Stock footage perhaps doesn’t have the best reputation amongthose marketers interested in providing first rate video content. The reasons for this probably all come down to the fact that stock footage is considered generic, bland, and far from the type of product-relevant footage that sales and marketing videos prefer to focus on. For sure, nobody is suggesting that video marketers rely on stock footage, butit can certainly be argued that it has its place.
What is Stock Footage Exactly?
Most of us are familiar with stock footage, but what is it exactly? Although stock footage has a reputation for being generic, this does not define what it is. Rather, stock footage is any footage that is shot for general use. Once the stock footage has been acquired, there are no issues regarded rights or royalties. You didn’t shoot it – and others will be using the self-same footage – but it is effectively yours to use as you please. Many of the benefits of stock footage for video marketing revolve around this aspect.
More Varied Than You Think
The poor reputation of stock footage has also led to misconceptions about what types of things are depicted within stock footage. We think of stock footage as generic landscape shots, short videos of people doing something non-specific, trees blowing in the wind, a bird tweeting on a rainforest branch, and so on. But stock footage can include more specific things than you might think.
The issue is always copyright,which is the reason why stock footage is usually generic. Footage depicting more specific things usually has owners. Nevertheless, this is not always the case. As long as copyright issues are not a factor, stock footage can, and does, depict anything. For example, footage of a famous event from long ago is usually free and provided on stock footage websites, but there is nothing generic about that.
Reasons Why You Might Make Use of Stock Footage in Video Marketing
Keeping in mind that reliance on stock footage is never a good idea – and that there is indeed much bland and useless stock footage out there – there are actually many reasons why stock footage can be beneficial for video marketing. Video production service, WMV Productions, say that the use of stock footage in video content is more common than you might think. Here follow some benefits of stock footage where video marketing is concerned.
Stock Footage Can Be Niche Footage Too
Much stock footage is considered useful because video marketers often do not have the means of shooting it themselves. A sunset over Kilimanjaro, for example, is something that you might find within stock footage videos. Even the best video production company is hardly likely to budget for flights to Africa!
Stock Footage Lowers Production Costs
This is certainly true, although of course video marketers also want to avoid lowering production value. Nevertheless, when a piece of footage works, it works. And if you find what you’re looking for in stock footage, you’ll be paying a lot less for it – and often nothing at all.
Stock Footage Can Be High Quality and Professional
The reputation of stock footage as often being generic is deserved. The reputation for being low-quality, cheesy-looking, or low-rent is outdated. Professional stock footage providers not only provide high quality shots of remarkable locations and things, but they are often a fully professional service, with videos available in high resolutions.
To say it again, you should never rely on stock footage.It’s too general for that and you need to stand out in video marketing. But, despite everything, it has its place.
