Business owners often have doubts when investing any amount for a service. This also is the fact when creating videos that are supposedly for increasing brand awareness.

It’s totally understandable since there is no cheap service to create any type of video. Other’s might think that a video is only waste of precious investment. For this article, let us try to understand the difference.

Is your video a product or investment? There is no quick way to understand the difference. Have patience and read to get a clear grip of the matter.

The risk is always high if you really want your business to become big. Giving yourself time is important as well as studying trend and adjust to the trends. Especially on the internet where marketers and consumers are migrating to faster than ever.

You can get all the leads you can get but at the end of the day, building trust converting them is what matters. The main purpose of being a marketer and a business owner is to achieve and go beyond the return of your investments.

The main problem of investing for a video is will it reach people. Another is will the video go viral enough to attract the right people and push or nourish them for conversion into customers.

So for this article, this will be a great question to help us understand if they really are worth it. Is your video a product or investment? Oh, and by the way, we will not be talking about movies or films.

Movies or Films are totally different from what a business video is. The only similarity is that movies and videos are both moving pictures but that’s where it stops.

Is your Video a Product or Investment?

So what is a product? It refers to the materials or commodities sold by businesses and companies. Products can sometimes also be a service, it depends on the context. But how does this relate to the topic that we are going to discuss?

Well, in business terms, products are for consumers or costumers. They bring the product home or mainly use it for personal use. In summary, products don’t have a long-term expectation for businesses.

And there is a big difference if we are going to compare these to investments.

Investments are more different than products. First, there are expectations when it comes to investments. Businesses use capital or money in hope that this will double or triple. The return can come in different forms.

For example, I invested in hiring an employee. The return in this kind of concept would be the division of workload so that I can focus on the other more important matters.

But there is always a risk in any kind of investments. For my previous example, the risk would be if the employee will be a quality worker or will maybe just increase the work and delay production.

So in summary, investments have a long-term expectation in different forms of returns.

So the age old question for business owners is: will this investment flourish or not? This is the same for videos as well. If you do some in-depth research, there is no cheap way in creating a video for your business.

It often depends on how long the video will be but the point is, is your video a product or investment? Let’s answer this question to help those who are about to take the risk.

Different types of Videos have their Own Purpose

Like I said, videos and movies are totally different. Both of them can be an investment but for big or small businesses, a movie is really impractical to create. You would need millions of budget and that will take years for a business to get back.

Business videos are more practical so that’s why owners and marketers want them.

These are moving pictures and they are really great to strategically answer questions, raise awareness and help potential leads in understanding their main challenges.

This is the main reason why there are a growing number of video marketers out there. In fact, you can check some great companies with amazing video marketing strategies.

This is proof that people will always watch videos because of their accessibility and compatibility with our modern devices today. Infographics is still a trend but that really depends on where you want to put the video.

Speaking of which, videos are usually at the vanguard of businesses. You can find them at landing pages of websites, TV advertisements, and all mobile phones.

To help answer if your video is a product or investment, you must look into the purpose of the video. Not all videos are all the same so a video can also be a product where you just simply watch it or show it to others.

Is your video a product or investment? To determine between the two, you must first understand the purpose of your video.

This will give you a clear idea of whether the videos are really investments or just for entertainment and personal reasons. I will give you some examples of the different type of videos.

Common Types of Videos

Videos are really popular that marketing in this line is really a developing trend. There really are a lot of opportunities for marketers out there in the video industry. As a video marketer myself, I have come to understand the different types of video that can be utilized.

But there are also other types of videos that are not really for marketers. Marketers always have a goal in mind and videos are there to help them achieve that.

This list will also help us understand if videos are a product or an investment. If you are a marketer that is just venturing into videos, I wrote a helpful article for you. Also, It will give you an answer to the question: is your video a product or investment?

So let’s go ahead with the list. In addition, as a reference, I might be using the abbreviation: ROI. This simply means the return of investments so let’s avoid any confusion.

Personal Videos

Personal Videos are mostly just self-recorded. It doesn’t cost anything to make and it’s just there simply for entertainment purposes or future reference. It can be used for businesses sometimes as examples but it’s unprofessional and so candid that it’s hard to use in most circumstances.

There is no ROI for most of them so it’s mostly on social media and other channels where people gather just to update statuses. It’s really not practical and usable for businesses.

Some can be used because the models and artists are so popular already. Being a celebrity can leverage this but that’s not the case for all.

Video Productions

This is sort of the movies themselves. You hire real life people as artists for your project. But it’s not really just about the movies or films. Videos like these can be for TV advertisements, short stories, and for your websites too. But the main problem is the costs.

They really aren’t that cost efficient, especially for small businesses. I mean, just the cost of hiring a crew and artist will be high enough. Otherwise, creating this kind of video will probably cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Is your video a product or investment?

Well, if the cost is too high for you, then you won’t have anything in return. And that will defeat the purpose of investing, right?

Live Videos

Live Videos are a trend, especially on social media. They are streamed from phones or recording devices. This is a very popular way of promoting and sharing videos on Facebook.

They don’t cost anything too depending on what is your goal and you can use this perfectly if you want. Videos are used to increase awareness and live streaming will be able to help you with that.

The only negative side to this is compatibility. Live videos can be streamed on mobile phones, but they aren’t compatible with some websites yet. Of course, this will change in the near future.

There is a list you can refer to if you want to know different video web hosts.

The ROI is really great since you are increasing the chance of conversions with mostly minimal budget costs.

Whiteboard Animated Videos

Whiteboard videos are often hand drawn art which is literally done on a seemingly “whiteboard” workspace. Then they are recorded by the artists, edited on the computer, and shown as a final product.

Whiteboard videos can also be a good explainer video. In fact, they are quite similar that businesses offer both of them as a service. So they can be used in websites and social media channels too.

They are compatible with all devices, in all formats. Their ROI is quite similar to an Explainer Video as well. The difference is aesthetics and what do the people really want to see.

Since they are whiteboard videos, 2D animated videos will look more professional.

2D Animated Explainer Videos

For me, this is the epitome of short videos. Professional looking, full of vibrant and good colors, Easy on the eyes, and really helpful in raising brand awareness. Explainer Videos can do all of that for you.

Since these videos are compatible anywhere, they can be viewable anytime too. But what really stands out as a feature is its compelling call to action. As well as a great boost in visitor engagement, you will have good conversion rates.

ROI is really on the competitive side. Because Explainer Videos can help go beyond your investment and actually make you earn. With a compelling call to action, your potential leads are encouraged to take the next step.

So conversions are really achievable with flying colors and an amazing video, literally. Is your video a product or investment? Well, what do you think up to now?

Is your Video a Product or Investment?

I can definitely say that the answer to this question will really depend on how you plan on using your video. If it’s for your business, then it’s definitely a worth it investment.

If you want to attract more leads and convert them into customers, videos can really help you reach a goal.

Just look at most e-commerce websites out there so you will get an idea of how good of an investment a video is.