When it comes to producing videos to promote your business, engage your audience, and showcase your products, professional quality typically demands professional prices.
However, sometimes you don’t need Hollywood-level production value for your videos. Sometimes you just need decent videos that you can produce quickly and for free (or at least at an affordable cost).
If you haven’t considered incorporating video into your marketing strategy, you should. Video is an incredibly versatile format — after all:
Videos can live in multiple places:
The same video can be used on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, Tumblr, or embedded on your website/blog, etc.
Videos grab attention on social media:
Audiences can read, watch, and listen to videos, so they can capture attention in a different way than standard still images. Additionally, videos autoplay on some channels.
Videos can be reused in new videos and from other content formats:
You can cut, expand, or transform video content into new videos or animations. You can also turn infographics, blog articles, images, and other types of content into videos.
Up to 81% of marketers say their video efforts have directly helped increase sales. Video has a real return on investment — you just have to start creating it.
The best part? Just because you have a limited budget doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from video content.
Here’s how to make a video, step by step:
1. Brainstorm ideas
Every video will start with an idea. But how do you come up with the right idea? First and foremost, don’t worry too much — you can create multiple videos if you have several great ideas. For now, you just need to start with one.
For your first idea, focus on a specific topic. Each video should dive into only one topic, whether it’s a tutorial video, an explainer video, a product video, etc.
Then, define your video goal: Do you want it for SEO purposes on your YouTube channel? Is it a product video that helps users understand how to use your product? (94% of marketers agree videos are great for this purpose) Is it an educational video that guides viewers through a process or lesson?
Stuck? You can also browse online for inspiration for your videos: use Google and YouTube’s autocomplete search bar to find popular or trending searches.
Do a quick search on YouTube or social media to see what your competitors are doing. Pay attention to the top-performing videos and use one of those ideas as your first video. Check the comment section of popular videos related to your field or posted by your competitors. Use these topics for your video ideas.
Types of videos
When brainstorming ideas, it helps to think of all the different types of videos you can create:
– Unboxing video: These videos showcase the unboxing experience. You can film it yourself or ask influencers to film and post it on their channels.
– Product demo video: Show how your product works or answer frequently asked questions about it.
– Customer testimonial video: You can interview a customer about their experience with your brand and products, or ask customers to send their own videos sharing their thoughts.
– Teaser video: A teaser video aims to build excitement and anticipation around your brand or products. It’s a summary video.
– Event recap video: If you’re hosting or participating in events, an event recap video after the event is a great way to engage attendees and promote future events.
–
Webinar: Record webinars and use them later as videos.
– Live streaming: Shopping through live streaming has become particularly popular on Instagram and Twitch.
– Animated video: You can create a video entirely from animations – no video camera required.
– Tutorial video: Use video to demonstrate to customers how to accomplish a specific task using your product.
– Talking head video: These are first-person videos often used by influencers.
– Screen recording: Again, no camera is required. Screen recording videos can be useful for support content, for example.
2. Research and planning
You have an idea. We are still in the early stages of creating your video. Now it’s time to research and plan how you want your video to be.
There are three main steps to this:
1. Write your script
What will you say in your video? Whether you’re recording a voice-over or your talent is actually in the video, you need a script.
If you plan to repurpose a blog post or podcast episode in this video, it’s quite easy – just rewrite the article to focus on the main points in a more conversational manner. This is exactly what Path, an image editing service, does for its Photoshop tutorial videos. In fact, it has a lot of Photoshop-related content, some of which has been repurposed into videos.
But if you’re starting from scratch, there will be more work required, as you’ll need to identify and clarify your topic before putting it into script form.
Keep the following tips and structure in mind when writing your script:
– Introduce yourself and/or your company.
– Share the central point of your video.
– Speak to the audience in the “you” voice.
– Write your script in a way that mimics how you speak to sound natural.
– Read your script aloud while working on it.
– Add any music, sound effects, transitions, or other video elements you would like to see.
2. Create your storyboard
A storyboard is a page or display of planned scenes for the video so that your team knows exactly what to shoot when production starts.
Using a template like the one below, teams can sketch how they envision each scene, or find stock images online that help illustrate every part of the story.
Develop each scene and any dialogue that needs to accompany it so that you’re fully prepared to start looking for your video scenes.
3. Plan for production
The final step in the research and planning phase is to find your location and set a filming schedule.
The location will depend heavily on your video concept. For example, if you’re filming a video about skiing products, you’ll likely need a setup in the street. A quiet office with a green background would be ideal if you’re creating an informational video.
? Do the work: If you need to book the planned recording space, do that well in advance so your team can prepare accordingly.
It’s also a good idea to set a detailed schedule for how you envision the day (or days). Include the time frames, the people involved, the scene you’ll be filming, the required props, and the actual filming location. Distribute the schedule ahead of time so everyone knows when and where they need to be.
3. Create the video
There are two ways to create a video: recording your own video or repurposing existing images and videos.
Recording your video
Recording your own video can often be daunting for new business owners or video marketers, but it doesn’t have to be. In fact, when you’re just starting out, you can create great video content using the video camera on your smartphone. This type of video is perfect for Instagram Stories, Instagram Reels, and other smartphone-based social media apps.
When
When you’re ready to take your video-making to the next level, you can rent or purchase your own video equipment. Some essentials you’ll need include:
– Video camera: You can use a camcorder, a point-and-shoot video camera, or a DSLR. A high-quality webcam may also be sufficient.
– Lens: Look for camera lenses that are compatible with the camera you have chosen.
– Memory cards: Video files take up a lot of space, so it’s important to have reliable external storage to hold all of them.
– Tripod or camera stabilizer: It’s a good idea to use a tripod even when recording video on a smartphone, as this will prevent unwanted shaking in the video. There are many products available that can hold your phone and keep it steady while shooting.
– Lighting: Natural light is best for video, so try to find a location that provides plenty of natural light, whether that’s outdoors or through a window. You should also pay attention to how lighting changes throughout the day so you can plan your shoots accordingly. Be sure to test all angles as well. Ring lights work well for videos featuring a person, while you’ll need some on-camera lights if the camera is moving with the subject.
– Microphone: You can use a simple microphone like a lapel mic or invest in a higher quality microphone such as a shotgun mic or a podcast mic, depending on your video.
At minimum, even if you’re using your iPhone, gathering some lights and a lapel microphone is a good way to create high-quality video on a budget.
Once you’ve gathered your equipment, it’s time to prepare for recording. Set up the camera with its tripod.
Then, get your talent or scene ready and start recording. If someone is reading a script, it might be a good idea to enlarge it and display it on a screen as a teleprompter like they do on television to get the lines right.
Do a few test runs to ensure the audio and video are clear. Make sure the lighting makes the video look high-quality and not like it was shot in a basement.
Reusing existing content
You can reuse existing footage, get what you need from free stock sites, and even shoot your own videos with your phone if you really need to.
This is exactly what the sustainable fashion brand Benoa Swim did in this TikTok video celebrating International Women’s Day.
There are many places you can search for high-quality free videos, appropriate music, and great sound effects.
However, you may need to credit the original content creator if the rights are reserved or pay a fee to use it for commercial purposes.
For details on how to do this, check out the best practices for attributing Creative Commons, and make sure to take a close look at the terms of use on each of the following sites:
Free Videos
– Videvo: Totally free high-quality videos and motion graphics.
– Pexels: Free photos and videos from around the world.
– Distil: 10 new high-quality videos for commercial use every 10 days, delivered to your inbox.
– Pixabay: A wide array of live action and animated videos and images you can use.
Public Domain Videos (Copyright-Free)
– Pond5: Contains many historical videos.
– Internet Archive: Videos of games, movies, historical moments, etc.
– NASA: Videos and images of space.
– Critical Past: Vintage videos.
Music
Free Sounds
– Freesound: A variety of sounds that you can use at no cost.
– Looperman: Acapella sounds, music, and sounds that you can use if you credit the creator.
Paid Music and Videos
– Audio Jungle and Video Hive: Popular places to find sounds, music, video effects, and videos for use and enjoyment. They also offer free music, video templates, and more every month if you subscribe.
? Do the work: Record trial videos before capturing the real thing to ensure your equipment is working and the result will be high quality and professional.
4. Import Your Videos
Once you have finished recording your videos or collecting existing footage or animations, it’s time to import the videos into your favorite video editing tool. Although the location will vary depending on the editor you are using, they should all have a semi-universal video import button.
Connect the memory card to your computer or use a USB connection to access files from your PC or Mac. You should then be able to easily locate them from your smartphone or video camera and drag them into your video editing software.
5. Edit the Video
Now it’s time for the most important part of video production – editing your video. This is where you take the recorded footage, existing videos, and any other elements you want to include and combine them to create a professional video that tells a story.
Keep these video editing tips in mind to ensure you can create a great video that your target audience will love:
– Cut out quiet parts and repetitions or any “um” or “like” that may be present in the videos.
– Add sound effects and background music to add more depth to your video content.
– For example, if you are inserting information, you might need a sound effect as the text appears on screen to help your audience follow along.
– And always want to have some appropriate light music playing in the background so there are no completely silent parts in the video. Look for a sound clip that fits the mood of your video. For instance, if you have a more upbeat video theme, stay away from sad music.
– Add an introduction and conclusion
– Having introductory and concluding clips makes your video feel complete. You can use the intro to include your logo or the video name, or even the series name if you plan to make it part of a general series.
– The conclusion gives you the perfect place to promote more videos or provide a call to action for viewers, such as visiting your website, reading a blog article, or following you on social media.
– Use consistent transitions and effects throughout the video
– Inserting transitions between different scenes creates better flow in your video. However, just having a lot of different transitions doesn’t mean you want to use them all. Instead, choose one transition that you like to reuse in all your videos to create a consistent and recognizable look each time a viewer returns to a new video from you.
– Do the same with special effects. Do not overuse every special effect available, and choose only one or two that you think fit your message and brand.
– Make your video fit your brand
– When it comes to your brand, you want to ensure that the video content helps reinforce brand recognition. Some things that should match your brand every time are:
–
Video thumbnail image
– What colors do you use
– What fonts do you use
– Your logo at the beginning and end
– This helps maintain the integrity of all your marketing content, including your videos.
– Add subtitles to improve accessibility
– Not everyone watches videos with sound. But also, not everyone is able to hear your video content, yet they still want to consume it.
– Offer the best of both worlds by putting subtitles on all your videos. Fortunately, most video platforms offer an option to add subtitles to your video – all you need to do is double-check to ensure they are accurate.
– Choose the right video editing tool
– While you can record video normally on most hosting platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, there are many good video editing apps to produce quick, polished videos for various occasions in a short amount of time.
– Many of the following tools are free, and some come with their own library of images and other resources you can use:
– Adobe Premiere Pro: An excellent video editing tool for high-quality videos.
– Adobe After Effects: Adobe’s video editing software with animation features.
– Filmora by Wondershare: An advanced alternative for professional quality video editing.
– Movavi: A video toolkit.
– Vimeo Create: Turn product images into beautiful videos in minutes.
– Quik by GoPro: Create simple product videos.
– Lumen5: Turn articles into videos.
– DaVinci Resolve: Free video editing software.
– PowerDirector: A powerful video editor for your phone.
– InVideo: Add videos and animations.
– StreamYard: A platform for live streaming and recording.
– Switcher Studio: An alternative to StreamYard.
6. Export the video
The next step is to export your video for sharing on social media or YouTube. The best file format to use when uploading to social media platforms is MP4. Allow yourself enough time to
Source: https://www.shopify.com/blog/how-to-make-videos
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