Videos have quickly become an indispensable element of many brand strategies for good reason: They serve as an efficient medium for communicating complex subjects that cannot easily be explained in writing form.
Education-stage videos don’t need to be boring! Animated videos provide an engaging way of conveying information in an entertaining fashion.
1. Use natural lighting
Lighting is one of the key ingredients of an unforgettable video experience, making all the difference in making an impressive video. Lighting can make or break a film. In some instances, proper lighting may even make or break its success!
Natural lighting in videos can help produce professional-looking results without breaking the bank on expensive light kits. It works especially well when filming interviews or „about me” style videos as natural light produces soft light that flatters skin tones while giving your videos a more genuine appearance that resonates with audiences.
Natural lighting can be challenging to control. Sunlight changes dramatically from one day or minute to the next, creating harsh shadows on your subject if shooting outdoors behind clouds. To reduce these harsh shadows, use a reflector to redirect light back onto them and soften any harsh edges in their picture.
Filters or cloud movements can also help alter how the sun hits your subject, providing the ideal lighting conditions. That is why having a weather app installed on your phone and being flexible when planning shoots can be advantageous; trial-and-error can lead to success when lighting videos!
2. Be deliberate about your background
There are various video formats out there that can help showcase your brand and engage with its target audience, so the key to successful video marketing lies in understanding these different forms, their goals and which ones best resonate with your target market.
Behind-the-scenes videos can be an excellent way to showcase your team and company culture while simultaneously informing and educating your target audience on your products or services and helping them overcome challenges they’re currently experiencing.
Background can make a dramatic impactful statement about your brand identity and should match up well with the subject matter and subject. Many videographers suggest choosing solid-colored backgrounds without elements that might distract from your subject and giving your video an enhanced professional aesthetic, without unintentionally detracting from its overall message.
As with the other aspects of video creation, camera angles should also be carefully considered when crafting your video. There are various types of camera shots – each offering distinct advantages and drawbacks. For instance, over-the-shoulder shots can be great tools for storytelling but may create an unnervingly shaky image which turns off some viewers.
When streaming live via platforms like YouTube or Facebook, it’s key to be deliberate with the camera angle you use. Too often live content comes across as disorganized and disjointed; to prevent this, take time planning out your video before going live – this will enable you to produce an engaging live stream that captures and holds onto audiences’ interest!
3. Be intentional about your lighting
Lighting is one of the key components to creating professional-looking videos, setting them apart from amateur ones. When filming outdoors using natural light, aim for shooting during morning or evening rather than midday when direct sunlight casts unfavorable shadows on your subject. Indoors when using artificial lighting sources choose one with soft yet even lighting to cast soft illumination on your subject and add backlighting for depth effects and wraparound lighting effects on their face or body.
Addition of backlight to your set can also reduce glare on your subject’s face, providing flattering lighting ideal for business and marketing videos. When using backlight, be sure it matches at least the intensity of fill light and place it either behind or above your subject for maximum benefit. Backlight can create flat, flattering light – ideal for creating business videos!
Video can be an incredible way to build rapport and trust between yourself and your target audience. By investing in professional production for your videos, your viewers are more likely to engage with and respond positively to them – something which may work for one audience may not work as effectively for another – don’t be afraid to experiment with different types of videos to see which resonate best with your viewers; perhaps an explainer video or live streaming service could become hits with them!
4. Be deliberate about your audio
Human voices, either through narration or dialogue between multiple individuals, are an essential element of any video. A recent study revealed that videos featuring audio received 380% more clicks than those without due to social media users’ preference for emotive and relatable content.
When creating videos, it’s essential that you give careful consideration to your audio and its relationship to its narrative. This means noticing how different sounds influence the atmosphere of the scene as well as being mindful about your audio equipment – headphones are great way to capture high-quality sound recordings on set!
Attentiveness to audio sync-up is also crucial when producing videos; make sure words match mouths, sounds happen at their appropriate times, and music plays at its intended times.
Video can be an extremely powerful marketing and teaching tool, yet creating professional-looking videos takes practice and dedication to master. By following these simple tips, you can start producing videos that capture audiences while invigorating brands! If successful, enjoy filming! –Sarah Healey, Senior Digital Marketing Specialist
5. Be deliberate about your captions and subtitles
Video content has quickly become one of the most-watched forms on social media and the internet, but its use must be carefully planned in order to reach as many viewers as possible. That means making sure it can reach those with difficulty hearing audio and non-native speakers who do not speak the language used in your video. Captions and subtitles are powerful tools that can make videos more engaging and accessible for viewers with hearing impairment.
Captions are text displayed over videos to provide additional or interpretive information, such as transcription of dialogue or indications that someone is off screen, music descriptions and more. Captions come in two forms – closed captions can be toggled on and off via button; open captions cannot.
Subtitles are translations of spoken dialogue in video clips and can be either open or closed. Open subtitles can be watched in any language and include time stamps (hour:minute:second:millisecond) to help viewers track where they are within the video. Closed captions are designed specifically for deaf or hard of hearing viewers and typically feature background noises, speaker changes and speaker names – with Rev now offering permanently integrated captions so no switching them on/off will ever be needed!
6. Be deliberate about your call-to-action
Video marketing has quickly become an essential content strategy for many businesses. Businesses use videos as part of their content strategy to communicate complex processes to new employees or educate clients on new product features.
In order to make the most of your videos, they need to be clear and compelling – both of which apply equally to the call-to-action in these social media videos. Successful social media videos utilize calls-to-action that encourage viewers to take the next step — signing up for your newsletter, downloading free tools or reaching out directly. A call-to-action is far more likely to increase traffic and conversions than simply posting the video online on platforms such as Facebook or Instagram.
When adding call-to-actions to videos, it is essential that they are placed and worded with care and thoughtful consideration. Effective call-to-actions should be clear and communicate what the viewer should do – they should also be short enough that people remember them easily without distracting from the main point.
One way to ensure that your calls-to-action are clearly and efficiently presented is by including a transcript of the video. Not only is this practice good for accessibility purposes, but also search engine optimization (SEO), since the transcript appears as text beneath your video on your website – contributing towards how highly it ranks on searches.