Video has become a driving force in content marketing. One only has to look as far as YouTube’s success to see that video content is a thriving entity all on its own. In fact, you can create a thriving business using mostly video as your main type of content. But, if you normally just use textual content, the thought of using video can be daunting.
Get the Tools
You really don’t have to spend tons of money on the right tools for creating entertaining and engaging videos for your content marketing needs. However, at least spending enough to be able to provide adequate lighting and sound is important. You can even use your iPhone or iPad to create outstanding videos.
No One Hit Wonders
Videos don’t stand alone. If you create one, you really should create more than one. Having a regular video series as part of your blog is a good idea. It will encourage more viewers to take the time to view your videos if you have more than one. At first it may feel as if no one is watching, but take the time to stick to doing them during a time period and see what happens.
Shorter is Better
You don’t want to make a video super long. More than three minutes and you’re pushing it unless you have really high quality images and sound to match the length of your video. If you do have something long to say, try breaking them up and do a series with one point on each video over time.
Repurpose Content You Already Have
For your first video you don’t have to reinvent the wheel; instead use some content you already have. If you have a “how to” blog post, why not do a quick video demonstrating how to do “it”. If you have a blog post with five tips on doing something better, do five videos talking about each tip for two or three minutes. Using visuals outside of your face is a good idea, to make it more interesting.
Leverage Events (Online and Offline)
Having an event such as an in-person interview, conference, or an online webinar? Why not record it, then edit it and repurpose it to use later. You can break up longer events into shorter videos with a little bit of editing and adding in visuals, and you could have a series of videos from one hour-long event.
Outsource
If you’re not sure about how to edit the videos or create them in a format that is usable by most browsers including mobile devices, consider outsourcing the editing process. Usually you would provide them with the raw video and they’ll cut it down and edit it to make it a more professional production.
You can actually even hire local people to record for you. It’s up to you how much money you want to spend. But, it costs a lot less than you think to produce very professional sounding and looking videos for your content marketing needs.
You don’t have to worry about being perfect. Take a look on YouTube at the popular videos in your niche. They are probably not perfect. There may be a few exceptions but more than likely the really popular ones aren’t perfect. As long as viewers can see something interesting, hear the audio and trust the value and truth of the information being shared, you’ll see success using video as one of your content marketing tactics.