![\"video](\"https:\/\/www.spiffystores.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/video.jpg\")
Even with a unique product and an enticing web store full of tempting goodies, you still need that little bit extra to stand out online.<\/p>\nEven with a unique product and an enticing web store full of tempting goodies, you still need that little bit extra to stand out online.<\/p>\n
Video is fast becoming the favourite way\u00a0to add that extra bit of personality to a business and help increase sales. Search\u00a0engines like Google rate web pages with video highly, so they can also bring you more search traffic.<\/p>\n
Without too much effort, you can harness its power for your online store. Yes you can.<\/p>\n
The education industry has known for a long time that audio-visual materials help you understand content better than just words on page. It\u2019s just the way our brains are wired. Video stimulates the visual learning part of the brain, making it easier to soak up\u00a0information. And with our subconscious love of\u00a0storytelling, video is a great way to get your message into people\u2019s minds.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re still not convinced, here are some more figures that might interest you!<\/p>\n
> Shoppers who view video are almost twice as likely to purchase<\/strong> than those who don\u2019t<\/em><\/p>\n > Retailers cite 40% increases in purchases<\/strong> as a result of video<\/em><\/p>\n > 71% of consumers say that video is the best way to bring product features to life<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n > Video has been seen to help attract two to three times as many monthly web visitors<\/strong> and increase organic traffic from search engines by 157%<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n > A web page with video is\u00a053 times more likely<\/strong>\u00a0to come up in the first page of a Google search, compared with a text-only web page with the same content<\/em><\/p>\n Excited by the possibilities for your business now? Thought so.<\/p>\n Let’s look at some of the\u00a0cool stuff you can create in a video format.<\/p>\n Video doesn\u2019t mean just live action filming in real life. You can create an animation like a cartoon to get your point across too. It’s very effective!<\/p>\n Which one you choose will depend on the purpose of your video, the audience and the content. If you\u2019re showcasing your products, you\u2019d choose live action. If you want to explain a concept or tell an entertaining story, animation is an entertaining way to go.<\/p>\n A third style of video is a screencast, you can see an example of that as the Feature Tour video on the Spiffy Stores homepage<\/a>\u00a0(yes, that’s me in the voiceover!)\u00a0Unless you\u2019re making a tutorial of an online process, you\u2019re unlikely to use it much, so I\u2019ve not covered it\u00a0in this article.<\/p>\n A professional video made from scratch can cost thousands of dollars, so why not make one yourself? There are heaps of\u00a0tools now available for hardly any extra\u00a0cost (you already have a camera in your smart phone for a start), so it\u2019s well within anyone\u2019s reach. Turning your hand to it can be lots\u00a0of fun and you\u2019ll learn a lot!<\/p>\n And once you\u2019ve made\u00a0it, you’ll have a valuable piece of marketing material you can use as long as you want.<\/p>\n Here are 10\u00a0steps to get you started.<\/p>\n As in all things marketing, decide on the goal for your video. Why are you making it and what effect do you want to have on the viewer? Keep it clear and simple. Once you have the outcome you want in mind, you\u2019ll be able to focus the content more effectively.<\/p>\n Who are your target audience for the video? A\u00a0broad range, or a specific group of people?<\/p>\n With your goals and audience in mind, jot down lots of ideas for the video. You could:<\/p>\n You could even ask happy customers if they would mind making a video testimonial (get written permission from them to use it online).<\/p>\n Whether you\u2019re producing live action, a screencast or an animation, most videos need a script.<\/p>\n The key to this type of writing is to be conversational and write like you talk. As a guideline, 150 words will take about 1 minute to speak (you need to speak\u00a0a bit slower for video). Get someone to read it back to you once you\u2019re done to make sure it sounds OK and it\u2019s the right length.<\/p>\n As attention spans online are short, try\u00a0keeping your video under 2 minutes long. If you\u2019re preparing a tutorial or video blog though, you may need to go longer.<\/p>\n Unless you\u2019re intending to just sit in front of the camera and talk, you\u2019ll probably have a story running through your mind as you write your script. Once you\u2019ve got the script down, turn that \u2018mind movie\u2019 into a storyboard to map out how the audio and the visual will come together. It doesn\u2019t have to be fancy; I make mine as a two-column chart in Word \u2013 script to the left, matching screen action on the right.<\/p>\n Recording<\/strong><\/p>\n If you don\u2019t have a video camera, your smart phone or even your laptop is a good substitute. If you\u2019re using a camera or smartphone to record you talking to the camera, you\u2019ll need a tripod to keep it steady.<\/p>\n Make sure you have decent lighting for your filming, the more natural the better. If you\u2019re filming a \u2018talking head\u2019, keep the light source coming from the front (like a window) and watch out for shadows. If you want to be really polished, use an external microphone to get better sound.<\/p>\n If you make a mistake, just record it again \u2013 you can edit the goof out in the next stage.<\/p>\n Wistia have a great library of short video tutorials<\/a> that go into more detail. I recommend a look.<\/p>\n Editing<\/strong><\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve created your video footage, you\u2019ll need to edit it to get rid of any mistakes and add things like music or titles. Download your video to your laptop or desktop (if it isn\u2019t on it already) and you\u2019re ready to begin the edit.<\/p>\n Both Apple and Microsoft offer free video editing software for your desktop or laptop. If you use a PC, it\u2019s Windows Movie Maker, if you\u2019re on a Mac, it\u2019s iMovie.<\/p>\n If you want to edit online, there are plenty of options, like WeVideo<\/a> or Wideo<\/a>.<\/p>\n Whatever your choice, make sure you check the video format you export when it\u2019s finished works with the hosting platform where you\u2019ll keep it (see below).<\/p>\n If you’re after an animation, there are a growing number of online animation tools that makes it really simple to create your own cartoons. Check out the fun stuff you can do at GoAnimate<\/a>, PowToon<\/a> and Wideo<\/a>.<\/p>\n Your fabulous video is going to need to live somewhere that\u2019s Internet accessible. From a quality and control aspect, use a video hosting platform like Wistia<\/a> or Vimeo<\/a>. They both have several pricing options, including a free plan. Some online video editors also offer hosting as part of the package.<\/p>\n From a search engine and traffic perspective, it\u2019s a good idea to also load your video on YouTube<\/a> too.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve made your video and loaded it onto a hosting platform, put it into a page on your website. You can easily copy \u2018embed\u2019 code from the hosting platform and paste it straight into the editor of your Spiffy Store web page where you want the video to appear.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve got the video on your website, you\u2019re ready to promote it! Post the web page link on your social media channels and let your email subscribers know it\u2019s arrived.<\/p>\n Go on, have a crack at it. Let your inner Spielberg or Disney shine!<\/p>\n (statistical sources: Invodo, Multichannel Merchant, MarketingSherpa, Forrester Research)<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Even with a unique product and an enticing web store full of tempting goodies, you still need that little bit extra to stand out online. Video is fast becoming the favourite way\u00a0to add that extra bit of personality to a … Continue reading Live action or animation?<\/h2>\n
Where to start<\/h2>\n
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