Making videos a part of your content or using them on a business website can help your brand stand out among competitors and attract more customers. Currently, 86% of businesses use videos as a marketing tool because they help increase engagement rates. Moreover, online footage is becoming the leading component of web content, with 82.2% of all web traffic. People like watching videos where products and services can be explained and seen in more detail.
While creating needed clips from scratch can be time-consuming and pricey, this isn’t the only option. You can easily and quickly find free videos for commercial use on stock websites. Read further to learn more about these convenient content sources.
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What is a stock video?
Stock video, or stock footage, is a short clip lasting less than a minute that you can use for bigger video or film production. Videographers worldwide film different aspects of life and upload their footage to online video stocks. There, marketers and other online creators can download licensed files for their commercial projects for different niches.
Stock videos are filmed on professional cameras and smartphones, and their high quality is an essential aspect ensured by online libraries. There is a good chance a stock video will meet your quality requirements, as the standard resolution options are 720p, 1080p, and 4K.
Benefits of using free stock videos for commercial purposes
Save time and money
Using free stock videos for websites, social media, marketing, and personal projects allows you to save your resources considerably. You don’t have to search for or hire a videographer and wait for them to deliver content. Instead, you can find an HD video online in a couple of minutes, which will cost you nothing compared to paying a hired professional.
See what you get
Working with a professional videographer doesn’t necessarily guarantee that the result will look like what you expected. On the contrary, by browsing stock content platforms, you can preview the video before downloading it and ensure you’ll get what you need precisely.
Manage emergencies
Even if your content plan is already set, unexpected situations might arise. For instance, there can be some unforeseen niche-related or trendy topics that you need to use for marketing purposes. In this case, you might need to find or make a video quickly, and stock footage can help solve the problem.
Where can you use free stock footage?
Stock videos for commercial and personal purposes can become a part of:
presentations: to illustrate work processes, showcase examples of different situations, or provide additional motivation for employees;
news footage: to demonstrate news that can be difficult or unnecessary to film at the moment;
social media posts, marketing materials, and ad campaigns: to portray what’s written or create a particular atmosphere;
larger videos: to create a complete film by combining stock and personal footage.
The best video stocks with free footage
Depositphotos
Depositphotos is one of the biggest stock content websites with 70,000 free images and videos at depositphotos.com/stock-videos; royalty-free videos are sorted into various categories and collections. You can search for clips on topics like Science & Medicine, Family & Children, Education, Summer Vibes, and more. You can also browse HD videos created by popular authors and explore the newest footage uploaded. Advanced search filters allow you to sort results by resolution, length, people, contributor, and other parameters.
Free videos from Depositphotos can be used for personal, educational, and commercial purposes, as well as for derivative works. Note that you cannot resell or distribute them for free. Also, you cannot create more than 50,000 copies of a file, digital or print.
Pexels
Pexels features an extensive collection of free HD stock footage for any occasion. The library allows you to filter videos by most recent and most trending. Also, it suggests popular searches where you can choose a specific term or topic most requested by users.
A Pexels’ Custom License allows you to download, use, and modify videos for free without attribution (although crediting the creators is always appreciated). Nonetheless, you still have to keep several restrictions in mind:
don’t use videos with identifiable people in a way that is offensive to them or represents them in a bad light;
don’t sell unaltered copies of videos. Selling modified copies is permitted;
don’t redistribute or sell the videos to other stock platforms;
don’t use videos with identifiable people to create misleading associations with a brand or product.
Pixabay
Pixabay offers a variety of HD stock videos that can be filtered by four categories: Editor’s Choice, Popular, Upcoming, and Latest. You can also sort them by resolution (HD or 4K) and effects (Animation, Slow Motion, and Time Lapse).
The website doesn’t offer any license-free videos, but its Simplified Pixabay License is convenient and easy to understand. It allows using and modifying stock footage for commercial and noncommercial projects without attributing the author or the source.
To sum up
Using stock videos in business projects is a great option to save time and money, and quickly receive fitting footage for your specific occasion. Online stock content platforms offer millions of high-quality clips that you can download and legally use for free. Explore the stocks presented in this article to find the best marketplace with a variety of footage that will fit your commercial projects, be it presentations, social media posts, or any other marketing materials.
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
