The use of Video for marketing as a tool in a business marketing strategy is becoming more evident by the year. According to a report published by Wyzowl, a company that specializes in creating video content for businesses, "Marketers feel more positive about the return on investment offered by video than ever, as it continues to influence traffic strongly, leads, sales, and audience understanding."
The report also states, "Consumers continue to use video as an integral part of their journey with brands, and are excited to see even more video content in the year ahead."
Consumers continue to use Video as an integral part of their journey with brands and are excited to see even more video content in the year ahead.
The tools for making videos are more accessible and easy to learn than ever, and I believe start-ups and small businesses could get by running small teams of 1 up to 4 people. In this article, you will learn How to make a video to promote your business or start-up from start to finish. See the infographic below for a roadmap of things covered.
Table of Contents:
- Pre-production of your marketing video
- Production of your marketing video
- Post-Production of your Marketing Video
- Distribution of your marketing video
Pre-production of your marketing video
As they say, "begin with the end in mind." You need to decide what your Video's goal will be and ask yourself a few questions. Some examples are:
- Who is the target audience for the marketing video?
- What is the goal of this particular Video?
- Are there any budget constraints?
- On which platform will the Video be published?
- Will the views rely on paid ads? Organic traffic? Both?
- Do you need to do SEO research?
- What type of marketing Video will be used by your company? Will it be a how-to video or an explainer video? Will it be an interview video? A live Video?
- Do you need a script or talking points?
- What tools do you already have to complete the Video? Which ones do you still need?
- What roles will need to be filled by the company or yourself?
- What is the plan for production days?
- Where the Video the Video will be filmed?
- How many hours or days do you need for shooting?
These are just some questions for consideration. I'm going to advocate keeping things simple as much as possible. The bigger the project, the more sophisticated it can get. However, if you have the budget, consider hiring your local video production company to delegate or plan with them. If you are working with small budgets and minimum resources, keep reading.
Now, for those with smaller budgets, time and resources, let's go over on how to approach planning the videos with the end in mind.
Target Audience
The target audience should be clear and defined before shooting. Frankly, this is more important than the Video itself because if your business does not clearly understand who your client is, then I would recommend stopping here and figuring that out first.
If you're having issues with answering this, I recommend the audiobook Building a Storybrand by Donald Miller. The book simplifies answering this question to a few sentences; you can get it free when you sign up with audible.
The goal of the Video
Now that we have defined the target audience, it's vital to get a clear picture of the goal of the Video. There are many types of Videos you can shoot. However, you can better choose which type to choose by keeping in mind these three intentions and selecting which one aligns with your goal.
- A video to introduce your brand, describing what problem your brand solves, what you stand for, and who needs your product. Think of it as trailers. You see this type of Video on website home pages, landing pages, and commercials. YouTube channel trailers are an excellent example. They get people to subscribe to the channel.
- A video for engagement. These videos are meant to keep your audience engaged. They keep building trust and turn followers into fans. Relationships of any kind take work to maintain, and this type of content helps.
- Sales or offers. These videos introduce products to your fans and make sales. These are more direct than branding videos. Both types of videos can include offers, but videos designed to drive sales are more natural and confident once you are sure you have the trust of your audience.
Now that you have an idea, you can decide which type of Video is best for your marketing. Read this separate article for 20 types of videos for marketing you could use for inspiration.
Video Marketing Budget
Even if only one person is in charge of the whole video production, the time, scale, locations, and cost of tools and equipment will still need to be factored in. Even on a shoestring budget where a single person uses a smartphone and a small tripod, there will still be the issue of time spent planning, editing, and posting to social media.
According to Upcity, a resource that helps connect businesses to service providers, the average monthly video marketing budget for at least 27% of businesses on their survey reported that a small company from 2 – 100 employees is $500 to $1,499 before Covid-19 and grew from $1500 to $2000 post-Covid-19.
Based on experience, a solopreneur doing their marketing can start on their own with a budget starting with the price of a smartphone and editing software or service. More on that later.
Video Marketing Distribution
With creativity and a solid understanding of your business and target audience, you could probably make your video marketing work on any platform. However, it makes sense to narrow the platform to understand general audience demographics, choose the platform that best matches your target audience, and expand depending on individual business opportunities.
According to a study by the Content Marketing Institute, generally, If your Business is B2B, your marketing team may explore posting on traditional platforms like Linkedin, Twitter, and YouTube.
For B2C, there are more options, and some platforms can serve B2B and B2C, with the number one platform being Facebook. A study by HubSpot breaks it down.
It's essential to brainstorm and decide which platform is best for your business since resources, time, and money can be limited for your business to try and cover all media platforms or choose the wrong platform to find your target audience.
Organic traffic vs. paid traffic
If there is an option for running paid ads, explore it in conjunction with deciding which media platform to post your videos. It may be worth it to run a small test to run paid advertisement to test your KPIs.
On the other hand, your social media options may be limited to the platforms with the best organic traffic. According to Gary Vaynerchuck, CEO for Vaynermedia, those are Linkedin or TikTok.
Either way, running ads or using SEO to get organic traffic involves unique skill sets that might need to be delegated to someone with enough experience.
Video marketing SEO
Just as there are tools and platforms like Ubersuggest or SEM Rush for blog SEO, there are tools for video SEO for YouTube like TubeBuddy and VidIQ. Both platforms are excellent for determining the best keyword opportunities for videos on your niche.
Which type of Video to produce
You or your team can produce several types of videos for your video marketing strategy. Your team must determine which fits your branding, style, budget, and other factors best. These include branding videos, how-to videos, explainer videos, and everything in between. Check out a complete article listing 20 types of videos right here. See also the video below for more ideas.
Video script
A simple script format that I use is no script at all. I write a series of questions to my clients about their brand and ask them interview-style behind the camera. They have ample time to prepare for the questions. Another way is to use bullet points to cover the main ideas. These are simple ways to do for a branding video, but your team might need an actual script. The best software I can recommend for writing a script is writer duet. It's simple to use, and the first projects are free.
Storyboards
Storyboards are fun and give you a fun vibe that your Video is a Hollywood-style production, but storyboards are nice to have and not a must-have for most cases. If your marketing department has low budgets to work with, I suggest skipping storyboarding unless the Video requires something complex as choreography, elaborate stunts, or sets. You can always use stick figures to plan shots.
Shot list
A shot list is a document that details everything that will happen in a video by describing each shot within that film or Video. It serves as a checklist, providing the project with a sense of direction and preparedness for the video marketing department.
Your bullet point script could technically serve as a shot list, but if you want to make extra sure to shoot coverage footage or B-roll such as close-ups, artistic scenes, and wide shots of city skylines, that sort of thing, it might be better to use a shot list. It can be as simple as a few bullet points per scene or location.
Video Production Tools
Here are the minimum tools you need for the production shoot. Each category will be subdivided into tiers explained below.
- Tier 1 equipment. Low to no budget video production tools.
- Tier 2 equipment. Equipment between $500 to $1500.
- Tier 3 equipment. Your "spared no expense" equipment.
Tier 1
Camera: Your smartphone is your best choice. You can probably shoot HD video or maybe even 4k. You can point and shoot or learn how to make the most out of your cellphone with my free course here, where you can learn all the basics of shooting video using your smartphone.
Sound: Just standard recording from the smartphone.
Tripod. Any basic tripod will do. I recommend a tripod that can raise a few feet and be at eye level with someone standing up in front of the smartphone. Small tripods also work, but you would always be limited to using some table or desk. If your team or yourself will always be using a desk or table, then, by all means, go forward.
Lights: Use natural light with no budget, or a ring light will serve well in these cases.
Editing: I recommend shooting live Video or no editing; if there is no time for editing or it can't be delegated to someone else, then you or your team need to start learning editing from scratch. Another option is to use Invideo, which is a simple online editing platform that is simple to use. It works like Canva, which you can drag and drop. The editing will go smooth for basic editing, and you can easily include some nice graphics in your Video. More on this later.
If you are an Apple user, you can check out imovie if you don't already have it. It's easy to learn and will give you all the basics necessary for a good quality video.
Below a video from my YouTube Channel for making a simple DYI studio.
Tier 2
Camera: I am a fan of entry-level DSLRs. There is a learning curve with all cameras, so you need to practice or delegate to someone on your team who is already familiar or can put the time to learn. I cover the basics here, but if you want more in-depth learning, you can take a creative live course I took myself and learn more about how DSLR cameras work. I shot most of my portfolio work using a canon rebel t5i.
Tripod: I recommend a professional tripod that can withstand a few pounds, durable and withstands heavy usage. You want a tripod that can easily carry the camera and other equipment.
Sound: For sound, I recommend the rode shotgun mic. It's the go-to camera for most YouTube creators. It's used for documentaries and will give you a good sound quality. Dslr cameras usually don't have good internal microphones, so do yourself a favor and get a decent shotgun mic. This mic is perfect for YouTube videos with a 1-2 person speaking interview style. Make sure the subject is not far away. The closer the sound is to the microphone, the better.
Lights: I recommend LED lights. The two light led light kits that I use can be controlled by remote control, and you can adjust the brightness and color temperature from bright white to warm tungsten, giving you options of the look and feel on your shooting set.
Alternatively, you can use a lighting kit with soft boxes, umbrellas, and a Muslim set with white and black backgrounds.
Editing. Hitfilm has rave reviews, and it's a solid editing software and, more importantly, very affordable. It's FREE to download! Though the content creator package for Youtubers and Filmmakers costs $19 (at the moment of writing). I haven't used this software, but it has been featured on the YouTube Channel Filmriot, and those special effects filmmakers have done amazing special effects with hitfilm. The content creator package is just for basic video editing. Unless your video marketing involves crazy Hollywood special effects, you won't need the special effects package.
Alternatively, a one-time investment in software like sony vegas might cover your needs if you cannot afford it. I have used sony vegas to edit professional wedding videos and will also serve you well for basic video marketing and content creation.
Tier 3
Cameras: At this point, I will not recommend expensive cameras like the red unless you are already a big company with more than 300 employees and many departments. That is unless you plan to build a video production team like the company Yeti has and are ready for TV and sophisticated online commercials. Yeti has producers, directors, and the whole nine yards. If that is the case, by all means, yes, buy yourself a red camera but make sure you hire professional videographers, producers, and a solid marketing team that can work alongside the video marketing department.
Now that we have that out of the way, I will assume you can build a 3-4 video marketing team and that they already have some experience with content creation. If this is the case, there is no harm in asking them first what type of camera they prefer. Identify who will do the recording and discuss what camera they feel they will be comfortable using.
I would be highly uncomfortable working with a Red Camera since I barely have experience using a Red. I would feel very confident using a Canon Mark IV or a Sony Alpha; they are both excellent cameras that can shoot in 4k, and if I could, I would have both, but that's just me.
They are way too many cameras on the market, and I could make a list of more than 20 cameras you could buy and, in the process, overwhelm you. One day I will make such a list. But for now, the most important thing is creating content rather than the specific tools.
I know it may sound cliché, but it's true. It's not the camera. It's how you use it. Your audience won't care what camera you are buying.
Editing: An investment in Adobe Creative Cloud will give you all the tools you need for editing, effects, logos, etc. You will have access to all the tools a big marketing agency uses. It comes with a steep learning curve. It's not intuitive, and it's better to outsource the editing and graphic creation if there is no time to learn the tools. However, if you have the time and can afford it, adobe is worth every penny, and I love using the tools such as after effects, adobe premiere, Lightroom, photoshop, and audition.
Computer: Make sure you have a PC that can handle the editing software—any computer with 8 GB of ram. Intel 5 or hire and a graphics card can handle HD editing easily.
If you plan on editing on 4k, then you need a more powerful computer at the moment. It's best to visit this link from the website Digital Trends that explains what your computer would need for 4k editing and why you need those specs.
Alternatively, a Mac Book Pro can edit on 4k without problems if you are an Apple user.
Sound: Again, a rode mic could be enough, but you might also want to include sound recorders and make sure someone on your team knows how to record audio separately or knows enough to run it alongside the video recording.
You might need an extendable boom mic or a console to record all subjects wirelessly in a video recording if there are multiple people or it's a professional acted commercial.
Again assuming you still have a small team but a big enough budget, you might choose this route or delegate to a professional on your team that knows how to work with sound.
Production Team
Like the video tools section, I will break into budget tiers the team you would need for your video marketing department.
Tier 1: It's only you and you alone. Maybe you have an editor working remotely at best; stick with the tools in Tier 1 by using just your smartphone or an entry-level DSLR if you have the time to learn it. Don't overthink it and have fun with it, along with a lot of patience.
Tier 2: You would have the following roles divided by a small team of 3 to 5 people. They can and probably will wear multiple hats due to the size of the group.
- Producer/Content Marketing Manager/Video content marketing manager. The Producer will be the project manager, so to speak. It will be someone who will help execute the goal of the content marketing manager, be it someone, already behind the marketing department or yourself if you are in charge of your marketing. The Producer will be able to take care of the budgeting, logistics, paperwork, time management, and scheduling and help you hire for the rest of the roles. They also need to know how to measure results and track the effectiveness of the video content marketing campaign. This person should have a few video projects under their belt. They should be able to break down all their duties. They need to follow the content editorial calendar. They work closely with the videographer/director. The marketing manager has to work with the Producer on developing the video editorial calender to incorporate SEO in the video creation; if necessary, you find someone with experience in producing videos and marketing, then you hit the Jackpot. This is the most critical role.
- Content Writer: This person ideally would be knowledgeable on SEO for blogs but also has some copywriting experience that can write the key points that need to be discussed in the videos and scripts. So, of course, this person needs to love writing. At this point, they would probably need to be knowledgeable in social media marketing.
- Videographer: The person should be in charge of camera work and audio. The videographer should plan the shots and the script and work alongside the Producer to execute the marketing department's goals; they need to plan and follow the video content editorial calendar.
- Assistant Director: They are in charge of helping on the sets. They are runners. They help things move along while the videographer focuses on executing the creative vision. They take care of people. They assist with setting the lights.
- Editor: They are in charge of editing the videos for multiple platforms and maintaining and organizing the digital data filing system. They would also need to do graphic design and keep the computer updated. They would upload the videos or assist others in uploading the videos.
Tier 3: It will include more individualized roles from tier 2. The producer role would pretty much stay the same. The rest would have a size comparable to a small independent movie crew.
Be mindful that at this point, your company probably has an entire marketing team. Your team might be considering building an in-house video team integrated with the existing marketing team, or your company is so big they want a separate department. Either way, everyone will still be working towards assisting the sales department and the overall company needs. I will highlight some critical roles that either will directly need to work with Video or they will need to use the videos created in their positions.
Also, all companies are different, and these roles are meant to be guidelines of what would be needed for your video marketing team to be successful. The top marketing managers should discuss the nuances and intrinsic needs of the company, considering the company mission, vision, culture, values, etc. The critical question is what task there is enough of that there would be value in delegating to a person who is a specialist in that area. With that out of the way, here are the additional roles your company probably needs if they have the resources.
- Creative Director: A Creative Director is a person who is in charge of all video advertising and marketing. They plan out advertisements, monitor campaign KPIs that use their company's assets for promotion purposes, and shape brand standards. This person might report to the overall marketing manager.
- Media Campaign Specialist: Will handle and track all PPC and social media ad campaigns.
- Production Coordinator: Responsibilities include facilitating the production schedule, budgets, equipment rentals, transportation, locations, catering, billing, and communicating with crew members.
- Production Designer: Will be in charge of the look and feel of the video shoot with set designs, props, and the overall mood of each video.
- Production Assistant: They will be runners on set, practically assisting everyone.
- Motion Graphics Designer: Works mostly editing all kinds of motion graphics. They would be able to remix all previous content into new content and make micro-video content using animations and other graphics.
- Social Media Manager: Implements the content strategy on social media platforms.
- Community Manager: Handles all online engagements.
- Executive Producer: Manages all producers. They keep the projects on track on multiple accounts. They estimate budgets and time management for each project. This role is more likely needed when several video projects are running at once within the company. In which you will need multiple teams with the same positions.
Planning the video shoots
Once the roles have been assigned to your video marketing team, the next step is planning the videos. An editorial calendar must be made for the team if the goal is to create consistent video content to build traffic. Another reason to use VidIQ is that they provide content ideas using keywords.
There is also Ubersuggest, where the platform also provides ideas for content. Based on SEO. I would always go for an SEO strategy first while brainstorming content ideas.
Another way of generating content is by creating content vlog-style like Gary Vaynerchuck. No matter how you plan the content, ensure it is valuable for your audience and make it as enjoyable as possible.
Once you build a list with a few video content ideas, then you can start planning the video shoots. Locations need to be set for filming. The smaller the team and the budget, the more you need to consider using easy-to-access areas such as the company offices or your own home or garage.
Not that your team shouldn't venture out to shoot amazing B-Roll. Just try to keep it as simple as possible. Try to decorate the shooting area with props or decorations to make it as aesthetically pleasing to the eye as possible. I don't care if you need to buy props in Goodwill or a garage sale-do it!
Team discussions
All stakeholders should be present in multiple meetings for Pre-Production. The producers, videographers, and all creative stakeholders should plan all creative aspects of the videos. Suppose it's just you doing everything; make sure to design the look and feel of your set and how you will project yourself. My particular shooting style involves being as natural and authentic as possible, but your team might want something more flashy and polished. It all depends on your brand and message.
These discussions are the key to moving things along. It's at this point where the fate of your video marketing strategy hinges. I have a background in Quality Control and total quality management. It's here where a well-established culture and philosophy of continually improving can go a long way within your company. Have meetings for Pre-Production, but also have time to do a post-mortem. Your team must answer what went right. What went wrong, and how it can improve for next time.
Remember. When something goes wrong, something in the process goes wrong. Avoid a culture of blaming a single person for when something goes wrong. If your team can have a written method in which video shoots follow standard operating procedures, then the sky becomes the limit.
Contracts
Make sure contracts are signed for talent such as actors, models, voiceover artists, etc., along with release forms that authorize their image to use for commercial purposes if applicable.
Ensure all contracts are signed for locations, make-up, and other freelancers your team hires externally.
Shooting dates
Plan for the shooting dates. If you can batch multiple videos for one day, even better. Make sure to schedule everyone if more than one person will be involved a make sure someone has the role to make sure everyone is on time. If the crew can prepare the set ahead of time, that will reduce the amount of preparation on shooting days. Take that advantage if you can. On the other hand, if you can always shoot in the exact location, that will save you time and money. It depends on a case-by-case basis.
It's time-consuming to set the camera, lights, and all the equipment. While all this is happening, the rest of the team should prepare. Make-up should be doing their thing. Talent needs to be mic'd up if necessary, or they need to review their notes or have them wait in a relaxed environment until required—plan for all that.
Have a checklist with all the equipment, props, or items used during the shoot. So make those lists and check them twice to ensure you have them before arriving on the set. Forgetting something will cost time and money; sometimes, it can cost the entire shooting day if you are not careful.
Catering
On any movie film set, food will be a high priority. Food is magic. It maintains high spirits and morale. It can lift morale when things are not so great. Do not cut the budget on food. Spend generously on this aspect. Shooting days can be long and tiresome. Ideas flow in the catering area.
Plan for Post-Production
This is all about video marketing; things will be simple in most cases. However, sometimes some planning needs to be done for Post-Production. Make sure the editor is involved in some capacity for Pre-Production.
This will all sound obvious to a professional videographer, but this blog post is not for videographers. True, most likely, there won't be over-the-top special effects, but the mindset of measuring twice and cutting once will save you time and money. Below are just a few points to make post-production as easy as possible.
- Make sure you have good audio. Plan and ensure the audio is captured and has a good sound quality.
- Set the camera and test focus. Make sure there is a good focus on your footage. This is why Hollywood uses dailies on set to avoid surprises. You can check this by having an external monitor on your camera, taking the camera's card, watching the raw footage on a laptop, and checking for image quality. On Hollywood film sets, they have the role of DIT for this task. Your editor may be the one who does this if they can be on the location. If you can check for the image quality, ensure you or your videographer has a lot of experience using the camera or shoot multiple times each scene on your script or shot list. Some blurriness can be corrected on a post by the editor, but it's limited. Complete out-of-focus images cannot be saved.
- Plan for sound as well. Unwanted Loud background noise is impossible to remove. It can only be diminished. Please note this depends on the purpose of the Video. Sometimes it's OK to have background noise. Live events usually have background noise and can be minimized by having a shotgun mic or a lavalier.
- Make sure to have all the complete names of people who will talk in the Video to create lower thirds graphics with their full names.
Final thoughts on post-production planning, don't take on the mantra "fixing it on post." Your editor will thank you.
At this point, everything significant that can be said of the pre-production process has been covered. Of course, books can be written about the subject of pre-production alone. However, the intention was to make the process of production as smooth as possible and be ready for anything.
Production
What follows are guidelines and suggestions based on experience. These may not be your experiences depending on many factors such as the size of the team, the company culture, resources, etc.
Production shootings are usually long and heavy and require a lot of patience. I always tell my clients to will star on their videos to sleep well and show up to sets as relaxed as possible. Remember to make sure you have someone to keep things moving as smooth and seamlessly as possible and can keep their cool. Usually, this role falls to the Producer or Production Coordinator. If it's just you, give yourself enough time not to rush things.
Production is more about sticking to the schedule if you have a team. No matter how much you plan, things happen. Make sure you have the bandwidth to come up with plans B, C, and D to Z, or have a good producer who thrives and laughs in the face of pressure when things don't go as planned.
Remember the food. Don't you dare forget the food since it will be your first line of defense when something goes wrong. The magic words of a 10-minute break will keep people busy while the videographer and producers think of a creative idea to solve a problem.
Try to shoot as early as possible and start by first getting your most essential shots or content out of the way. I just observed that you don't get a lot of energy and focus from your talent as the day goes by. Hollywood has trailers to send the talent to rest while they set the other shots. Usually, there is no such thing for small to medium in-house video marketing departments.
Speaking of talent. It may be that some people in front of the camera; have never been in front of the camera. They may have some anxiety, and it's normal. I try to help them get used to the camera by explaining that we will shoot more than once as if we were rehearsing; this works for recordings that use scripts or prompts like bullet points. It might be easier if a host asks the questions in an interview format if it's a live shoot. Consider the type of person in front of the camera—just some food for thought.
If you have an experienced videographer, let them do their thing. The time for vetting a videographer was before the shooting began. Don't micromanage a videographer or anyone else for that manner. If you feel the need to micromanage, something has gone wrong.
Always remember quality comes first. If time is running out and there is still a lot to shoot, you only have two options. Continue to shoot another day which may be impractical for budget reasons, or think creatively to get to the point using other methods. Ask yourself, is there a way to tell this video content piece with fewer words? Can this be divided into two parts or a series of videos? Maybe you already shot the most critical shots from the script, and the rest can be added using voiceover and some b-roll footage.
These scenarios and more will show up during production. Outside-the-box thinking and innovation will go a long way to solving most of the problems you and your team will encounter on the set. Solving these problems can be a lot of fun and very rewarding. Lack of a high budget can be the mother of all innovations. Don't shy away from problems. Embrace them on the set.
Post-Production
First, a few thoughts on the mindset of editing. For some, editing is a painful process. Myself, I love editing. It gets me in the flow state of mind.
Let's talk about the fact that perfectionism is a way of hiding. A form of not showing up. At least that mantra is repeated by Seth Godin, who is my personal Yoda for everything. If your company is to become its own media platform, it must post content consistently. At least it should strive to publish content as much as possible.
So let's not obsess over minutia and superficial details on editing. It may be hard for some at the beginning. However, we must be aware of this. There is a philosophy called lean manufacturing where stakeholders of a process sit down and evaluate which steps are a waste of time and money because, in the end, they won't impact the overall quality of the customer.
If there is a quality check in a process that it's crucial to maintain integral quality for the customer, then it must be kept in the process. However, if a step is done in the process that is found, it won't affect the overall quality for the customer; it should quickly be scrapped or substituted for a faster and leaner process.
Case in point. The viewer won't care much about aesthetics if you provide value to them with your Video. Your hair, looks, the desk you use, the sound of your voice. That is all secondary unless you are a fashion company; if you are in the fashion industry, all those things matter because the quality is the fashion and image.
The point is to not slow down post-production for things that ultimately don't matter to the viewer. If the message in the video is clearly articulated, the sound is good, and the Video image is focused, move on. Only slow down to correct things that the audience would care about. If your Video is about SEO and you get to the point quickly, the content is engaging, and there is good sound quality, then the audience will be pretty forgiving about the rest.
Explaining how to edit on Adobe suite or DaVinci's resolve is impractical at the moment. You can learn all about them on these excellent YouTube Channels.
However, If you are clueless about editing, I got you covered and explained some steps for editing on Invideo. You can open a free account a follow along.
How to do video editing with Invideo
Once you open a free account, go to the home page and click on the blank canvas. Look at the image and notice when the red arrow indicates the blank canvas option. Follow these red arrows as I go step by step to locate the options on your screen.
Next, click on aspect ratio, which in this case it will be 16:9, and then click "make a video."
On the left side of the screen, you will have options to choose from when editing your Video, from images, music, shapes, templates, etc.
For our purposes, focus on the option of upload and then proceed to upload your footage.
Now drag and drop your footage to the timeline. Notice the footage has already been dropped on the following image.
If you have to undo or redo anything, notice those options pointed by the arrow on the following image.
If you want to trim your footage, notice the scissor option on the screen pointed by the arrow. Chose the trim option to follow the next screen.
You can trim by dragging the left or right of your footage, as shown by the arrows on the image. Choosing left will affect the beginning of the footage, and the right side will affect towards the end of the footage.
Now let's add another video footage. Choose any from the available stock footage already available or upload you're own. Once you drag and drop it, another layer on the timeline should appear. Notice the second footage is now named media two on the image below.
You can change the size to full-frame by adjusting the blue lines shown by the arrow.
You can also click on any footage bar on the timeline and increase the size, zoom in for added precision in trimming or see additional features on the timeline on the left or right side of the footage. You will see the zoom-in and out option on the right side of the screen.
To add transitions and other typical effects to each scene, click on the negation circle on the sides of the scene.
Once you click on the negation circle, look on the left of your screen and notice the animation options. As always, follow the red allow and click to see what transition animations you have available and choose to your liking.
Finally, let's talk music for your Video. You can upload your own music or choose from the invideo library options on the left side of the screen. To add it to the timeline, notice the plus sign on the green square or thumbnail. Click on the plus sign to add it to the timeline.
To edit the music, hover around the center of the music bar on the timeline. Locate the edit button as seen on the image and edit the music to your liking.
That's it. You know the basics of editing on the invideo platform.
Video Marketing Distribution
There are multiple ways to publish your video on various platforms. For our purposes, I will discuss the use of SEO on video for the YouTube platform since, at the moment, that is the platform I work with the most. The tools that can help you with SEO research are below.
Free tools to monitor video ranking and searching keywords
- VID IQ helps you optimize the Video. It's a free chrome extension that can tell you when you rank and how your competitors rank and, in some cases, might be a good indicator if your keyword strikes a balance between good search volume and low competition.
- Tubebuddy is a similar service to VID IQ.
- Google keyword planner.
Preparation before making the video public.
Are people searching for the Video?
YouTube uses keywords to determine what videos it should give priority. Chances are higher if you title the video with the keyword people are searching. To have a good idea, use google keyword planner. The search bar on YouTube already provides good tips on what people are searching for. If the title auto completes on YouTube when typing, chances are high it's a good keyword.
Does your competition have recent videos?
YouTube also likes to serve the most recent content. The older the videos of your competition, the better. Aim for searching for keywords that have not been used within a year. If there are recent videos within the year, verify if they are subject matter experts or have a high volume of subscribers. If only a few videos from your competition have been posted recently (1-2), you may still consider using the keyword. The bottom line is that the more crowded, the fewer chances of ranking.
Is your Video optimized?
An optimized video will have the following:
Post the Video in private before making it public to optimize first.
- Use the exact keyword at the beginning of the title or at least as close as possible.
- Use a secondary title with another keyword that speaks to the viewer.
- Use a good thumbnail that draws attention.
- Ensure all tags related to the subject are used to the max capacity in the tag section (500 characters). The first tag should be the exact keyword, and the rest should be keywords related to the topic at hand. Use the keyword suggestion on the keyword planner for tag ideas.
- The description on YouTube should be completed using the keywords in the title, but remember that it's not about keyword stuffing. Make the use of the keyword as natural as possible. The first two lines of the description should use the keyword within the first three sentences and make it as natural as possible for the viewer. Also, write the description where viewers can find you on social media and include any relevant links.
- Pinned comments. Make sure to write a comment on the Video and pin it. Ideally, make a call to action for people to leave comments on the Video.
- Use YouTube cards to use calls to action by the end of the video. It can be to subscribe and continue watching more videos on your YouTube channel using end cards.
- The video title must include the main keyword to be used when exporting from editing software. This is for the metadata.
Actions steps after the videos are public. (Ideally, within the first 30 minutes to an hour up but no later than 24 hours)
YouTube uses view velocity to determine where to rank your Video. This will indicate to the algorithm that the subject is relevant to the keyword and will rank accordingly. The more views, comments, and shares, the better your chances of ranking the video.
- Use all the social media channels YouTube already has at the bottom of the Video to share. You may skip the social media channels you don't have but encourage others to share on their preferred platforms.
- Embed the Video on websites, blogs, etc.
- Share your Video with your email list.
- The bottom line is that the more the Video is talked about within the first 24 hours, the better. Encourage your team, friends, and family to share the Video or leave comments on the Video. This will give more signals to YouTube.
Repeat these steps for all YouTube content produced, and it will increase the chances of more subscriber growth, views, sign-ups on your email list, and conversion rates for your products.
Final Thoughts
We have reached the end of this step-by-step process of building a video marketing strategy to promote your business. I hope this step-by-step guide helps you and your team to start this journey of using video marketing as a business strategy for growth.
Make sure you are approaching this process with curiosity and be open to experimentation. Ultimatly the best tool is to use creativity when producing content within the context of the platform you will be using.
