Beyond Stock: The Power Of Authentic Video In Rural Industries
This article was originally published at Forbes.com.
Video content is essential for engaging audiences, educating stakeholders and driving action in today’s digital landscape. Whether it's a farm cooperative telling its sustainability story, an electric cooperative explaining grid modernization or a rural business showcasing its impact, high-quality video is one of the most effective ways to connect.
However, many organizations turn to stock footage as a quick solution. While it might seem convenient, stock content often falls short. For industries rooted in authenticity—like agriculture and energy—original footage provides a competitive edge by ensuring credibility, consistency and a powerful connection to the communities being served.
The Power of Authenticity in Rural Storytelling
Farmers, ranchers and cooperative members value real, genuine storytelling. They can tell when a video features a stock clip of an outdated livestock facility used to represent modern agriculture, or when the wrong animals are showcased (piglets instead of sows, for example). This disconnect can erode trust and weaken your message.
Stock footage often fails to capture the true essence of rural life, whether it’s the dirt on a farmer’s boots after a long day in the field or the intricate technology behind an electric cooperative’s operations. By investing in original video, you can ensure your content reflects the real people, places, and challenges of their industry—strengthening engagement with your audience.
Rural Industries Require Custom Visuals
Many industries have an abundance of stock footage available. That’s not the case for agriculture, rural communities, and electric cooperatives.
Stock video libraries often feature outdated or inaccurate depictions—like farmers in overalls and straw hats instead of modern precision ag operators. For organizations trying to educate the public, advocate for funding or recruit new members, inaccurate visuals create confusion and weaken credibility.
The best way to ensure accurate representation? Capture it firsthand.
Consistency: Telling a Cohesive Story
One of the biggest drawbacks of stock footage is inconsistency. Stock clips are shot by different crews, in different locations, under different conditions. This results in a patchwork of visuals that lack cohesion.
Strong video content does more than showcase a series of clips—it builds a narrative. Stock footage is often just a collection of generic visuals, creating a slideshow effect rather than a compelling story.
For electric cooperatives, a video explaining grid resilience should have a unified visual style—from footage of control centers to linemen working in the field. If those clips come from different sources with varying color tones, lighting and shot compositions, the final product feels disjointed.
Shooting original footage ensures that every shot is part of the same visual framework, creating a seamless, high-quality experience for the viewer. This consistency makes messaging more powerful, whether it’s a commodity organization promoting farm sustainability practices or a rural broadband provider showcasing infrastructure improvements.
Ownership and Control: A Long-Term Investment
When you invests in filming its own content, you gain complete control over its video assets. Unlike stock footage, which is licensed temporarily or available for multiple buyers, you own original footage —eliminating concerns about recurring fees, licensing restrictions or the risk of competitors using the same visuals.
Avoid the Risks of Non-Exclusive Footage
One of the biggest drawbacks of stock footage is its lack of exclusivity. Once a clip is added to a stock library, any company, organization or even direct competitors can purchase and use it. This can create several issues:
Competitor Overlap: An electric cooperative might see the same drone shot of power lines in a competitor’s ad, or an agricultural group might find its farm footage in an unrelated commercial.
Industry Misalignment: Generic stock clips often appear in promotions for industries with vastly different goals, which can weaken the authenticity of your message.
Lost Differentiation: If multiple brands use the same visuals, it becomes harder to stand out and build a unique identity.
Eliminate Licensing Headaches
Stock footage often comes with hidden long-term costs and restrictions:
Recurring Fees: Many stock providers require ongoing payments to continue using a clip, adding unexpected costs down the road.
Usage Limitations: Licensing agreements may restrict how and where footage can be used, limiting geographic reach, platform availability or video duration.
Compliance monitoring: Organizations must track licensing terms to ensure they don’t accidentally use footage outside of agreed-upon parameters, risking legal issues.
By shooting original footage, organizations own their content outright—eliminating licensing concerns and allowing full creative control.
Build a Long-Term Video Archive
A well-planned video shoot doesn’t just provide footage for one campaign—it creates a valuable library of owned content that can be repurposed for years. You can use high-quality clips can be reused across marketing, education, and advocacy efforts.
Brand consistency is another major benefit of building your own video archive. Custom footage helps you maintain a visual identity across all platforms and campaigns.
It’s also cost-efficient: A one-time investment in filming reduces the need for constant re-licensing or new stock purchases.
How to Start Building a Custom Video Library
Start by treating video collection like any other strategic investment—build a plan. Define your goals: What stories do you want to tell and who’s your audience? Create a simple shot list tailored to your business, then schedule regular time—every couple of weeks—to capture footage across seasons, weather, and departments. Don’t just film fieldwork; include people, places, and behind-the-scenes action. Let your team know when you’re filming so they can be prepared and look their best.
As your library grows, good file governance is essential. Save all footage in organized folders by date, location, and topic. Use consistent naming conventions (e.g., “2025-04_Baling_WestFarm_Drone.mp4”) and tag clips with keywords like “planting,” “livestock,” “sunset,” or “testimonials.” Use folders for raw footage, selects, and final cuts, and consider a spreadsheet or simple asset management tool to log what you have. This makes it easier to find the perfect clip later—and ensures your investment in time and resources keeps paying off for years to come.
Custom Video Creates Best Tools for Telling Rural Stories
For cooperatives, commodity groups, and rural businesses, investing in original video isn’t just about improving the quality of marketing materials—it’s about reinforcing trust, strengthening brand identity, and ensuring that every piece of content reflects the values and realities of the industry.
Stock footage may be a shortcut, but it’s rarely the best tool for telling the real stories that power rural America.