How to Make a Video Fast for your Online Marketing Endeavors
What’s So Powerful About Video Marketing?
Video is possibly the most powerful, trending mode of online marketing and communication today. It drives more engagement than any other form of content out there available for online marketing. It boosts conversions like few other things can. It is seen as a must-have for any business both because it is indicative of their ability to keep up with the times and also because it’s what audiences want. As humans in the information age become increasingly less attentive in reading textual content (thanks, public schools) and more interested in quick and easy gratification and passive entertainment, video is increasingly replacing (or at least displacing) most other forms of content marketing online. Here are some stats that may shed some light on this powerful trend.
Some Interesting Video Marketing Stats
64% of consumers are more likely to buy a product after viewing a video.
50% of executives look for more information after seeing a video about a product or service.
87% of online marketers are using video content.
One-third of all online activity involves watching video content.
Further Reasons to Use Video
Firstly, consumption is more likely with video content. People are becoming less and less likely today to read through textual content in its entirety. This applies to everything from eBooks and reports, to blog posts and articles. Consumption of video requires less effort on the part of your audience and more information can be digested in a shorter amount of time.
Secondly, video has the potential to appeal to and accommodate more learning styles. Text is just text. Audio is just audio. But video can be just about anything. Depending on the style of video presentation, a video can be mostly or partly textual. In those cases, a video, assuming it is narrated, can appeal to visual, textual, and auditory learners all at the same time. No other mode of communication has this type of versatility.
Finally, although this may come as a shock, video content can actually be easier to produce. This depends, of course, on a number of factors. If a video is in either “talking head” or screen recording format, it can actually be quicker to produce and convey than writing an article or blog post (this assumes that the videos do not require large amounts of editing or post-production). Even explainer-style videos can be easier and quicker to produce than textual content, provided that you or your video guru have become particularly skilled at throwing explainer videos together. It’s also worth noting that with video content, there is no need for proofreading, which can take up a lot of production time by itself.
Video also gives you a lot of new online marketing opportunities – allowing you to build a following for a brand through YouTube, to embed a different kind of media on your website, or to grab attention on a sales page by telling people in person why they should buy your product (oh and letting people get to know you is one more benefit of video marketing).
The only problem? Video can be seen as a bit complex and intricate compared to a lot of other forms of marketing and this can make it repellent as a potential time investment.
That All Sounds Great! So why haven’t you done anything about it yet?
Well, if you’re like a lot of other people, then the answer likely comes down to two factors:
• Time
• And knowledge
You probably don’t know enough about the online video marketing tools or how it operates in order to see the precise opportunities that are there for you.
Therefore, the question is: what shortcuts and strategies (Knowledge) can you find to make the process of creating online marketing videos that much faster and smoother (Time)?
The Hardware
A good place to start is with the hardware. By getting the right camera and the right mic etc., you can save yourself a fair amount of work.
A good camera for video marketing for instance should be one that has a flip screen so that you can see yourself in the shot before you hit record. It’s extremely frustrating to film a whole video only to learn the top of your head was cut off!
Also, useful, is to find a camera that has a microphone jack or a USB for a microphone such as the Blue Yeti Snowball. This will allow you to record crisp audio directly onto your video, rather than having to record the audio separately and then sync it up.
Getting a decent tripod, lighting rig and boom mic stand can all help too, as they allow you to quickly set things up in a way that will produce the best quality footage.
Two more tips: clap at the start and end of each take and double clap when you get it right. This will make it easier to edit your footage (because you can see the spike in the audio). Secondly, keep a space in your home with a good backdrop and everything set up ready for filming. Then you just need to step into shot and start recording!
A Quicker Way
Don’t want to go on camera?
Find that this all still takes too long? Then you could consider making videos as slideshows instead! You can actually save PowerPoint presentations as MPEG files and then simply record over them. This means you now have no need to record yourself and you can make videos much more quickly. This type of content is perfect for sales pages too and is something that web users have come to expect on such pages, lending your site an air of professionalism.
This is by no means a complete, exhaustive resource, but it should give you some ideas regarding video marketing online.It should at least make you think about your actions regarding online marketing videos. Everything you do will have an impact on your future and will have an effect on your success or failure in all your future online marketing endeavors.
