Not All Videos Are Made Equal
When I’m making videos for my business I think about how that piece of content fits into my overall strategy and what I need this video to do for me. In other words, it’s purpose. And it’s important to consider that not every video has the same purpose.
Social media content often feels DIY and made quickly and that works just fine, but if I wanted to put together a professional sales presentation then a DIY-look would come off as sloppy and rushed.
These considerations matter a lot because they shape what tools to use to shoot and edit your videos as well as other budgetary considerations you may have.
It’s also worth knowing how many people are expected to see your video and how important it is for your business overall. This all goes into determining what return on investment you’re looking to get out of the content you’re creating.
I want to share three tools with you today that are easy to use and give you a better grasp on when to employ them during your content creation process. All of these tools are on the inexpensive side and generally can get your video ready to share within an hour or three.
Animoto
It’s incredibly easy and simple to use, it’s also inexpensive and you can get it for a monthly fee. I like using this tool as a video design tool rather than an editing tool. What Animoto does really well is it allows you to use a combination of words and images to create animated videos just from those elements.
If I wanted to create an educational video or an overview video I use this tool. I tend to not use it for live footage although you can use it for that if you want to. It’s really fast to use, once you have your idea and storyboard together all you have to do is upload your footage and add text. The biggest downside with Animoto is the lack of customization. If you want a more branded look you’ll need to create it first in Photoshop and then upload it into the program.
Adobe Express
This tool is 100% free! It’s from Adobe and you can make videos incredibly quickly, maybe even within one hour. It’s a video slideshow tool and it comes with a creative commons search of pictures you can use in your videos.
Creating your storyboard is really simple and it has a drag and drop functionality. The downside with this tool is again customization, and you can’t get rid of the Adobe Express logo on your last slide. I guess that’s the price you pay for free. Despite the lack of customization it’s fast to use and there are a wide variety of themes to choose from.
However once you pick a theme you’re essentially stuck with it for your entire video. This is good in the sense that if you had more options available it’d take twice as long to create your videos so you have work within the program functionality. So if you’re looking for fast and simple, Adobe Express is your best bet.
VideoScribe
This is a tool I found out about when we were hiring, and one candidate submitted a video using VideoScribe and I had to find out more. This tool is much more flexible and involved than the others. It’s used to make whiteboard videos that look like someone is drawing something. If you use VideoScribe expect to spend a lot more time on your project than with the others, but you get a more polished look. It’s not quite top-tier professional level but for the price and the sophistication you can’t go wrong.
All of these tools are geared toward entrepreneurs who don’t want to spend all day making their videos but still want to produce something that’s going to look great and have a strong ROI online. Give them a try and see if they’re a good fit for you!
Action Steps
- Investigate each of the tools recommended above.
- Choose one that you think would fit your brand the best.
- Produce a test video using one of those tools.
Result You Will Achieve
A video tool that can easily and quickly get you producing your own content for your business.
This article is based on an EHQ interview with the mentor.