8 Tactics for Creating Valuable Video Content with Andrea Corson
Episode 153: Show Notes
In this episode, we welcome the video queen, Andrea Corson. Andrea is an Emmy-nominated television producer, digital strategist and consultant. She has created awesome videos for a wide range of clients including Google, Disney, Covergirl, DSW, Carnival Cruise Line and Nordstrom Rack, to name just a few. Everybody is always saying video is where it’s at. Video is where you have to be and where you need to be investing your time. But how do you actually get started with the video component of your business with little to no experience? Well, Andrea has devised actionable steps to get you started and moving forward with video content.
Listen on your favorite podcast player
Whether you’re looking to improve your editing skills, wondering what equipment to use or where to market your video – Andrea has it all mapped out. In this episode, she is going to give us the steps to get started with video, tell us how to prepare and where to market. If you’re anything like us and have been talking about starting a vlog for the past eleven years and are feeling like a total fool sitting down in front of a camera – then this episode is a must for you!
How To Get Started With Video: Andrea’s Dirty Little Secret
Before we dive into this topic, Andrea wants you to know the dirty little secret when it comes to video - everyone is terrified of making videos. You are not the only one. It is scary and daunting. Just acknowledging that is important. If you don’t have those feelings, you are a very special unicorn. So, to get started with video, particularly if you’re nervous about it – the best thing to do is prepare. Having something scripted or even just an outline of what you’re going to say is going to help take the stress off of you. Being on camera is tough and this is just one of the things that will help you get over the initial hump. However, you should never feel like you have to be on camera. There are many alternatives you can look into as well, such as voiceovers with text and graphics to screen.
The Three Step Process To Essential Content Planning
One of Andrea’s secrets to letting the content flow is to let the camera roll without recording for a few minutes before you even begin talking about the content you had planned. This is to help you just get comfortable speaking. Even if it’s for five or ten minutes, it will help to take some of that pressure off. From a content planning process, there is a three-step process Andrea uses. Having a strategy with your video is such an important piece of the puzzle and one of the biggest mistakes Andrea sees people making is having no plan in place! Andrea’s three-step process will serve you well for any video moving forward. First and foremost, you need to figure out the goal you are trying to achieve with this video. What is the objective? For example, is it trying to create brand awareness? Are you trying to convert to a sale? Secondly, you need to look at your demographics for that video. Are you serving a millennial audience or a baby boomers? Knowing your audience will help guide the type of video you make. Thirdly, what platform is it going to live on and how will it translate? Is it for Instagram, Vimeo, YouTube, your Facebook page or a different platform? These are the three key steps that will guide everything else you do later down the road.
Tips For Creating Your Video Content For YouTube Audiences
You don’t need to re-invent the wheel when it comes to your videos, but you do need to get them in the proper format. When it comes to YouTube, the audience can be extremely fickle if you are not consistent, more than on any other platform. But they can also be more loyal than on any other platform. If you are not 100% committed to your posting schedule, you can lose half of your following by missing one post. One of the best things you can do for yourself on your YouTube channel is making a header that clearly shows your posting schedule. For example, “We post every Tuesday at 13h00.” And stick to that schedule! Andrea encourages people not to take YouTube lightly. Because it demands so much consistency, make sure you really have the time to take it on. One video a week is the bare minimum and perfectly okay. Not many people have much time for more! The next thing is knowing how to create value. How are you adding value to your viewers’ life? In three minutes or less, add that value for them in your video. Solve a problem as succinctly as you can for them in that video and they’ll be coming back for more...
Visual Storytelling and How To Ensure That Your Video Content is Valuable
Storytelling is so critical and often gets overlooked. Your video should be one of three things: inspiring, educating or entertaining. First things first, go back and look at your content, courses or blog posts that were most valuable to people and see how you can translate those into video format. Use that content as a launch-point. Figure out what the main questions people are asking and answer those. That is the easiest way to get up and going and to be valuable. Answer those questions in voice to camera, text or graphics; it’s the key to the kingdom. If your videos are extremely varied in terms of content, you can differentiate your videos on YouTube using playlists.
Cross Promoting Videos on Different Social Platforms
There is a lot of different advice and opinions on cross-promoting video content. But a big part of video, as Andrea stressed, is knowing where it’s going to live. Andrea is a big fan of creating teaser trailers. People have immensely short attention spans on Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Typically, 15-30 seconds is the sweet spot. Andrea will make a three-minute video for YouTube and then create a small cut or teaser for the other social platforms because we have to give people information in a way they’re willing to consume it. There is something to be said for organic or native uploads to Facebook and often times, videos have more reach on that platform when they are directly uploaded to it. This is a good option when it comes to the Facebook format specifically. There is still a lot of debate around SEO and according to Andrea, SEO is a “time will tell” type of thing.
8 Workflow Tactics for Creating, Promoting and Sharing Your Video
Andrea typically has an eight-step workflow process she uses for videos. This helps Andrea avoid mistakes in her process no matter who or what she is creating a video for. The first few steps are all about preparation. Step one is conceptualizing. The second step is scripting. The third step is nailing down your shot-list. The fourth is pre-production – which is nailing down all those details. The details are what make your video sing. Take the time to think about your location, props, wardrobe etc. Taking the time to prepare these details is really what separates the amateurs from the pros.
The fifth step is to shoot! Step six is getting to the edit. This is usually what scares the crap out of people! Here, you have to get into the laying out of the sequence, which is the initial storyline of what you’re creating. Andrea’s personal favorite when it comes to editing software is Adobe Premiere Pro. Super user-friendly. The seventh step is the fun part... putting all the glitz onto your video. For example, making the colors pop or adding music or graphics. Step eight is promoting the heck out of it! (People often get worried about over-promoting but the truth is, you can never have it in too many places. If someone has already seen it, they just won’t click on it.) This is Andrea’s eight-step process in a nutshell.
How To Make Your iPhone Footage Look Like It Was Filmed On a DSLR
One last useful tip to making your own videos is this: Andrea has a secret helper which is an app that basically turns your iPhone into a DSLR. The app is called Filmic Pro. It costs just $15 on iTunes and has been used on award-winning films like Tangerine. It’s insane how beautiful your footage can become by using this app. But the main thing is making sure you have enough storage space because video takes up a tremendous amount of space. So invest in a few memory cards or memory sticks.
Some final words of advice from pro to amateur: One of the biggest misconceptions is that you need a big budget to make a great video. This is not true – dollar bills do not equate to good content. The biggest thing to bear in mind is that simple and clever often performs best. Go back to that value piece, solve the problems your audience is having and your video will perform. Now, get out there and make it!
Quote This
We have to give people information in a way that they’re willing to consume it.
—Andrea Corson
Highlights
How to get started with video and Andrea’s dirty little secret for getting it done! [0:04:48.1]
Learn the three-step process to essential content planning. [0:07:18.1]
Tips for creating your video content for YouTube audiences. [0:10:40.1]
Visual storytelling and how to ensure that your video content is valuable. [0:13:30.1]
Cross-promoting videos on different social media platforms. [0:23:55.1]
8 workflow tactics for creating, promoting and sharing your video. [0:27:22.1]
Turning your iPhone into a DSRL. [0:29:32.1]
And much more!
#TalkStrategyToMe [0:42:00.6]
Identify the goal of the video.
Identify your demographic.
Lay out your first few video concepts.
Hone in on the inspiration, education or entertaining element.
Figure out your workflow strategy.
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Andrea Corson
Website | Instagram | Facebook
Andrea Corson is an Emmy-nominated television producer, digital strategist and consultant. She has created awesome videos for a wide range of clients including Google, Disney, Covergirl, DSW, Carnival Cruise Line and Nordstrom Rack and has an impressive roster of start-ups, bloggers and course creators. As a long-time blogger and creative, Andrea has always been incredibly passionate about helping her fellow creatives grow their businesses and audiences, and consequently launched Video Pop, helping these modern entrepreneurs learn how to create the best possible social video for their blogs and social channels. Whether you're looking to nail down the perfect strategy for your video, figure out how to make the best video for a specific social platform, launch a successful YouTube channel, hone your shooting/editing skill set or decide you simply want to teach your team how to make video (or have someone make video for you), Andrea is a true one-stop shop.
KEY TOPICS
Video marketing, YouTube marketing, Vlogging, Video content, Video for business
