As we enter a new dawn of multimedia, it’s more important than ever to use video in your marketing. Let the power of your message go viral. As speakers, a video should (in theory!) be easy for you.
So, let’s look at how to make your videos look slick and professional. Our resident video expert Daniel Coffey has stepped in here to provide a few top video tips:
Practice to be a Pro
You don’t have to spend hours and hours going over what you are going to say again and again, but it is worth practicing what you plan to say a few times.
Treat your video like you would treat a presentation to your audience from stage. You wouldn’t just jump on stage without an idea of what to say would you?
- Make up a story in your head to keep you on track with your message’s key points
- Don’t tie yourself to a script, follow some bullet points instead but keep the flow natural
- Think about the purpose behind your video. Is it to get an opt-in? To introduce yourself? To sell a product or service? Always be clear on your outcomes before you speak otherwise the video message will be vague.
Present like a Pro
Many people freeze up when talking to a camera – after all it’s not a real human being right? The problem is that when you think of the camera like that you end up talking in a very stilted way and you come across as unconnected.
Instead – do my Speaker’s Focus Process, and imagine an audience of your biggest fans are there right in front of you…
Then do your presentation to your audience and speak to them through the camera… trust me – it works wonders.
Think carefully about your choice of outfit, as your look reflects your brand. If you are selling business to business then dress accordingly, ask yourself “would I present on stage to my clients wearing this outfit?”.
And whilst we are on the subject of presentation remember what your choice of background says about you, an untidy office does not give out the best message to your prospective clients!
Consider your Editor
Sometimes it is possible to get your message perfect in one take, but what if you coughed at the wrong time, or the dog barked or countless other things that can happen to ruin that perfect take? There are going to be times when you will want to edit together different clips from different takes – here’s how to make sure your editing is super easy.
- If you’re not using a green screen, keep your background stable and the same for every take to make sure the background doesn’t jump when you cut it together.
- Try to film with the least amount of background noise.
- If you’re filming outside, use overhead light, not late or early morning.
- Don’t face straight into the sun (you’ll squint) or have the sun directly behind you (your face will be in shadow)
Consider the Mood
What is the mood and energy of your message? Music is a great way of livening up the video, particularly at the beginning and end and is an extremely powerful way of turning a standard “monologue video” into something that draws people in and makes them want to watch. Fade in and fade out with music and your video is suddenly 100 times more dynamic. There are some caveats to music usage though.
- Use copyright free music
- Get the volume mix right – too loud and you can’t be heard, too quiet and the music won’t work.
- Use copyright free music!
- Think about the mood the music creates and match it to your message
- Use copyright free music!!
Promote like a Pro
Once you have filmed your video and edited it you want people to watch it. So sign up to youtube for your very own account and upload your video(s) there. Place a graphic at the bottom of your video with your website link on it where the client can find more information about you.
- Use relevant keywords on youtube to help your video to be found
- Post your video on your Twitter account
- Post your video on your Facebook account
So there are my top video tips. Has anyone else got any tips to add to this? I’d love to hear from you!
I agree with Enza- practice, practice, practice.
Of equal importance to the quality of video (maybe more important) is sound quality. Investing in a good microphone or a camera with good sound can improve the overall effect, and results, from the video.
I want to add a tipp a learnt just recently from Tom Breeze:
Put your URL in the 1st line of youtube’s description – so there is a clickable link from youtube to your site.
Great tips Jo. I have a stand up banner, so when filming have placed that behind me.
@Rebecca. For editing, I use Camtasia, but they also have a free version called Jing