How to Get Started in Video Marketing

Marketing your business or product to customers and potential clients can be a very difficult thing. When you look at the average consumer market, there are so many different avenues to approach people with your offerings it’s difficult to know where to start. One important avenue that has recently seen a great deal of growth in video marketing. With this article, we will discuss how one should go about getting started in video marketing and what tools they need for success.

First, we should dive into why video marketing is such a good option for many businesses and products.

The content that people want to see: When you look at television today it seems like there are millions of shows and channels all with the same thing: half-hour or hour-long episodes of different things. However, most people don’t sit around watching shows anymore. Instead, they watch bite-sized clips through sites like YouTube and Vimeo. These clips can be anything from Let plays on games to reviews on technology or even cooking videos. The point here is that people are looking for content in small chunks now more than full-length pieces; they want something short and sweet that they can take in whenever they have a few minutes free rather than having to schedule out half an hour.

The easy-to-use software: Most people who are not tech-savvy don’t know how to edit videos, let alone make them from scratch. Luckily there are tons of programs out there that anyone can pick up and figure out within a few minutes. Some of these programs even have pretty good built-in templates for making professional-looking marketing pieces without the headache of learning anything difficult or tedious. You can create decent marketing pieces without having any real editing skills which is perfect for those on a budget who want quality products but don’t want to invest too much money into it (or for those with limited time).

Easier to share: Videos spread like wildfire over the internet; they rank higher on search engines and social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are much more accepting of video content. When you post a link to an article on these sites it will simply be shared as text, but if you post a link to a video it will actually play within the person’s browser since they don’t have to load up another application outside of their web browser. Another benefit is that not only do videos spread well over social media, but they also tend to play much better in news feeds with fewer sound problems than non-video articles.

An increasingly popular form of content: Over the past few years we have seen an explosion in short video-based content such as vines and Instagram clips. These videos usually run for thirty seconds or less and focus on one small piece of information for people to take in and share with their friends. With the increase in popularity of this type of content, marketers have seen a bit of an uprising as well and now we are seeing much more advertising on these platforms than we ever have before.

Increased user engagement: People spend an average of 10% more time on pages that include videos than they spend on plain text webpages. This shows how people really do like to watch things rather than just read about them. While reading is still important, video marketing provides another outlet for companies to tell their stories and connect with their customers in a unique way which will hopefully result in higher conversion rates and increased loyalty from the said customer base.

Now that you know some of the benefits associated with video marketing it’s time to get started in it.

To get started with video marketing you will need a camera of course, so let’s look at some of the different options for this piece of equipment.

Smartphone: This is the cheapest and easiest way to get started. Most modern smartphones come with a built-in camera that can record high-quality video. Pair this up with an editing suite like iMovie if you have an iPhone or Adobe Premier Pro if you have something more Android-based and you are all set to go.

Digital camera: If you plan on making videos often, invest in a digital camera that can shoot video. Since this is the sole purpose of the device it should focus much faster than your smartphone and take higher quality pictures.

Webcam: If you are just looking to give your videos some extra flair without having to spend too much money this is probably the best option. Most webcams will record high-definition videos and look just fine for most marketing projects.

DSLR: If you are really looking to add some extra quality to your videos, you should definitely invest in a digital single-lens reflex camera. These cameras can shoot amazing HD footage but aren’t quite professional-grade yet since they still have the same problems with focusing that smartphones do. To ensure your DSLR camera consistently delivers top-notch video quality, consider using UES lens cleaning products to keep your lenses in pristine condition, allowing you to capture the best shots with precision. 

Tripod: This is a must-have tool for any self-respecting video editor and it’s also very cheap to pick up. It will allow you to compose your shots without having to worry about device shake or other kinds of camera movement (allowing your viewers to focus on the content and not something shaking in front of the camera).

Lighting: Since we are recording video and not still images, we need to make sure our environment is properly lit. Natural light can be a good option for this since it provides soft even lighting all over the scene, but if you want more control you should look into investing in some studio lights that you can mount on stands.

Background: You will want to make sure that the background of your video is clean and can’t be mistaken for another object in your recording. Some people like to use a plain wall or just let their surroundings speak for themselves, but if you are looking for something more you could try investing in some kind of green screen system that will allow you to put anything into the background of your videos.

Once you have all of this equipment properly set up then it’s time to get started with making a video! Here are a few things that can help you get going:

Get inspired: There is no point in recording a video if it doesn’t drive you in some way. Make sure that before you pick up your camera or sit down at your computer to edit you have a clear idea of what the final video is going to be about.

Plan out your shots: If you are just starting out it can be hard to know where to even begin with shooting a video, but if you plan everything out beforehand then things will go a lot smoother. Try sketching a simple storyboard of your scenes before you start to capture it all on camera, this way you will have the basic skeleton from which you can flesh out your video.

Write an outline: You might not know it yet but writing down what is going to happen in your video will help you plan things out and make the editing process much easier when you get around to it. Try focusing on making an outline before you start recording and for each scene in your video, this will make sure that you don’t leave anything out when it comes time to put things together.

Get yourself a voice-over: If you are planning on putting any kind of narrative into your video then you will definitely want to book a professional voice-over artist. This person will be able to take any script and read it with the right emotion and intonation that your story deserves, so make sure that if you don’t have a strong command of tone in your own voice you hire someone who can provide it for you.

Learn some editing basics: Editing a video is an art form in itself and there is a lot of work that goes into making a polished product. Even if you only have the most basic of video editing skills you will still be able to take your raw footage and turn it into something amazing with just a few simple tools.

Compress your video: Once you have your video finalized it’s time to upload it to the web. Sadly the internet isn’t as fast as we would all like, so you want to make sure that every unnecessary byte is pulled out of your video before you put it online. Try using Veed.io to compress your video and remove anything from it that doesn’t need to be seen, this will make sure that your final upload can be as fast as possible.

Post it online: Now that you have a finished video it’s time for the internet to see it! Try uploading it to Vimeo or YouTube and embedding it into your blog post so that everyone can access it with just a click of a button. Before you post it on any other website or social media network make sure that you have contact information and a brief biography about yourself, this is just good etiquette.
Get started: The more videos that you record and upload to the web the better your odds of going viral will be. Just keep in mind that while there are some people who can go from nothing to an overnight sensation with the right content, most of us have to work hard for our fan base. So get yourself a camera or a computer and start recording!