Social media videos for SMEs: a practical guide

Key facts

Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts are watched vertically, in 9:16.
YouTube counts vertical or square videos of up to 3 minutes as Shorts; Instagram does not recommend longer Reels to new audiences.
On Facebook, all videos become reels, with no length restriction (Meta, June 2025).
Swiss agency, Reels included: CHF 900 to 2,000 a month (PT-PRO, 2026).
Marqo: about CHF 10 per video when the monthly quota is used (CHF 149 for 15 videos).

Six video formats that work for SMEs

There is no need to chase trends. A useful SME video answers a question your customers ask, or shows something they never get to see.

Format	Idea	Examples
Expert tip	One tip, explained in a minute	The garage owner: when to switch to winter tyres. The accountant: which receipts to keep for your tax return.
Behind the scenes	What happens before the customer arrives	Morning prep in a restaurant kitchen; a joinery job from the first day to the last.
Frequently asked question	A question heard at the counter, a clear answer	“How long does a service take?”; “Do you deliver?”
Customer story	A customer describes the need and the result	The couple who had their kitchen redone.
Product or service demo	Show rather than describe	A used car walk-around in 60 seconds; three ways to wear the new jacket.
The team	The faces behind the shop sign	The second-year apprentice presents her trade; the chef, the dish of the week.

What they share: one idea per video, a hook in the first few seconds, then a simple call to action (book an appointment, drop by the shop, ask a question). Twenty customer questions already give you two months of videos at 2 or 3 a week.

Network by network: formats and uses

The same vertical video can go out on all five major networks. What changes is the audience, and therefore the text that goes with it.

Network	Format	Length	What for
Instagram (Reels)	Vertical 9:16	Beyond 3 minutes, no longer recommended to new audiences	Local customers: restaurant, shop, garage, beauty salon
Facebook	Vertical 9:16; all videos become reels	No length restriction announced	Loyal customers and the local community, often with the same Reel as Instagram
TikTok	Vertical 9:16	Several minutes possible; short videos remain its home ground	Reaching people who do not know you yet, recruiting apprentices
YouTube Shorts	Vertical or square	Up to 3 minutes; longer, or in 16:9, it is a regular video	Being found through search; long tutorials in 16:9
LinkedIn	Vertical to landscape (1:2.4 to 2.4:1)	Up to 10 minutes on a company page	B2B: accountants, engineering offices, consultancies, recruitment

Caption everything. Part of your audience watches without sound (on the train, at the office), and captions make the video accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing. In German-speaking Switzerland, write them in Standard German, even if you speak dialect.

Adapt the post text to each network, not the video. And if your customers live on both sides of the language border, the same video can exist in French and German: see the multilingual video guide.

How often to post, and how to batch-film

Consistency matters more than volume: one video a week for a whole year beats ten in January and nothing afterwards.

Getting started: 1 video a week, on 1 or 2 networks.
Cruising speed: 2 to 3 videos a week, the right level for most SMEs.
High pace: one video every working day, with a shoot every week.

To keep it up without losing your weeks to it, batch-film: block out half a day every two to four weeks.

Prepare 8 to 12 short scripts, one topic per script.
Set up a filming corner: daylight from the front, a tidy background, phone on a tripod, wireless microphone.
Read from a teleprompter instead of learning your lines, and film in short takes.
Change your top or location between two topics.
Edit, caption, then schedule the posts for the following weeks.

How to produce them: four options compared

It depends on your budget, your time and whether you want to appear on camera yourself. The prices below are ranges published by Swiss providers.

Option	Indicative price	Strengths	Limits
Social media agency	CHF 500 to 900 a month without video; CHF 900 to 2,000 a month with Reels and 12 to 20 posts (PT-PRO)	Strategy, copywriting and publishing handed over	Recurring cost; the agency has to learn your trade; you often still appear on camera and approve everything
Videographer or production company	CHF 600 to 2,000 for half a day of filming and a day of editing (Tulip Films); CHF 800 to 3,000 for a short product clip (Uftritt); CHF 6,000 to 10,000 and more for a two-day social pack with one film and six cut-downs (Snapshot Media)	Professional picture, lighting and sound	A weekly pace quickly breaks the budget; every shoot has to be scheduled
In-house, by hand	Your time; outsourcing only the editing: CHF 120 to 180 an hour (Gryps)	Authentic, responsive, no fixed costs	Editing, captions and publishing take time; the pace breaks down when business picks up
A tool like Marqo	CHF 149 a month for 15 videos, CHF 299 for 30, CHF 499 for 50	AI script, teleprompter, automatic editing and captions, scheduled publishing	You film yourself; a real person on screen, no avatar; no paid ads and no X

Nothing stops you combining them: a company film by an agency once, then short videos in-house every week. More detail in how much a business video costs and video agency or software.

With the Marqo AI video studio, AI writes the script, you film with the Prompteur Marqo app, controlled from your phone with Camera Marqo, and Marqo edits, adds animated captions, music and overlay cards, then schedules the video on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok and YouTube. On Pro and Business, it can be dubbed into German or Italian.

Real example: Motoro, a Swiss marketplace for used vehicles and a company related to Marqo, published 97 videos with Marqo between 25 April and 21 September 2026, 96 of them in French, German and Italian. See the case study

A 4-week starting plan

Week	To do
1 – Prepare	Choose 2 networks, where your customers are. List 20 customer questions. Write 8 scripts of 30 to 60 seconds.
2 – Film	Film the 8 videos in one session. Publish the first two on fixed days (for example Tuesday and Thursday).
3 – Publish and listen	Publish two videos. Reply to every comment. Note new questions: they are your next topics.
4 – Measure	Publish the last two. Compare views, watch time and messages received. Keep the two formats that work best and write next month's scripts.

After a month you have 8 videos online, a method and a list of topics. Judge the results over two or three months, not on a single video.

Five common mistakes

Opening with a logo or a long intro. Get straight to the point.
Cropping a landscape video to vertical. Film in 9:16 from the start.
Forgetting captions, or leaving them full of mistakes.
Using well-known music without a licence. A business account needs royalty-free or licensed music.
Filming customers or staff without their consent. Get written consent before publishing their image (right to one's own image, Swiss FADP).

Frequently asked questions

How many videos should an SME post per week?

Two to three videos a week is a sustainable pace for most SMEs. If that is too much, start with one video a week: consistency matters more than volume. Filming several videos in one session lets you keep this pace without it taking over your weeks.

How long should a social media video be?

For Reels, TikTok and Shorts, aim for 30 to 90 seconds, with one idea per video. YouTube counts vertical videos of up to 3 minutes as Shorts, and Instagram does not recommend Reels longer than 3 minutes to new audiences. Longer tutorials belong on YouTube, in landscape 16:9.

Do I need professional equipment to film?

No. A recent smartphone, a tripod, a wireless microphone and good daylight are enough for short videos. Look after the sound first: a clear voice matters more than an expensive camera. A teleprompter saves you learning the text by heart.

How much does a social media video cost in Switzerland?

From a videographer, expect CHF 600 to 2,000 for half a day of filming and a day of editing, or CHF 800 to 3,000 for a short product clip. An agency that runs your networks with Reels charges CHF 900 to 2,000 a month. With a tool like Marqo, where you film yourself, the cost falls to about CHF 10 per video when the quota is used. The detail is in the guide how much a business video costs.

Can I post the same video on every network?

Yes. A vertical 9:16 video works for Reels, TikTok, Shorts and Facebook, and LinkedIn accepts it too. Mainly adapt the post text and tone to each network. For YouTube, a long 16:9 version is still worthwhile for tutorials.

Should I post in French and German?

If your customers live on both sides of the language border, yes: people understand a video better in their own language. You can film twice, translate the captions or have the video dubbed. On the Pro and Business plans, Marqo dubs the same video into German, Italian or other languages, for CHF 209 or CHF 349 per additional language per month.

Videos every week, without a film crew

Marqo writes your scripts, edits your takes and publishes your videos on your networks. From CHF 149 per month, up to 32 languages with the Pro and Business plans.

Book a free demo See examples

Social media videos for SMEs: what to post, how often, how to produce them