YouTube is launching a handy video builder aimed at small businesses who are keen, in the company’s own words, “to make and maintain connections.” With the coronavirus outbreak putting huge pressure on businesses and commercial ventures everywhere, the video builder offers a simple and budget-friendly way to knock together a short ad for your enterprise.

The free web-based software has been in beta testing for some time, but Google-owned YouTube is now opening it up to more users.

“Because businesses of all sizes are strapped for time and resources and in-person video shoots are no longer practical in many countries, we are accelerating the next stage of Video Builder availability,” Ali Miller of YouTube Ads wrote in a post announcing the new online software. “With this tool, any business that needs a video can create one that helps connect with their customers and keep them informed — whether through an advertising campaign, website, or email.”

The finished video can be 6 or 15 seconds long. To build it, you simply add a selection of your own images and logos, as well as text if you wish, to one of several templates that suits your message and goals. After selecting fonts and colors, you can also add a copyright-free music track from YouTube’s library of offerings to create a package that really is your own.

Miller also discusses how people might want to use the tool. “Different businesses have different creative needs. A restaurant may want to communicate changing hours or promotions, while a supermarket may highlight new services like curbside pickup. For brands or agencies with existing video resources, Video Builder can help bring agility and experimentation to the creation process by generating supplemental, lightweight videos. For smaller businesses and those with less creative experience, it can provide an efficient, low-resource way to create videos, perhaps even for the first time.”

To request access to the Video Builder, sign up here and YouTube should get back to you within five days.

If you want to take your video-making endeavors to the next level and fancy launching your own vlog — whether business-focused or personal — check out these tried-and-tested vlogging cameras covering a range of budgets. We’re not suggesting you’ll ever get to make $26 million in the space of one year like this young lad did in 2019, but you might at least have fun getting creative.