Videos are our new favorite way to showcase landscaping services our marketing clients provide. Why? Because videos are dynamic, "sticky" content your audience can get so much information from, just by watching. Ditch the lengthy captions for high-energy videos to show landscaping clients what you're capable of, with our video shooting techniques that anyone with a smartphone can master.
We like shooting videos featuring a specific landscaping service or seasonal services that are commonly done together, like fall bulb planting and winter garden bed mulching. This allows the video to feel relevant when sharing it or publishing it as a paid ad campaign on social media or Google Ads. The video can then be used seasonally, or as needed to promote a landscaping service your company provides. This means that it's also "evergreen" content that you can use over several seasons.
To shoot the video below, we met our client Roy early in the morning at a tree removal project site. G&G Lawn & Tree provides tree removal and tree trimming services in the St. Louis area and Hot House Digital was there to shoot video that would highlight this service, showcasing the expertise, heavy equipment, and full-service tree removal G&G provides.
This project included the removal of several large trees, to make way for a new pool and patio space for a retired couple to enjoy with family and friends. We shot video for several hours to capture the full scope of the project; from large limbs being removed all the way to stump grinding and debris removal. We used a DSLR digital camera along with our smartphone to take photos and video of the G&G landscaping team at work. However, anyone can start capturing videos to use for digital marketing with just a phone!
Ready to start shooting? Read our tips for getting started:
Check camera settings first. Check and adjust your phone's camera settings to make sure you are capturing full-size videos
Hold your phone horizontally or "hamburger" style. For videos, you'll want to hold your phone horizontally, or "hamburger" style. Vertical will work fine for some photos, but you'll always want to capture videos horizontally.
Make movements that are slow & steady. To make editing easy on yourself, you want to end up with videos that are recorded smoothly, without a massive amount of movement. Slow, smooth movements are best. Experiment with "glide" walking or just tilting your wrists slowly to pan across areas you are capturing.
Capture different points of view. Resist the urge to stay in the exact same spot the whole team. Walk around an area, recording video from different vantage point and angles. Make a point to always get some detail shots. For landscaping this might be an up-close video of equipment or tools used in landscaping work.
Edit yourself, or hire a professional. Videography can be expensive. When you are recording and uploading the video files yourself, the next step is editing! Video editing can quickly become very time-consuming. The good news is that marketing videos don't have to be super long or complicated to create. Like the video we created here, you can edit together high-energy segments of work set to a soundtrack that blends well with the personality of your brand. If you don't have the time for editing, you can always hire a professional marketer to do the work. Videographers have the skills to do the editing work, as do most marketing consultants and graphic designers.
Now you're on your way to creating captivating video content your landscaping customers will engage with. A services focused video is a great marketing tool your entire team can use to highlight and promote cornerstone services you provide. See a great example we created earlier this year here. If that all sounds a bit daunting, you can start with even more approachable video content on social media. Try going live to showcase a project site, or share a super short video on Instagram Stories. Or, see even more marketing ideas by connecting with our Facebook page here.