How to Make a YouTube Video in 5 Easy Steps
Originally posted on https://www.thehoth.com/blog/how-to-make-a-youtube-video/
Have you heard? Video marketing is taking over. If you’re not using videos in your marketing, you’re going to fall behind.
In this post, you’re going to learn an easy way to make great Youtube videos using your phone.
Originally posted on YouTube by The HOTH
Why Video Is Here To Stay
Video content’s popularity only keeps growing. For example:
- Over 82% of all internet traffic will be video by 2021
- The average person spends over 50 minutes a day watching online videos
- And video killed the radio star
More people prefer to watch videos than read content. In fact, according to Forbes, 59% of company decision makers would rather watch a video than read an article or blog post.
And yes, video helps with your SEO ranking. Almost 25% of all Google searches have video results.
Video increases your dwell time and keeps your audience on your pages longer.
In addition to catering to user preferences, Video marketing is also great for brand recognition, here’s why:
- Video is memorable
- It keeps your users coming back
- It’s shareable and social, and just makes you look cool
- And let’s be real, everyone wants to look cool
Not to mention, “Social video generates 1200% more shares than text and images combined.”
(That’s kind of a lot.)
If you’re in marketing, by now you know that you NEED video in order to remain competitive. Thing is- making great videos can be difficult to pull off, not to mention it’s expensive.
So, how do you start producing consistent videos without breaking the bank?
Let me show you how!
Step 1: How To Come Up With Topics For Videos
The beginning of any project is usually the most difficult. Coming up with ideas, action plans and a strategy can be overwhelming – But it doesn’t have to be!
If you own a website and have blog content on it, one of the best things you can do is just repurpose that content into videos!
The easiest (and best) way to figure out what blog posts you should repurpose is to identify the ones that already performed well for you.
Make a list of your top performing blog posts according to which got the most:
- Traffic
- Conversions
- Social Shares
If your content was successful in written form, imagine how successful it could be in an engaging video!
Step 2: How to Write A Video Script
Once you have narrowed down your best content, use it to write scripts. These scripts won’t be the entire article verbatim, just the key points.
Tone
Make your video script conversational. Read it aloud multiple times. It should sound like you’re talking to a friend.
Video Length
This is where you’ll want to pull out a timer to see how long the video will be as well.
Try and keep those video scripts short and sweet. Viewer engagement starts to drop off after 2 minutes, so you’ll want to condense it if you start getting wordy.
Include A Call-To-Action
After you give them all of the useful information that your blog post covered, hit them with a CTA (call to action). Let them know what you want them to do next!
Whether you want them to sign up for your email list or give you a call, always end the script with an action for them to take that benefits you.
Step 3: How To Film Videos
We know, cameras, lighting and video equipment, in general, is expensive. How are you going to record it yourself?
Stick with me here.
You don’t need all of that fancy gear, especially if you’re just getting started.
There is no reason to go spend thousands of dollars on equipment or hire a large scale production company (not yet, at least).
Get this: You can use your phone, natural lighting, and a cheap microphone before you go swiping your credit card.
No one expects you to have ‘feature film quality’ for your internet video. No CGI needed!
Most phones nowadays have a great camera built-in, so lack of equipment is no longer an excuse.
Just make sure that you’re holding your phone horizontally, and start recording!
Alright, so you’re going to use your phone… but who is going to be in the video?
YOU ARE, OF COURSE (or at least someone you work with).
Memorize a couple lines from your script at a time and deliver them to the camera.
Take a deep breath and try delivering the lines a few at a time. You don’t need to do a whole shoot in 1 take because later on we can edit or overlay b-roll on top to cover up imperfections.
The most important thing to concentrate on is your clarity and energy!
It might be a bit awkward but if you want to create engaging videos, you really need to put the energy into it. High energy looks “normal” on video and “normal” energy looks boring.
All of this is going to feel awkward at first, but the more you do it, the more naturally it will come to you!
Step 4: How To Edit Videos
Once you have all of your footage filmed, it’s time to start editing!
There are a few different programs you can use to edit your recording.
If you’re just starting out, you should try out iMovie. It comes pre-loaded on your Mac and it’s simple to use!
Here’s what you need to edit:
- The Script: Use this for reference when cutting up the footage
- A-Roll: This is your main video clip, where you are delivering the script to camera
- B-Roll: This is anything you use on top of your A-Roll to spice it up. It could be some footage you filmed to emphasize what you were talking about, other images or graphics.
- Music to include in the background
- Optional: Stock Footage from a site like Unsplash, Pexels, or PikWizard
In this day and age, editing consists of dragging and layering files. Here are the steps:
- First, drag your files into the program to import them, then drag your files into the working area’s timeline to edit.
- Drag in and edit your A-Roll first. Be sure to cut out weird pauses and choose the best takes of the lines.
- Next, layer the B-Roll you want to use on top of the A-Roll. Whatever is on top is what will be seen in the video at that particular point.
- Then, add in your music.
In the photo above, you can see the cursor is on the B-Roll of the trophy. This means at this point in the video, the trophy will appear, but when it is over, it will go back to the A-Roll.
Because the B-Roll, A-Roll and music are all layered on top of each other, you will hear all of these tracks – but you will only see what is on top.
When done, export the video for upload to Youtube by going to File > Share > File.
Step 5: How To Upload To YouTube
We recommend uploading your new video to YouTube.
Youtube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world, and guess who owns it?
Yep. Google.
Don’t forget to fill out the info boxes in YouTube. This is where optimizing your videos for SEO comes into play!
Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
Tags: You’ll want to add any relevant tags to this section of the upload. Keep in mind you’re not going to rank your video for something generic. Long tail keywords of 2-4 words work best here!
Title: Make sure your title is catchy and contains the main keyword you’d like to rank your video for.
Description: Make your video description at least 150 words, and add in some keywords from your tags. Provide a link to the video’s corresponding blog post where you got the script from.
When your video is uploaded, grab that embed code, add it to the corresponding blog post, and watch as your old content starts to gain new traffic.
Conclusion
73% of marketers plan to increase their video output in the next year, and you should be one of them.
We understand that video is a large commitment. It can take a lot of time and money, even if you’re doing it using this super-simple method.
If making videos isn’t for you, we have a product that is!
HOTH Video takes your original blog content and turns it into a 2-4 minute video that includes a spokesperson, animated text graphics, quality stock footage and a customized CTA with your company logo.
Because our job is to help you be successful, we also provide you with YouTube optimized titles, descriptions, and tags.
This can save you a TON of time and effort while getting professionally-produced videos that look GREAT.
What does this product cost?
Only $200 for one professional video with up to 25% off multiple video orders (insanely low prices).