you develop your video's vision. But gone are the days when exuberant production costs meant video production was an impossible dream for many. With an online audience of billions waiting to see your video, the only thing separating you from this audience is a creative, cost-effective video broadcasting your business to the world!