More and more businesses start to understand that they have to use video as a key element in their social media outreach. A photo tells a thousand words, a video says it in million words. Here are some interesting video stats for 2017:
- By 2019, global consumer Internet video traffic will account for 80% of all consumer Internet traffic (Source: SmallBizTrends)
- Facebook generates 8 billion video views on average per day (Source: Social Media Today)
- YouTube reports mobile video consumption rises 100% every year (Source: Hubspot)
- 55% of people watch videos online every day (Source: Digital Information World)
Within this context it’s important for businesses to understand why they are using video. A standard headshot style interview no longer does the trick. The most successful videos on the Internet are either controversial, shocking, cute, entertaining or educational.
As you can see on this web site, the videos on socialmediaplaymaker.com are all educational. People who attend my courses can get refreshers by watching video versions of my workshops. Often I get asked how I make the videos on this site. So below you will find the ultimate guide to publishing your own training videos.
Step 1 – Equipment: This is a crucial part of your video production. Most of my videos show my slides with a headshot of myself presenting. To be able to do this you need a “green screen”. This is a green background behind you when you video yourself while presenting. With the video editing software you can then filter yourself out and put yourself on a different background. In my case, the slides. In video terms this is called Chroma Key. The next things I need is a camera. In my case, I use the camera that is integrated in my computer screen. Sound is also very important. I use the Rode podcaster microphone. As a backup I use the Rode Smartlav+ Lavalier Microphone for my iPhone which gives amazing sound quality. Finally I got two studio lights that give me sufficient lighting from both sides. I also try to add daylight to my videos. Nothing better than good daylight.
Step 2 – Software: The application I use to make my videos is Screenflow from Telestream. It’s only on Apple OSX. But it does everything for you. You can record your screen, and simultaneously record yourself and your voice. You can then edit it with the Chroma Key filter to produce the video you need. You can cut the sound and add the sound file you created on the iPhone. It’s a full video editing app and you can export the final video in all standard video formats.
Step 3 – Production: The production flow is pretty straightforward. I set up the studio making sure I have sufficient light. I do a short test so I get confirmation that the light is sufficient to extract myself from the green screen and add it on top of the presentation. I rehearse the presentation and then I record everything. Once completed I start editing the video. I add the intro and close, which are the same for each video. I then add the new video and the sound file from the iPhone. I then align video and sound and export the finished video in mp4 format.
Step 4 – Publishing: It is very important that you use a reliable video hosting platform. I don’t recommend sites like Youtube or Vimeo since these are open video sharing sites. You can set the videos on private, but these sites are not set up for hosting videos with additional business features like bulk uploading or security. The video hosting platform I use is vzaar.com. An excellent, cheap solution to host your videos. Once you uploaded your videos on Vzaar you can then embed the video on your web site. You can even customise the video player. Giving it your own branding.
So here you have it. 4 easy steps in making your own training videos. Not as complicated as you think. But remember, these are just my preferred tools. You may have your own preference. That doesn’t matter and it doesn’t change the steps. Whatever you choose, you need the right equipment and software. You need to create and edit the video. And you need to publish it. If I can give you one final piece of advise: If you ask me what are the two most important elements in producing your video, I would answer light and sound. How ever good your content, how ever good your presentation, it will all go unnoticed if you haven’t got the right light and the highest quality of sound. Otherwise, happy video editing.