Essential Things To Do When Creating Video Content

Video content has remained a critical element in today’s highly digital world. From mainstream video-sharing platforms such as YouTube and TikTok to video livestreaming sites like Netflix, video content has never been more accessible than ever before. But along with this notion of accessibility is the growing demand for more content.

With video content’s popularity, more and more people are looking into creating content themselves. But what exactly does it take to create online videos? To help you through this journey, here is a comprehensive guide on creating video content, as well as some tips on how to expedite your way to online success. 

 

The 4 Phases Of Video Content Creation

Creating online videos can be simple and complex at the same time. Depending on the level of intricacy and quality, the content creation process can last anywhere from a couple of days to several months. But before anything else, it is important to understand the different stages involved in the video content process.

 

Pre-Production Phase

The first stage in the video content creation process revolves around planning the contents of the video and determining the suitable digital environment for its success. Before you hold any equipment and record footage, it is essential to establish clear goals and objectives for your content. These goals should be used as a guide and basis as your objectives primarily dictate the contents of your videos.

Aside from that, the pre-production phase also involves the necessary preparations needed for the upcoming production phase. This includes concept development and script writing, topic research, as well as planning your shot lists and settings.

 

Production Phase

The production phase of the video content creation process is focused on capturing the right footage needed to achieve your desired video. At this stage, the emphasis is one two things – capturing quality footage and recording crisp and clear audio. Both of these are crucial to creating high-quality content.

 

Post-Production Phase

The post-production stage is arguably the most tedious and time-consuming in the whole process of creating video content. This involves processing raw audio and video footage to create a complete and polished output. 

This phase starts by importing all captured videos and editing them to create an engaging flow and narrative. From there, the next step is to enhance the audio and visual elements of the video to build a more immersive viewing experience. This process is typically repeated several times, applying small changes and tweaks until settling on the final video edit.

Another critical step in the post-production phase is to optimize the content for publication and distribution. This is especially important to ensure that your videos are able to get as much organic visibility as possible. 

 

Distribution Phase

The final stage in the video content creation process revolves around publishing the final output online. Generally, the most common platforms for video content are social media sites such as YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. 

Despite this, it is still possible to distribute an online video outside of social media. For example, digital marketers can incorporate video content on the ecommerce website. Doing so doesn’t only help increase organic traffic and engagement but also boosts its SEO performance.

However, a more critical factor to consider when distributing video content online is to ensure that the videos are updated accordingly, depending on the platform of choice. For context, YouTube works for both long-form and short-form video content. On the other hand, TikTok’s UI and UX are designed primarily for short-form mobile viewing. 

Considering this, videos should be adjusted accordingly before publishing them on various digital channels and online platforms. 

 

The Do’s and Don’ts of Video Content Creation

Now that you have a better understanding of the process of video content creation, it is time to dive deeper and learn more about the things that you should and should not do when creating video content.

 

Do: Identify a target audience

 

When it comes to creating online content, it is essential to first identify the target audience or demographic you’re creating content for. Target audiences are predetermined groups of people that consist of the ideal demographic and characteristics who would show the highest level of interest and enthusiasm in your content. 

Take this for example. Your planned content is about cars and automobiles. You want to create previous of the latest car models and even some basic how-to guides and other educational content about maintaining and purchasing a vehicle.

Considering this, which group is your most likely target audience? Would it be the pre-teen kids or young professionals and adults? Obviously, it would be the demographic who are in the life stage where they are developing an interest in cars and are even possibly thinking of purchasing one.

But what exactly does identifying a target audience contribute to your video content?

One benefit of determining and having a target audience when creating video content is that it can guide you on how to best make and deliver your content. Looking into your target audience’s likes, dislikes, and preferences can help identify the types and styles of content to produce according to their preferences. 

 

Don’t: Add Unnecessary Footage

Much like blog posts, adding fluff to your video content is a big no-no. However, many novice content creators fail to identify valuable content from footage that doesn’t contribute to the message or narrative of the video.

To prevent this from happening, it is essential for content creators to take their time in the post-production stage and process their content multiple times. Having new eyes to review your content can offer you a new and fresh perspective. They are also most likely to spot the unnecessary parts and let you remove them before finalizing the output. 

Keeping your videos concise is key to maintaining viewers’ interest and preventing them from backing out in the middle of your videos. 

 

Do: Invest in Storytelling

One unique element of video content is its ability to build connections with viewers through narratives and storytelling. Powerful and impactful video stories can create significant marks on people, making them more effective and memorable. 

When creating video content, it is essential to pay close attention to the manner in which you deliver your content. More than educating your audience and sharing information, it is equally important to evoke emotion by weaving narratives that resonate with your target audience. 

Leveraging effective storytelling can do wonders for your content. It can create emotional connections and even capture the interest and attention of more people. Aside from that, storytelling can also help brands build an identity and differentiate themselves from other creators. 

Another advantage of powerful storytelling is that it can influence people. Impactful narratives can change people’s perspectives, attitudes, and beliefs, allowing them to identify themselves as consistent with the values or message of your brand. 

 

Don’t: Use poor-quality audio and video

When it comes to online content, the quality of audio and video are two critical factors viewers consider when deciding whether to watch or not. Given the tight competition between content creators, subpar video and audio quality can easily turn viewers away, rendering your content useless. 

However, this does not automatically mean that content creators and digital marketers need to spend and invest so much in their production equipment. There are tons of content creators who survive by recording footage through their mobile phones and a dedicated microphone. The key is to know how to capture quality video and process audio to get rid of any unwanted noise.

One principle to remember when shooting footage is to know how to leverage natural light or set up indoor lighting to avoid shadows. Aside from that, avoid shaky videos by utilizing tripods or simply setting your camera in one stable position. 

As for the audio, it is best to record audio using a separate mic instead of relying on the built-in microphone of phones or cameras. Doing this not only provides a more crisp and clear recording but also makes it easier for editors to process the audio file during the post-production phase. 

 

Do: Gauge your video’s performance

An essential part of running any campaign or strategy revolves around knowing its performance and identifying points for improvement. Considering this, it is important for digital marketers and video content creators to actively gauge their video’s performance once published.

But how can they do this exactly?

There is a variety of video key performance indicators that can effectively measure a video’s online performance. Some of the basic metrics content creators and digital marketers can look at are the total views, social media engagement, average watch time, and subscriber or follower growth. Other more in-depth video KPIs are conversion rates, click-through rates, view-through rates, calls and sign-ups, and the like.

 

Practical Tips For Creating Quality Video Content

 

Aside from the primary do’s and don’ts of video content creation, here are some more practical tips that can help you create video content effectively and efficiently. 

 

Learn how to use your equipment

Quality video content is not all about the tools and equipment used. If you’re just starting out, don’t worry. It’s possible to capture amazing video content even with just your smartphone. 

However, it is essential that you know how to leverage its features to suit your needs. Learn more about critical video elements such as video resolution, frames per second (fps), and even motion tracking. You can also learn more about video composition and how to find the best angles for your shots. 

 

Add captions

Silent viewing is an increasingly popular trend, especially for mobile viewers. According to recent reports, most mobile video viewers consume video content without audio as they normally watch videos while on the go. To avoid the trouble of connecting an audio device or disturbing other people, they opt to consume video content without any sounds.

One way to accommodate silent video viewers is to include captions in your content. You can manually input subtitles in your videos during production, or you can look into automated captioning features. The goal is to make your content consumable and understandable with or without audio. 

 

Include calls-to-action (CTAs)

Creating videos is more than just educating or entertaining. Suppose you’re looking to use videos for your digital marketing strategy. In that case, one of the best things you can do is include a call-to-action to your video (CTA), encouraging viewers to perform a desired action. 

Generally, CTAs are added at the end of the video. However, you can also insert calls to action at the start or in the middle of your content. Some of the most common CTAs for video content include following or subscribing to the channel, leaving a comment, or sharing the video on social media platforms. Others urge their viewers to check out their website or watch more of their videos. 

 

Bottomline

Creating video content is one of the most popular marketing strategies nowadays. Videos, in general, bring the most engagement and interaction compared to other types of media online. 

However, creating video content is not as easy as it seems. In order to stay up to par with the millions of other content creators, it is important to know what it takes to create high-quality video content. With this knowledge, you’d be able to create videos that capture your target audience’s attention and keep them interested for more. 

Want to know more about creating video content and video marketing? Sidekicks is an on-demand virtual company, and we’re eager to help visionaries and entrepreneurs like you. Get a free ebook and learn more about how we can help you by signing up for our newsletter. We also offer a free 30-minute consultation if you prefer something more personal.