Did you know that video was forecasted to account for 81% of total consumer internet traffic in 2021? This means that when someone’s on the internet, there’s a high chance they’re watching a video over anything else.
And it makes sense too.
It’s the most accessible and popular type of content to consume because: a) it’s so much easier to watch a video about, say, a photo editing technique than read about it, and b) it’s the most powerful and versatile medium to communicate and engage with an audience.
If you’re looking to create professional-looking videos for any purpose, this awesome list of tips and best practices will help you improve the quality and engagement of your videos.
Let’s get started.
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1 Plan Ahead for Your Video
Creating a video isn’t just about hitting the record button. There are multiple factors that come into play to make a video stand out among others. And believe it or not, they mostly have to do with how well you plan your video before actually creating it.
This first tip can be broken down into several parts. Let’s take a look at some of these tips and best practices for planning a successful video.
Set a goal.
Before you start making your video, you need to know why you’re making one in the first place. Understanding the goal of your video will help you plan, shoot, edit and promote your video in a more organized manner, saving you tons of time and resources.
Most importantly, it will make your video more effective in terms of achieving the desired results. Below are some examples of questions to ask when setting a goal for your video:
- What are you looking to achieve with your video?
- Are you trying to make people laugh?
- Are you trying to get them to visit your website?
- Are you promoting your product?
- Teaching them something new?
You can use a SMART goals template like the one below to jot down your video goals.
Identify your target audience.
You can’t possibly target everyone in the world, because then who are you really talking to? Not having a clear vision of your ideal viewer groups will simply dilute your message and video content.
Your audience will determine the way you write your script, the way you shoot your video and the way you edit it. It will also determine where you distribute your videos depending on where your main audience hangs out online.
Think of who you want to be seeing this, and then think of where on the internet they usually “hang out” so you can know to distribute it later.
Here’s a customer persona template to use as part of your video planning process:
Research your topic.
Next, it’s time to find the right topic or theme for your video — it’s crucial to find a topic that not only appeals to your target audience but also helps you achieve your goals.
A big part of choosing your topic is also focusing on a keyword. This is particularly important if you want to rank on Google and other search engine result pages.
If you’re creating videos for YouTube, one of the easiest ways to decide your video topic is to conduct keyword research inside YouTube. Just search for your keyword on YouTube, and carefully look at the top results and search predictions to see what works and what doesn’t.
For example, here are the search predictions that show up on YouTube when you type in “Bitcoin”:
At this stage, you can narrow down your YourTube video idea or topic based on the type of Bitcoin video you’re about to make: daily news, mining setup, predictions, etc.
You can also use tools like Ahrefs, TubeBuddy, and vidIQ to find the right keywords to target. Keep your video’s overall theme, topic or problem in the center and look for relevant keywords around them to find the best fit
Also, find a topic that fills “content gaps” and provides substantial value to the audience.
Choose the right video type.
Now that you know the topic of your video, it’s time to finalize the type of video you’re going to create. This will directly impact the tone and style of your video. And, of course, it will affect the entire process of shooting, animating or editing it.
Here are some video types you can choose from:
- Animated
- Live-action
- Screen recording
- Whiteboard
- Motion graphics
- Typography
- Combination
It’s important to note that some video types are more suited for formal and professional videos, while others are better suited for casual videos. So, pick a video type that’s suited to your content style.
Here’s a list of video types for YouTube to give you some inspiration.
