With YouTube as the 2nd largest search engine after Google, it’s hard to ignore it’s reach. With technology changes doing your own video blogging is much easier. Audiences almost want the authentic view rather than the over polished commercial video.
I recently went on a course with Feature Media to brush up on my skills for presenting and video editing. So here are my top tips that I learnt on the day
1 Video = 1 Topic
Don’t try and cram in loads of information. Stick to 1 topic – whether that’s an event you’re promoting or 1 top tip, keep it simply.
Have A Plan for the Script
Before you start videoing, script what you want to say, so you have a clear picture of what you want to communicate. It doesn’t have to be word for word, just the themes and points in the order you want to say them. That way you have a clear plan of what to say.
People’s Attention is Short
You need to keep it short and sweet. Think how people will be reading this, on a coffee break, over lunch, on their iphone or ipad…..so keep it 5 – 7 minutes. Time yourself doing a dry run of your video. Then see what you need to trim out.
Have A Story
People don’t want to be lectured to, so tell them a story for impact. Tell them how you over came the hurdles or worked with clients with a positive outcome.
Clear Calls to Action
Put your website URL in the video, but talk about what you want people to do next. Ask them to sign up to your email newsletter or watch the next video in the series. You could be clever and say something like ‘Don’t forget to call the number on the next slide’ or ‘Drop me a mail that’s on the next slide and tell me what you’ll do as an action’.
Keep it Regular
Don’t do the videos as one off, do them as a series for maximum effect. People will look out for the next one, and you can promote them through monthly email newsletters.
Be Natural on Camera
Don’t think of it as being on camera, but more of a conversation, especially if someone else is helping you doing the video-ing. Don’t put your hands behind your back, hold your hand in front of you, holding your middle finger. You can then use arm gestures easily and fall back to the neutral position.
Optimise on YouTube
Optimise your channel, profile, description of each video, links, for YouTube and the search engines. This will increase your reach and exposure to drive more visitors into your YouTube channel and website.