Five Easy Videos You Can Make This Week!

When trying something new like using video on your web site, intranet or social media page, it can be so hard to get started! Maybe you’ve never used video before, or perhaps your last effort was a ton of work and the results (typically clicks and engagement) fell completely flat. The good news is that with every passing failure you’ll be a little bit smarter and little bit closer to achieving your goals of using video to engage your audience.

Today with that in mind we’re going to talk about five easy videos that you can start producing this week! Get started by choosing the one from this list that’s easiest and most beneficial for you and your business. Some of these videos are perfect if you plan to go the DIY video route, and some will really benefit from hiring a video production professional. To help you envision your content this way, we’re going share three types of examples:

1. Videos we’ve created for our clients

2. Videos that have been created by other video production professionals

3. DIY videos that we’ve seen where the “producer” has done a good job of creating a nice message for their audience.

We hope studying this content will inspire you to give video a try. Whether you hire us or do it on your own, we’re confident you can do it!

Video Idea #1: Repurposed Content Video

There’s not one video that we’ve ever produced for a client that can’t benefit from the possibility of repurposing the content into another video. In any given video production, there are great soundbites from interviews that just didn’t fit the main video, there are testimonials videos that didn’t get used, and there are sage bits of content that could be valuable and engaging for your target audience.

We recently produced this keynote speaker video for The Prouty Project. The goal of the video was to promote Sam Smith’s expertise as a keynote speaker and corporate trainer.

The video does a great job of showcasing Sam Smith’s talents, but there was a whole bunch of great content that ended up on the cutting room floor. To leverage that content further, we found this snippet of content from his keynote that talks about vision. Take a look.

Many people in Sam’s target audience will resonate with this content, and it serves to boost his credibility as a keynote speaker. You may well have recordings in your archive already of keynote speeches, breakout sessions and workshops that you or your colleagues have given in the past. Use these small pieces of content to engage your audience on a regular basis. Places you can do this include your blog, your Twitter account, your Facebook page, your LinkedIn profile and any other places you’re showing up online.

If you hired a video production company to create a landing page video, did you call it good once that video was created? If you did, you likely left valuable content behind. What snippets could you use to bolster your company’s brand and/or the brand of an individual within your organization? Give it some thought, go find that content, and get it posted! Often times it’s as simple as finding 60 great seconds in a row and posting it to your web site or social media page. Don’t let that content go to waste!

Video Idea #2: Quarterly Update Video

Quarterly update videos are something we produce for our internal communications clients on a regular basis. Because these videos are for internal purposes, they’re confidential and can’t be shared here, but we can share a similar example of what Fidelity Investments is doing for their external audience. Full disclosure: We did not produce this video, but this provides an excellent example of what a quarterly update video could look like.

One thing that can’t be underestimated when it comes to the internal quarterly update video is engagement. More and more American employees are working from home. In fact, according to a recent article in the New York Times and a recent Gallup poll, 43% of Americans are spending at least some time working from home. One of the side effects of working from home can be lack of engagement with leadership. Using video to update large segments of the remote workforce on what’s happening is a great way to keep them engaged with their leadership. It’s a known fact that we perform better when working for people we know, like and trust and video is a great way to do this short of getting together in person.

The videos featured on Fidelity’s page are obviously professionally produced, but you shouldn’t let this stop you or make you fear that you can’t afford it. You might consider going the DIY route, or to spread out the costs over time you might consider a video production subscription. The great thing about a video production subscription is that you can record more than one video during your recording session and release them over time. It also provides a great way to budget for the costs, as you’ll know exactly what you’re spending on a monthly basis.

Video Idea #3: Video Blog or Vlog

A video blog or “vlog” is a great way to engage your audience on a regular basis, and this type of video screams DIY. Get out that phone, avoid the pitfalls and start vlogging!

One local individual who caught our eye and is off to a great start with video blogs is Hunter Stanek. He is a commercial real estate broker for Gonyea Commercial Properties. Here is an example of a recent video blog from Hunter Stanek.

According to Stanek, his videos were produced on his iPhone using an app from Vimeo called Cameo. “The app makes it quick and easy to let my audience know what I’m up to,” Stanek said. He clearly knows what he’s doing. His videos feature great use of music, camera moves, and pacing. You can also clearly hear him when he speaks to camera. If only all DIY videos were as good as his! Kudos to you, Hunter Stanek! We’re impressed!

Give some thought to what you’re doing day-to-day as you ponder creating your own video blog. Perhaps you visit your clients in the field and you’d like to offer a tour of their facility, or maybe you’re making widgets and you could answer a frequently asked question on a weekly basis about how to operate your widget. Or, perhaps you’re a financial advisor and there are questions you get asked over and over again. Why not try answering that question with a quick video blog? There are lots of possibilities. You just have to get creative.

Video Idea #4: Thank You Video

One obvious way video gets used all the time is with fundraising videos before the big give day or before the big appeal campaign, but have you thought about what you’ll do after the money is raised? For the past couple of years, we’ve produced Give Day videos for Luther Seminary, and we’ve also produced thank you videos for Luther Seminary to thank donors for giving generously to the institution.

Here are the last two “thank you” videos that we produced for them:

Again, these videos are professionally produced, but don’t let that stop you if it’s not in the budget. Follow the tips we offered in our blog about DIY video, and record your own genuine thank you video.

Thank you videos are not just for non-profit organizations. Perhaps you just finished up a project or piece of business for a client that you’d like to thank publicly for their support. Consider sending a thank you video their way. If appropriate, this could be shared publicly. If not, send it privately through an email. Either way, you’re bound to attract some good attention by thanking someone in this unconventional way.

Video Idea #5: Testimonial Videos

If you’re in regular personal contact with your customers, you should always be on the lookout for opportunities to capture testimonial videos. Because people like to do business with people who they know, like, and trust, testimonial videos elevate your status in the eyes of your potential customers. Hearing a business talk about how great they are is one thing, but hearing a customer talk about how great the business is, is even more powerful stuff.

We’ve produced a number of testimonial videos for our clients. Here is one example.

The testimonial videos that we’ve produced feature music, nice lighting, and titles, but yours don’t necessarily have to. Make sure your video has great audio, good framing, and a concise message, and you’ll be well on your way to posting something that elevates your brand.

The other great thing about testimonial videos is that they can stand on their own or be part of a larger video that tells a comprehensive story about your business.

Conclusion

In today’s post, we’ve covered five easy videos that you can make this week. Hopefully reading this has helped you understand how easy it can be to get started in producing videos on your own or with the help of a professional video storyteller.

What ideas do you have on other easy to produce videos? Let us know as you comment on and share this article!