Create Visually Stunning Videos with What You Have

 

Consider the last time you watched a video online. It was probably today and it wasn’t even your first video of the day.

 

According to a study by PROMO, 44% of individuals watched five or more videos online. Marketers are capitalizing on this engaging medium, with 87% of them using video in 2018 according to HubSpot. If you aren’t using video marketing as part of a holistic strategy, you should be.

 

“But making videos sounds scary! I don’t know how to do that,” you might be thinking. The barrier of entry for video marketing and video creation is lower than ever, and you can do it with technology and writing you may already possess.

 

Types of Videos to Make

 

 

You can adapt the written and visual content you’re already making into video styles you may already be familiar with.

 

Brand Video

 

Who are you? What do you do? And most importantly, why do you do it? These are questions your business should already be answering for your customers. You’re telling the story of your brand with this kind of video marketing. Talk about your mission and values, your culture, customer testimonials, or even showcase your office dogs. What’s important about your company? What do you want to share through video marketing?

 

Demo Video

 

Answer your customers’ most important questions about your products or services. Using this kind of video, you can give customers a tutorial on how to use your product. You can also share how your services solve problems. 

 

Event Video

 

Does your company host or sponsor an event in your community that you should promote through video marketing? Or maybe your staff recently attended a conference or expo. Event videos are a great way to show your company’s personality and values. Utilize highlight reels and interviews for event videos to give viewers a “backstage” experience.

 

Educational Video

 

If this blog post were a video, it would be an educational video. Use an educational video to share the knowledge and expertise your company has to offer. Presenting educational videos to viewers shows that your company is made of experts and thought-leaders in your industry.

 

Live Video

 

Using live video is an effective way to engage with your audience in real time. Using tools like Facebook Live or YouTube, you can have a face-to-face conversation with your audience. Use this kind of video marketing to update your audience on your company’s recent happenings or hold a live interview where the audience can contribute questions.

 

Be Strategic and Intentional With Your Video Marketing

 

What is the purpose behind the videos you’re trying to make, and in what ways do you want to use it to talk to your audience? Once you answer these questions you can start to plan.

 

It’s important you don’t consider your video marketing strategy to be a one-and-done venture. Maybe you want to put out 25 videos this year, or even 50. In the former scenario, that would be a video every other week so try to plan at least a couple months out for what topics you’re going to cover and who’s going to be in charge of making these videos. Put the structure in place to be consistent with your video marketing, just as you would be with other marketing content.

 

At some companies, a dedicated team is in charge of making videos. At others, one hour a week is dedicated to production; all hands are on deck. Figure out what works best for your company’s structure and culture.

 

Which Platform(s) to Share Your Videos

 

 

Between YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to name a few, all of these platforms allow users to upload and consume video content. It’s best to familiarize yourself with the intricacies of each before deciding which platforms will be best for your video marketing.

 

For example, Twitter only has a 240-second length, while YouTube doesn’t have the same social discovery features as other platforms. Consider where your target personas are viewing videos and start there.

 

Also, consider that a video on your landing page makes the site 53x more likely to show up on the first page of Google search results. Videos can often appear above the top search result.

 

You Don’t Need Fancy Equipment for Video Marketing

 

You should initially approach all video marketing with a great idea. I mean, you’re already crushing it with your blogs and social media content. You’ve already figured out that multimedia posts perform much better than text posts. Tweets with images get 150% more retweets than those without, and Facebook image posts get 2.3 times more engagement.

 

You may be reading this and thinking to yourself, “This sounds similar to the topics I cover through blog posts and visuals.” If so, you’re ready to make the jump to video.

 

Planning for Video Marketing

 

It all starts with an idea. A good place to start (if you’re feeling unsure or overwhelmed) is to take one of the blog posts you’ve already done and to turn that into another piece of content. Historical content optimization is a great way to give your content new life and even reach an audience you weren’t able to capture the first time around.

 

Another tactic for generating ideas follows the inbound methodology. Use the different stages of the marketing funnel to create videos for the Attract, Engage, and Delight phases.

 

Take this idea, or a fresh one, and build out your script. Find the ideas you want to touch upon, then write a rough idea of the lines you’d like to say. Blog writing is often more formal, and for a video, you should be conversational and a little more casual. Try to have your writing reflect this. The average person’s attention span is 8.5 seconds. Craft a video that sells the audience on your idea within those first moments.

 

Next, you want to assemble your team. Who is going to be behind the camera, in front of the camera, and editing? You can technically do all three yourself, but for your first time making a video, it can be a huge undertaking. Get at least one other person to work through your idea with and your video will likely be even better for it.

 

Take your script and read it aloud with those who will be in front of the camera. This is called a table read and will make your recording time more smooth and effective.

 

Getting the Shot You Want

 

 

These days, the smartphone you already have in your pocket has a pretty killer camera on it (and if you do happen to have access to one, this page can help you out with how to manage the settings). You can make your video with the things you already have on hand.

 

More important than the technology is the environment. First, choose where you’re going to record the video. If you have a particular room that looks great in your office, use that. Choose an interesting, but not too distracting, location. If you don’t have a place in mind, a simple paper backdrop is an inexpensive alternative.

 

Also, be wary of shooting outside. While it makes sense that the environment would look nice on video, it is not a controlled environment and you will have to deal with unpredictable noise and inconsistent lighting.

 

We can use natural light to our advantage indoors, however. Place yourself near a window (but not in front of it to avoid a silhouetting effect) to light your face and you can achieve faux-professional lighting at no cost. Light sources you may already have, like lamps, can also be effective.

 

Putting Everything Together

 

 

You’ve captured your footage. Now you need to put it together. Both Windows and Mac OS come with free video software. These are Windows Movie Maker and iMovie, respectively. These tools will do the job for simple videos without needing experience. Common paid software is Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut.

 

Keep your video’s editing snappy and energetic, and include your company’s branding where appropriate. You can even include a call to action within your video. This can be telling the viewer to share the video or like your page. It can also be something more specific to your company.

 

It’s a Wrap!

 

Video marketing is an essential way to engage with your audience, and let’s face it – if you aren’t putting out videos already you’re asking to get left behind. Luckily, making videos is easier than ever with tools that are readily accessible. 

Don’t forget to have fun learning to be a filmmaker. Action!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nick Klotz

Marketing Associate/Videographer

nick at heartbrain dot marketing