With video ranking higher and higher in search results, now is the time to have video as a part of your marketing strategy. A great place to start is with a YouTube show, where you talk all about your products, business and life.
A webshow, or video blog, is format where you regularly create videos and post to your channels. These videos can be anywhere from a few minutes long to over an hour! As you use the regular updates to talk to your audience, you gain credibility and interest in your products, business and life.
While it’s possible to just turn on the camera, hit record, then upload straight to YouTube, there are 7 essential elements your new show must have in order to stand out from everything else:
1). An opening graphic and/or logo
Make your video instantly recognizable by having the same opening graphic or logo at the start of your video. This can be as simple as just showing your logo for a few seconds, to being a proper 15 second bumper complete with the video title and animations.
2). Signature music at the open and close
This goes hand in hand with the opening graphic. Your music sets the tone for the show, giving your audience the double-satisfaction of knowing they’re watching the right show. Also, make sure to close your video with the same music. This is called “bookending”, and is a professional way to end your videos. Be sure to use properly licensed music for your show!
3). Be sure to capture CLEAR audio from your camera!
There’s nothing worse than not being able to hear. Ensure your camera captures clear audio by recording your videos in a quiet room. Turn off fans, radios, etc. Make sure to aim your microphone at the speaker. If you’re using your smartphone, cup your hand around the mic and make sure you don’t block it with your fingers. You can also invest in a microphone to clip to your camera to help capture your audio.
4). Shoot your video the same way throughout the video!
With the prolific use of smartphones shooting video these days, its very easy to shoot video both in portrait and widescreen modes without realizing it. Ideally, choose one format for your video and shoot everything the same. This not only makes your video a little easier to edit (because you’re not mixing formats) but it’s also a little easier to watch.
5). Make sure to make teasers for your social accounts!
Drive viewers to your show by creating short 30 second teaser videos for your Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter accounts. Every one of these social networks now let you upload your own videos to show, so there’s no reason not to give your followers on these accounts a little taste of your show!
6). Include credits for your sources, featured content, etc.
A lot of people just put these things in the description for the video. But what happens if your viewer ends up seeing this on Facebook because it was shared by another person? You viewer now must navigate to YouTube in order to find the information. But they might not want to. Instead, include a “title slate” at the end of the video with all the related information on it. That way any viewer anywhere can access the information.
7). Ask for comments and shares!
The most shared YouTube videos (besides the funny ones) are the ones that ask for shares and for comments. You can ask too! Remember to smile at the camera and be your genuine self. By asking for comments and shares, you’ll increase the amount of viewers and have your show spread organically through the web. And this becomes free advertising for you!
