Today I sat in on a webinar “How to Successfully Implement Video In Your Content Strategy” presented by Hana Abaza & Kristen Craft of Uberflip and Wistia. What was impressive to me was how easy it is make a budget video for presenting on your website. You don’t need a professional video developer or expensive equipment.
Types of Video
There are a few different types of videos to consider. Are you selling a product? Is your primary interest to sign people up to your blog via a Call to Action? Or, are you trying to use it as a teaching tool? Whatever the reason, video is a great addition to your website, twitter ad or other social media. It’s a fact that viewers respond to human interaction. And, there is less bounce rate with videos. (The exception is a video without sound.) Place them in a blog post…on the home page, or even in the header.
What to Write
Write content that is easy to present and not overly complicated or too long. Create a plain background in your office that you can stand in front of. Some people use photo paper. Be sure to have your face well lit from all sides, so you don’t look dour. Supposedly, you can find the right lighting supplies at Home Depot or Lowes.
How to Perform
Loosen up before the presentation. Jump around and wave your arms! It may take a few takes to not be tongue tied. Surprisingly, your iphone, smart phone or ipad will work fine as the video camera. I suggest putting it on a tripod for support, so it’s not shaking. Music is also nice to have in the background.
About Wistia
Here is where Wistia comes in. It’s a high quality embed video hosting company with no strings attached. (No Ads) It’s free and includes analytics and video marketing tools. For $25 a month, you get advanced analytics tools and other tools such as email collection. Unlike You Tube, it is there for you, not for the advertisers. Don’t avoid You Tube altogether. You might attract a casual tube surfer to your site, they say.