How Designers Can Use Video Marketing

Video marketing is something that more creatives and brands are seeing the need to embrace. Video creates a deeper connection and level of engagement than any other form of media, because its the closest we have to interacting with the actual person. The fact that it isn’t static makes it more appealing and interesting to us as well.

For graphic designers this can be challenging. Many of them don’t know how to leverage video marketing, or whether it would be worth the time or investment. For many the biggest barriers are:

Not feeling confident in front of the camera
Not knowing what content to produce
Lack of video editing or video production skills
Not having a quality video camera or funds to invest in one
Not believing it has any value for them

Video Marketing Off Camera

Did you know you can still take advantage of video marketing without having to get in front of the camera? You can use a slide deck presentation style with voice over content if you’re not feeling up to being in front of the camera for whatever reason. You can also take advantage of screencast software and show actions on your computer screen to demonstrate what you’re talking about.

Another great option is taking advantage of your design skills and using motion graphics.

Video Content Designers Can Produce

Video marketing is very dependent on making sure you have a good content strategy if you want to be effective. Not every graphic designer should get on YouTube and start making tutorials, and not every designer will be comfortable doing so. You can still take advantage of video marketing by producing some various types of content:

Your views and experiences regarding the design industry
Information your clients may need to know about hiring a designer
A showcase a discussion of projects you’ve done
Speed art demonstrations (Time Lapse) of your work.
An introduction to yourself and your work

This type of content can help you be discovered by new potential clients and employers and bring you new opportunities. The goal is to establish your credibility and create some type of value for the viewer.

Overcoming a Lack of Video Production and Editing Skills

There is a lot of information available for simple video editing and video production today. There are many tutorials and free software available and most of the software for this very intuitive and easy to use. Mainly you should focus on creating content that requires you to do as little as possible. Consider taking advantage of Google/YouTube Hangouts on Air and a webcam or smartphone, to produce unedited easy to consume content if you feel video editing would be a struggle for you.

Getting Started in Adobe Premiere Pro

If you already have Adobe Creative Cloud you can use Adobe Premiere Pro to edit videos. I’ve put together a video guide to help you get started doing basic video editing in Adobe Premiere Pro. By following this tutorial you should be able to produce your first video with little difficulty!

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Not Having a Quality Camera is Not an Issue

In the age of smartphones, not having a quality camera is no longer an issue. The capabilities of smartphones are not necessarily on par with those of a DSLR Camera, but they are very much inline with what we utilized camcorders for only a few years ago. If you did want to invest in a DSLR for video you could do so for around $500 with full HD capabilities and the ability to use an external microphone. There are more affordable options in terms of Webcams and point and shoot cameras for under $100 as well.

The Value of Video Marketing for Graphic Designers

This is probably the single largest barrier to designers taking advantage of video. They feel it will not have an value for them or not at least enough to justify the time they would have to put into it. This can be a very legitimate concern. While marketing is important, the more time you spend on it, the less time you have for design work.

Video marketing can be very time intensive. It can require an hour or more to edit a video that is less than 10 minutes long, depending on your computer and software and how comfortable you are making editing choices.

However the benefits can be tremendous. YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world, and huge social network in and of itself. This can be a great way to get new clients and attract interest in your work. Video marketing is a great way to establish your industry credibility and eventually become a voice in your industry or an influencer. This could lead to job opportunities and speaking engagements, which might be more attractive to an in-house graphic designer.

Best Video Cameras for Making YouTube Videos

If you learn about and demonstrate video marketing and video editing skills it may allow you to add another service you can provide to your design clients. You may be able to develop the visual branding for their video marketing efforts if they like what you’ve done with your own video marketing. This can include motion graphics, title cards, lower thirds and end cards, as well as channel artwork and thumbnails.

Still Have Questions about Video Marketing as a Designer or Creative Pro?

If you still are struggling with the decision to take advantage of video marketing as a creative or still don’t feel comfortable to execute on it, feel free to reach out to me here in the comment section or take advantage of all of the content over on my YouTube Channel, setup to help you Create Awesome Things, and Share them With the World.