DIY Videos: Unleash Your Marketing Creativity

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If a picture is worth a thousand words, the value of adding video to content marketing strategies is priceless. Don’t let the misconceptions of videos being expensive and complicated stop you from creating videos to describe your company and help sell charters and tours. Advances in webcams and smartphone cameras and a proliferation of cost-effective online DIY tools can help turn a marketing team member into a video master.

Start by going to the internet to find guidance on what’s needed to produce a quality video.

Wikihow.com has a step-by-step explanation of creating a YouTube video right here. The Verge, a news site dedicated to advances in technology, also has how-to’s on webcams and camera phones.

When creating a DIY video remember the goal is to present your story or marketing message in a compelling way. Here are additional steps to guide you in the right direction* —

1. Determine what you want tell viewers. Create a story, or write your key messages down in a logical flow. Web videos must be short. It’s best to keep the subject focused on one idea.
2. Use an online video creation tool. After knowing what you want your video to say, spend some time online looking over easy-to-use video creation tools. Playplay promises its video editing program is as user friendly as PowerPoint. Canva offers a drag-and-drop solution as well.  Vimeo has clear-cut instructions and guidelines. These three options also supply video templates designed to match a variety of marketing objectives and provide a library of stock images and footage for you to use.
3. Be on brand. Use your logo, colors and signature coach at the beginning of the video, which allows viewers to immediately recognize you and the Trailways brand.
4. Use Existing Content. Repurpose existing work. If you have video of a charter trip, a team celebrating a winning game, or video from one of your most popular tour destinations, include them to become the background for your message.
5. Post to a variety of social media platforms. Posting a video on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube are among the most effective forms of audience engagement and broadens your marketing reach making your video worth the effort. Vimeo considers itself an all-in-one integrated solution for businesses. Unlike YouTube, which shows videos published by others in the subscriber side panel, Vimeo only shows your video library to viewers.

(*Source: Alison Murdock, Forbes Communications Council Member, blog post Feb 4, 2021.)

How long should your video be?

What is the ideal length? Statistically, YouTube advises that videos between seven to 15 minutes perform well on the platform. However, a video should only be as long as it needs to be. Some content marketing professionals are recommending video clips be no more than one to three minutes in length.