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Video Content Marketing 101

So the boss wants you to produce some video content for your social media page or the company website? You’ve totally got this! Video content marketing will be your specialty in no time.

Follow these 7 tips from our video gurus to make your videos look more professional, and maybe even lead to that raise you’ve been hoping for.

1. Vertically Challenged

Using your phone as a video camera is fine, but please avoid shooting your video vertically. The dead space on the sides of the video look unnatural amateurish.

Holding the phone horizontal will fill the video player, and look much more like a real movie format!

2. Fear The Dark Side

Placing your subject either in front of a bright window, or in a dark room isn’t going to turn out well.

The light coming through the window from behind your subject can fool the camera into thinking it’s brighter in the room than it actually is.

Also, a really dark room is great for sleeping, but not so great for video.

Bring your subject outside, if possible. Natural light looks awesome! Just be careful of strong shadows, which don’t look so great.

Believe it or not, a slightly overcast day is an ideal time to film, because it provides lots of light, but without the harsh shadows of bright sunlight!

Bonus Tip: Try positioning your subject farther away from the background to provide some depth!

3. Nobody Likes Shaky Video

Shaky, handheld video generally looks terrible, and can even make the viewer feel sea-sick.

Hand-held mounts and tripods are inexpensive solutions (think Amazon), and will help take your video to the next level.

4. External Microphones – The Secret Ingredient for Great Video

If you think video is all about what you see, you’re missing the bigger picture.

The sound in a video is super important not only for clarity, but also to provide a perception of professionalism.

Even an inexpensive external microphone will almost always sound better than the tiny, on-board microphones found on DSLRs and tablets/phones.

If you’re going to be more than a few feet from your subject, use a “shotgun” microphone.

If you’re close to the subject, use a “lavalier” microphone (also called a “lapel” mic). Again, think Amazon.

Whatever you do, don’t stand on the other side of the room and try to zoom in on your subject. You’ve been warned!

Stay as close as possible to your subject for your microphone to have the best chance of recording what your subject is saying. Keeping the microphone close to the subject also makes the video sound and feel more intimate, which is always preferable.

5. Keep It Short and Simple (KISS)

When editing your videos, keep them 90 seconds or less, unless you are creating an instructional video. People on the go want short, concise videos. Give them what they want and everybody will be happier.

Make your point quickly. Even a 10 or 15-second clip of something interesting in your office can increase user engagement. Just make sure there’s some purpose to the video – even is it’s just to make the viewer laugh.

Content Content Content!

6. Have Fun, Experiment, and Ask For Help

Try interesting angles, play with the manual camera settings, move around, be different, get in touch with your inner Spielberg! Video content marketing is a fast-growing medium and is easily scalable.

Lastly, if you have questions on framing, format, audio, lighting or whatever – just give us a ring. We will gladly help!