How to boost your video marketing with drone footage

It used to be that sweeping overhead footage soaring across countrysides, mountaintops, or expansive jungles was the most expensive part of any video shoot. You had to rent a helicopter, hire a pilot, and fly an entire camera team out to a remote location.

Drones have changed all that. With these powerful, remote controlled machines, we’re able to recreate some of the most epic shots from our favorite movies with one simple operator from the ground. No helicopter required.

Drone footage has the power to captivate audiences, to increase the production value of your video, and to create a feeling of awe required to wow your audience into finding out more – whatever your product is.

5 benefits of using drone footage in your next marketing video

First of all, drones are cheaper than the alternative. You’re not going to rent out a helicopter and full video team just for your next marketing video. But why sacrifice your shot list when you have the capability to get great remote overhead shots with a drone?

Secondly, drone footage is high-quality footage. Depending on what type of drone and camera you’re using, you don’t have to sacrifice your video’s quality to put a camera in the sky. It can be both affordable and high quality.

Thirdly, video footage you capture with a drone can be used across multiple marketing videos. It’s sort of like capturing universal b-roll footage, which is background footage that can be edited together with other material. With a drone, you can capture all kinds of epic shots that can be used across multiple types of marketing videos.

Fourthly, depending on the industry you’re in, you may want to prioritize drone footage. If you work at an event company, capturing the crowd with a drone at a massive music festival is amazing publicity for your company’s brand. If you’re in real estate, what better way to show off your properties than with a sweeping overhead view?

Lastly, in the age of Instagram, everyday people are using drone footage to show off cool trips, sports content, and exciting events – you should be, too. If you’re in an industry like tourism, and you aren’t using drones to show off your own city or country to encourage more visitors, you’re missing a massive marketing opportunity.

What types of video benefit from drone footage?

You can use drone footage across a variety of different types of videos. As an example, you can create a lifestyle video, where you show off how your product or service can impact your viewer’s lives, and use drone footage to sweep your audience up in wonder as you show sweeping overhead footage of hip young people traversing epic locales.

You can also use drone footage in an industry or educational video, where you try to educate your viewers about a topic. You can show the whole city or location affected by the issue you’re discussing and persuade your viewers to take the issues at hand seriously by putting it into a larger context.

Another way to use drone footage is in a product video, where you focus on your product or service. Use a drone to show all the angles of your product in action, whether it be an electric bike or a new Bluetooth-enabled wristwatch. Big or small, drone footage elevates your video marketing to the next level with breathtaking visuals.

You can also repurpose your drone footage across multiple videos. Use a sweeping shot of a beach or hiking trail in a lifestyle video, then use an overhead view of a cityscape in an industry video, then use shots of your product in action in both a product video and more.

How to incorporate drone footage into your video marketing

First, you’ll want to create a strategy around the drone footage you’re shooting. In addition to using your drone on the set of your typical video shoots, plan ahead and set aside a few drone-only shoot days where you’ll capture b-roll footage to use across multiple videos.

In order to get the best value, plot out what video you can use what type of shot in. For example, if you’re creating an industry video, you can use drone footage of cityscapes and specific locations in a city in a different way than you would a beach or mountainscape.

Using your drone footage in social videos, particularly on Facebook, is a great way to capture your audience’s attention and stand out in a crowded newsfeed (as long as you use the right Facebook video specs). If you offer sweeping shots of gorgeous landscapes as part of a 30-60 second video, those swiping by will stop and watch, especially if your visuals pique their interest enough to learn what your video is actually advertising.

Another method is to create video compilations of your drone footage. If, as an event company, you shoot all the festivals and other outdoor events you put together in a six-month period, you can edit all of them together to create a master video showcasing your hard work. Or if you go out and shoot a series of wilderness locations to show off your company’s new outdoor gear, cut it all together in an awesome series of shots to show off your equipment in a more subtle way.

These compilation videos go great on company landing pages or website homepages, in addition to getting a lot of videos on social media. If your products are as impressive as your drone footage is, those who tune in will be curious to learn more.

Logistics of drone footage

The first step to incorporating drone footage in your video marketing is to find someone to operate a drone for you. That could mean finding a drone operator for hire in your area, buying your own inexpensive drone and teaching yourself or your internal camera team, or working with a video production company with experience capturing drone footage across hundreds of videos.

Experience flying drones and shooting drone footage can be invaluable, especially if you’re trying to capture the perfect drone shots on a busy shoot day. There’s no room for a learning curve if you only have an hour of perfect daylight at the end of your day to get the shot. There is value in working with the pros – as long as you can afford them. That’s where a high-quality, affordable video team is priceless.

Conclusion

Drone footage can elevate any marketing video with a few powerful shots. Drones are relatively inexpensive, and operating one yourself or hiring someone who can is relatively easy to do. You should absolutely be incorporating drone footage into your video marketing to boost your views, acquire more leads, and increase sales from your video marketing endeavors.