With more people watching videos than ever before, having your own can boost your business unlike any other marketing tool can. In fact, California-based technology company Dropbox, the Kickstarter project Exploding Kittens (the most-backed Kickstarter project of all time) and a ton of other brands can credit much of their success to leaning on video as a core marketing tool.
If you’re looking to make a video at home with your trusty camcorder, or planning to make an animated video using a DIY animation tool, having video content online is a no-brainer for most and should be near the top of your marketing priorities these days.
Our team has made thousands of videos for companies small to large, and we’ve picked up some powerful DIY video production tips along the way.
Below are our 7 best tips for making your next video stunning:
Scriptwriting
1. Your video’s length should match the content
When it comes to video scripts in regards to video length, shorter is typically better since our attention spans get shorter and shorter everyday. That being said, YouTube suggests that if it takes 30-seconds to communicate what you want to say, make a 30-second video. If it takes 2 minutes, make it 2 minutes. In other words, the running time should match the content and you shouldn’t overthink it but do try to eliminate the fluff.
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2. Use humor to keep viewers watching
One of the biggest challenges when making a video is creating one that’s memorable. After all, you don’t want people to watch your video then immediately forget everything, right? We’ve found that the best DIY videos (and most videos in general) include some aspect of humor to create an emotional hook and keep viewers watching.
Think about the pains your audience has and consider embellishing them a touch to create a funny anecdote. Include your funny scenes toward the beginning of the video to immediately get your audience excited and keep them watching.
Write your video script like you’re speaking to someone at a bar – keep it casual and avoid industry jargon
3. Write like you speak, avoid jargon
One of the most common mistakes we see in DIY videos are people trying to be more complex than needed. Our best advice when making a video is to write the script like you’re speaking to someone at a bar. Keep your words simple, sentences short and don’t overcomplicate your messages or they may go over the heads of your audience.
Audio/Voiceover
4. Hire a professional
Another common shortfall we see in many DIY videos are voiceover recordings that are done in-house. While you may think your voice is great, voiceover artists are trained professionals who know how to deliver a script that won’t come off as amateur-ish. Plus getting them recorded is easier than you might think. Voiceovers typically cost just $50 USD for a one or two minute recording and you’ll have your voiceover in just a day or two using a service like Voices.com.
Having a professional record your voiceover costs about $50 USD and helps your video avoid looking amateur-ish
Final Export
5. Get the export format right
If you were able to use a simple video editing program like Apple iMovie or something similar – great! It’ll likely look great on YouTube or your website. Just keep in mind that if you’re planning to upload it on other platforms (looking at you Instagram) you’ll need to make sure the format you export it into is the right one, as different platforms have different requirements. The last thing you want to do is spend a ton of time making your video only to have the main character’s head cutoff throughout.
Sharing and Promotion
6. Optimize your DIY videos for YouTube
Unless you’re a large retailer like Amazon or Walmart, chances are you’ll be looking to upload your DIY videos to YouTube, which absolutely is a great idea. YouTube is the world’s second largest search engine after Google, so having videos there means you’re more likely to get them seen. Adding the right title, tags, description and other YouTube metadata can optimize your video for discoverability, so be sure to spend some time researching what would work best for you.
7. Leverage social, email, website, ads
Social Triggers’ Derek Halpern suggests that one should spend 20% of time producing content, and 80% of time marketing it, which makes sense because the whole point of making a video is to have it seen! So when you’re done making your video be sure to consider sharing it on as many different platforms as you feel makes sense. In fact here are 23 platforms you may want to consider.
*Bonus tip
YouTube Ads are also a great way to reach your audience with your videos, as they’re currently one of the most cost effective ad platforms around, and we’re seeing about ~$0.04 per view on our video marketing campaigns!
What’s especially powerful about YouTube Ads is that since YouTube is owned by Google, YouTube Ads leverage Google-owned data to find your ideal audience. For example, “custom intent audiences” (a targeting parameter within the Google Ads platform) gets your DIY videos in front of people who are actively searching on Google for your products or services.
Conclusion
DIY videos and powerful tools that can drive brand awareness and boost business when done correctly. Writing a script that connects with your audience, having audio that adds to the experience, and getting your videos in front of the right audiences are many times overlooked but are critical to success.
Questions? Contact our team here and speak with a video producer today.
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