Video is an extremely powerful medium. YouTube reports that 4 billion videos viewed in a single day, with 72 hours of video being uploaded per minute; those are some staggering statistics.
It’s pretty clear that as a means of engaging audience and attracting attention, making a video is an extremely powerful way to reach out to your audience.
But did you also know that videos are 53 times more likely to appear on Google’s front page of search results – especially now that Google has started to integrate images and videos into pure search results.
Video is a great way to reach out to your target audience. And you don’t even have to be an Oscar-winning director to make a good video that will reach out to people. Here are three videos everybody can make to expand their online reach.
1. The Informative Video
The Internet is for content – unique, interesting, or popular content. By offering relevant, useful information to your audience you’ll be better able to capture their attention. What’s also useful is that you’ll show that you’re knowledgeable and credible about your expertise, which will make the process of conversion easy.Informative videos offer information. This could be anything, from statistics of how Internet usage has changed since the formation of the Internet, to delivering an opinion on current affairs or breaking news relevant to your area of expertise. Something everybody can talk about is themselves or their business – take the opportunity to tell the world about yourself!
Here, in this video, we’re offered a series of staggering statistics about the world. Few people would actively look up, or really bat an eyelid about most of this information, but compiled and cut together with a good soundtrack they form a powerful message that has garnered quite a few views.
Informative videos are simple to make. Say a florist wishes to promote her website and business. She could make a series of informative videos about some of the flowers popular with consumers; discuss the names, their traditional meanings, their seasonality and where they came from. An independent musician could discuss the inspiration behind his latest song and his influences, or just introduce his band to the world. Either way, it’s important to bear in mind that the video should contain some good content and avoid over-excessive branding; if it sounds like paid programming or an infomercial on the shopping channel, you’re doing it wrong.
2. The Instructive Video
One of the most popular uses of the Internet is – surprise – to learn how to do things. The popularity of online how-to websites and videos is staggering, and it’s easy to see why – it’s just so much easier to watch a video on how to sauté a fillet or break a combination lock or apply a filter on Photoshop than to read through thick manuals and paragraphs of text and try to figure things out on your own.
When making any video, it’s always best to take the time to introduce yourself, your website and other videos, as well as invite the watching audience to comment, share or like your video. In an instructive video, you’ll want to explain what you’re doing, go through the various steps slowly (offering video replays where appropriate) and give some hints and tips near particularly tricky bits. It’s also generally best to get in a call-to-action at the end of the video by name-dropping your brand and inviting them to share or comment again.
Here’s one of my favourite videos – a fashion blogger offers 25 ways to tie scarves in 4 minutes. Sure, she uses quite a bit of video editing and it’s impressively prepared – but equally, a vanilla video of her tying 25 scarves one after the other would be equally impressive and useful for her as well.
This is possibly the simplest one to make – here, our marketing manager at Startcut teaches you how to use tags in Video.
Continuing the example from previously, a florist could offer simple care instructions on how to prolong the life of a bouquet, or care for flowers in flowerpots, or even simply how to put a bouquet together and wrap it presentably. Independent musicians could offer how to strum their latest song, or how they played their unique cover of a popular oldies tune.
3. The Inspirational Video
Only for the ambitious, this is one that will require a bit more planning and a lot more creativity than the previous two. Like it’s name this video aims to inspire – inspire your audience to aspire to buy your products, inspire with your corporate philosophy, or simply to show them something unique and amazing that only your company can do.
Like the Dollar Shave Club.
In his bestseller, Start With Why, Simon Sinek emphasizes the importance of sharing your corporate philosophy with people. People don’t actually buy products; they buy (and buy into) ideas and visions.
By sharing your corporate philosophy, you’ll be able to explain your business and why you do what you do better. You’ll offer viewers a chance to understand and feel closer to your company, and hopefully, convert them into evangelists for your product.
Making a video is something everybody can do. You could always hire a expensive video production company, but you can also do it yourself, by relying on the tools you have – a simple smartphone or camera with video capacity, a nice room in the home or office, and your own personal knowledge or experience in doing things.
Great tips. This simplifies things for people who would like to make videos but think it’s far too complicated or don’t know what to do or where to begin. Despite the popularity of videos there are still some bloggers who fail to see it’s importance and potential. They should know what they’re missing.
It’s difficult, though – we’re having a hard time trying to convince people fo the power of videos.
Say, have you created a video for creditdonkey yet?
Make sure that you properly select a good Title for your video!
That’s one thing that will really make your video stand out! and share via social media!
I normally visit Youtube for instructional videos such as how-to’s. Thanks for sharing this post about three types of videos that anybody can make. I agree with Danyelle that your videos can stand out if they are properly and interestingly titled.
Good post. I still struggle to understand why people fail to see the importance in today’s content driven world. Having said that though, I think it needs to be discussed (perhaps in a different post?) about how these videos are time intensive and, usually, expensive to make. Sure, video can be created for cheap, but besides that Startcut video, none of these videos above are relatively cheap or easy for a small time blogger to produce. DollarShaveClub’s video cost $5k (it would have been wayyyy more if not for the fact the CEO had a film industry friend who shot it for cheap) and the fashion blogger video was produced by her boyfriend (at least that is my understanding) who happens to know video editing/production. Unless you know what you’re doing or know someone who does, there is more to video production that simply picking up a camera. Just my two cents. Great post!
Totally succinct post here and very apt for people who are camera-shy or stutter and stall once the director shouts action. Instructive and informative videos can be made by using screen/video capture software, which means you don’t have to plaster that mug of yours in front of the screen.
Some people may prefer to show off their mugs, especially if they’re prettier than plaster.
Absolutely right, Dave, and most software instructionals are videos entirely captured on the computer screen.
Hey, do me a favour, will you – share this on your Twitter.