When you’re marketing a small business and trying to get your company name out there, it can be tricky coming up with ideas for advertisements that are both affordable and effective. While you might think that big corporations with big budgets have all the advantages, there are plenty of ways that smaller businesses can advertise effectively on a budget. Creating a TV commercial is one such way.
Let’s face it, whether you like it or not, most people associate the word ‘commercial’ with something negative. But when it comes to promoting your small business and getting your services in front of potential customers, creating a TV commercial is an excellent idea. A small business TV commercial doesn’t have to be as cheesy as some of the commercials we see on television every day; in fact, by keeping things simple and straightforward, your advertisement will cost less than you might think. Here we’ll take you through the steps of how to make a TV commercial for your small business so it doesn’t seem like an ad but rather natural and organic content.
Write a script
If you’ve ever seen the process behind how TV commercials are made, you’ll notice that many of them are written and scripted like a short film. This is because the commercial needs to tell its story in a very short amount of time. Depending on where and when you’re advertising, your commercial might only be 30 seconds long, which is not a lot of time to convey the message and get people to take action. Another reason why scripts are important is because they make it easy for you to organize your thoughts and come up with a plan for the commercial.
You need to think about what you want to show in the commercial and how you want to show it. For example, if you want to show your products, you need to think about how they are positioned, where they are placed in the frame, and how they are lit. Having a script will help you stay focused on the important parts of the commercial and make sure you don’t forget anything.
Bring in the actors
If you’re planning on creating a commercial for your small business, you may want to consider hiring actors to appear in the advertisement. There are a couple of reasons why this is beneficial. Firstly, if your company is still in its infancy stages, you may not have many employees or staff members to choose from to appear in the commercial. This can limit the type of visuals that you can use in the advertisement. Not to mention the fact that people may be a little hesitant to be in front of the camera. Another reason why hiring actors is beneficial is due to the fact that it can make your commercial seem more authentic and believable.
When creating a commercial for your small business, you want to create something that’s going to stand out from the rest. You want it to be memorable. And one way of doing this is by creating an advertisement that depicts a certain lifestyle. Hiring actors gives you the opportunity to do just that and inject realism into your commercial.
Hiring a film crew
If you decide to hire actors for your small business TV commercial, then it might make sense to hire a film crew to shoot the commercial with them. The benefit of hiring a film crew is that you can ensure the commercial is shot in the right way. This can make a big difference to the quality of the commercial and will make it stand out even more.
Another reason why hiring a film crew is beneficial is that they will likely have a lot of experience working on films and commercials. This will give you access to skilled individuals who will be able to direct and edit the commercial in a way that gets your message across very clearly. With the right team behind you, a small business TV commercial can be edited and produced in a very short amount of time, which is an excellent advantage when working on a tight budget.
Decide on your shots
When filming your commercial, you’ll need to decide on your shots and know exactly what you want to achieve from each one. Shots are basically different types of camera angles and views. For example, a close-up shot of someone’s face is different from a wide shot that shows their entire body. As you film your commercial, you should keep these types of shots in mind and decide on which ones you want to use. You can use different shots to add variety and make the commercial more interesting and engaging. For example, if you’re filming a commercial that involves an interview, you can switch back and forth between close-up shots and wide shots to keep the audience engaged.
Tips for making your small business TV commercial
There are a few things that you can do in order to make your small business TV commercial as effective as possible. Although you can create a commercial that’s completely fictional, you may want to consider basing it on a real-life scenario. This will help the audience connect with the commercial on a more personal level and will increase the chances that they take action after watching the advertisement.
Another tip that you can use to make your commercial more effective is by creating an outline for the commercial before you actually start filming. This will help you stay focused and not get lost in the moment and forget about important details. Finally, make sure you have a clear call to action at the end of your TV commercial. This is the part where you tell the audience what they should do next after watching the advertisement. For example, you can ask the audience to visit your website or give you a call and make an appointment.