Blog

Your 10 Step Plan To Make Amazing Online Videos

Online videos can be a medium for your business to communicate. Many businesses use video as a way to promote their work, connect with their customers and generally generate an interest in their business. Whether you’re a small business or a large corporation, there’s a lot of power in video.

But if you’ve never dabbled in video before, it can be daunting territory. How can you produce engaging video that looks professional and helps deliver your message in the right way? The good news is that it’s easier than ever to make great looking video for your business. Get started with this 10 step plan to make amazing online videos.

Your 10 Step Plan To Make Amazing Online Videos
Image Credit:
Unsplash under Creative Commons

1. Identify your goals

While it’s a great thing that you want to start using video online, it is something that requires some thought and planning to make sure you get it right. Think about what you want to achieve through your video - are you trying to sell something? Tell a story? Make a splash? There are many directions your video could take you, so try to pin down what your aims and objectives are to help you form the best plan for your video.

2. Create a storyboard

Now that you have an idea of what you want to say, you can start planning accordingly. Creating a storyboard is a simple way to help you plan out your video to ensure you cover everything. It can help you establish the shots that you need to film, the areas where interviews are needed and other details. It can also help you to plot out where graphics are needed, which will help you when it comes to editing the video later on,

3. Get your equipment ready

To be able to shoot your video, you’re going to need the right equipment. You have the option of using a camera, or you can use a phone if your budget is tight. It’s possible to find affordable filming equipment on Amazon or eBay, and as long as you’ve got your camera, microphone and lighting covered, you’ll have everything you need.

Camera

Most new phones feature excellent camera settings, allowing you to produce some high-quality video. Whichever method you choose, it’s important that you invest in a tripod to help you steady your filming and produce better results. If you want to invest in a professional camera, then take a look at some of the best DSLRs on the market. There are models available for all budgets and skill level to make sure you get a product that you’re happy with. 

Microphone

Making a video relies on good audio, especially if you’re going to be interviewing someone. You can invest in a good microphone without maxing out your budget to help you boost the audio quality of your video. Always test the audio before you record.

Lighting

To produce the highest-quality video possible, you’re going to need some good lighting. Shooting in natural light is usually the best way to get the best quality, but you can use some video lighting tricks to help ensure your video is well-lit. 

Practice setting up your kit in advance to make sure that everything works and that you feel comfortable using it. Having spare batteries and plenty of memory cards to hand will also help you be prepared for anything.

4. Take your time

You don’t need to rush making your video, this can often lead to mistakes. Spend time doing some practice takes, shooting at different angles and taking some time to relax into it. Shooting your first video might not go as expected, but you’ll be able to improve your skills over time.

If you’re filming with contributors, don’t be afraid to film them more than once. It’s better to do this than to settle for subpar footage that you won’t be able to use.

5. Playback your footage

After the filming is over, playback all of your footage. This will help refresh your memory about what you shot, and help you work out what you can use and what you can disregard. Make notes as you go along to help you match footage to your original storyboard. It helps to watch your footage on a larger screen to help you get a better idea of what you’re working with.

6. Use simple software for editing

After shooting your footage, editing can be one of the most difficult things to get to grips with. There are different types of video editing software to suit all kinds of abilities. You can use a simple editing app on your phone or tablet for easy touch editing, or you can use a program on your computer. iMovie is a great application to use on Mac computers, or you could invest in Adobe Premiere Pro to help you enjoy more advanced editing. 

Getting to grips with editing basics will help you learn skills such as cutting and using transitions. These types of skills will work wonders for marketing videos, and you can always take courses in more advanced video editing if you want to take your videos to the next level.

Be mindful that the editing process can take a long time, so make sure you allow plenty of editing time in your schedule.

7. Add titles and graphics

Adding titles and graphics to your video will make it look more professional. And the great news is that you don’t need to be a tech wizard to pull it off either. Take a look at different platforms you can use to create graphics - Canva is a fantastic free platform that can help show you the ropes. Adobe Spark is another amazing app which can help you create some cool and slick videos. If you learn how to use Spark’s best features, you could soon be able to create regular engaging videos that will help you boost your business’ marketing efforts.

8. Make it accessible

Accessibility is a key consideration for businesses. It’s important that your organization does what it can to prove itself to be inclusive and accessible. There are different ways you can promote accessibility through video. Firstly, you can make sure that it’s available on a range of platforms - not everyone uses Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Meanwhile, adding subtitles not only helps those who are deaf or hard of hearing able to enjoy your video, but means others don’t have to rely on the audio to understand what you’re trying to say.

If you want to take things further, you can add audio description. There are experienced, professional audio description companies who can add high-quality audio description to your video to help those who are blind. The more you can do to reach different people, the better, so get into the habit of making your videos accessible from the very beginning.

9. Export for the right platform

Video is no longer a case of ‘one size fits all’. In fact, each social media platform has its own recommended video sizes. While some platforms still support the classic 16:9 option, many platforms are now favoring square-sized video. It’s likely that you will need to make several versions of your video to be able to match the different platforms, so make sure you establish all of the dimensions needed for each one.

When exporting your video, make sure you take into consideration things like the thumbnail image. It’s much better to have the image of a smiling, happy person than it is to have someone mid-sentence or looking miserable!

10. Promote it

After creating your online video, the next important step is to market it. You can market your videos through your website, through your social media channels as well as through paid-for advertisements. Publishing your videos on social media is perhaps the easiest way to promote your videos, giving you a free platform with simple like and share functions that will help you boost engagement and connect with your audience. 

If you find that your videos are generating low view counts, then it might be time to do some evaluation around your video. Videos that are too long can be a turn off for users, while those that are lacking clear ideas or calls to action can also become easy to avoid. You should also assess whether or not you’re aiming your videos at the right audience. Paying for some targeted social media promotion will allow you to choose your audience and give you a better chance of achieving a higher engagement rate.

Using video within your business can be a great way to spread the word and help your business get noticed. With more and more people turn to video instead of the written word, it’s a sensible strategy to add video to your marketing methods. Video marketing can boost lead generation, as well as help improve engagement with your new and existing customers. When you create effective video, you’re using more innovative content to promote your business, helping to take it to bigger and better places. Want to see improvements in your lead generation? Use this 10-step guide and create some amazing online videos.

Blog Categories

nordvpn

Recent Posts

flippa
Search Site
© 2012-2023 Mike Gingerich Global, LLC    Contact   -   Privacy
magnifier linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram