Motion is intriguing. A movement caught out of the corner of your eye is sure to make you turn your head, and we are dazzled by something as simple as a moving pattern.
Video marketing is a great way to grab your audience’s attention and show your unique product, service or story in action.
Every good writer knows that the objective of every piece is to “show, not tell,” so it is no surprise that video marketing has such amazing potential. Because the technology required to make a video is readily available, companies can now use sound and motion in conjunction with visuals to better tell their story.
Video has the potential to evoke emotion and demonstrate the abilities of a product, but just like with written content, your audience has a limited attention span. If the first few seconds of your video don’t meet their expectations for quality and hook their interest, they aren’t going to invest their time in watching the entire video – even if it is a mere 90 seconds long.
Choose topics that are useful to the consumer and make the most sense for the platform. If it can be easily conveyed in a blog post, leave it to that. Save the video production for topics that would benefit from the visual nature of facial expressions and demonstrations. Consider topics like customer testimonials, feature demos, video infographics, white boards and how-tos.
Most companies don’t have it in their budget to hire professional videographers to create flawless marketing videos. But fortunately, with so many resources at your fingertips, creating a DIY video is easier than ever. As Brandpoint embarks on the adventure of creating a few DIY videos of its own, we thought we would share some tips, tricks and mistakes that we’ve learned from along the way.
Top Tips
- You don’t need fancy equipment. A miniature camcorder or smartphone will do just fine with an external microphone, tripod and any free video and audio-editing software.
- Hold your camera horizontally to capture a full frame.
- Lighting can make or break your video. Be sure to maximize natural light and bring in artificial light as needed. Balance the colors before recording so that the whites actually appear white.
- Follow the rule of thirds when it comes to composition. Put the main subject on the intersecting thirds lines instead of smack dab in the center of the screen.
- Record audio in silence. While you can edit out background noise, it is best to get a pure tone that is consistent throughout the entire video.
Best Resources
- Vimeo video school offers numerous free tutorials that cover everything from mobile video to Windows Movie Maker and iMovie.
- If you’re trying to master a new software for video editing, Lynda offers great guidance. You can also follow tutorials about compositing, audio and shooting.
- Need captions on your video but don’t have time to do it yourself? Zen Captions offers the first 10 minutes of captioning for free and $1 per minute after that.
- If you’re looking for royalty-free music, Premium Beat has a plethora of choices.
