Making a video for your small businesses has never been this easy. If you own a small business and you’re active on social media, making videos was always on your mind. You’ve always wanted it but you never knew where to start.
Just a few years ago, to make a simple video. First, you had to come up with a topic. Shoot the video, so you needed an SLR camera. After that you had to edit it. All this without any professional training. Seriously!! How many tutorials a person needs to watch to make a 3 minute video. Not to mention all the money you have to spend on gear.
So I’m sure you tried the easy alternatives. Make quick videos using your phone and post on user friendly platforms like Instagram, Vine or Snapchat. But let’s face it, the videos don’t look professional and your reach is very limited.
Then live streaming was introduced by Periscope and Meerkat and now its perfected by Facebook Live. You did couple Facebook Live Posts. Then again the reach is limited.
Well brace yourselves, the last two weeks Adobe and Youtube introduced some pretty cool stuff:
Video with Youtube Director
Youtube Director is a new IPhone application that let’s users create ads for their small business. To make the video you get to pick a template and follow this step by step guide to make short clips. At the end the clips and stitched together to make your ad.
“Whether it’s for entertainment, indulging a passion, or discovering something new, more people are turning to YouTube to watch video,” Max Goldman, product manager, YouTube Director, wrote in a company blog post. “Now, more than ever, businesses can connect with their customers through video advertising on YouTube.”
So Youtube Director was introduced couple week ago. And last week Youtube dropped this Bombshell at VidCon:
Video with Youtube Live
We’re not talking about that desktop Youtube Live function that requires many softwares. This is a simple easy to use Live Function that is fully integrated with your YouTube app. Similar to Facebook Live, although YouTube has a very strong infrastructure. Your videos will also have better search ranking since YouTube is owned by Google.
This is still in Beta testing but it should be out for the public any day now.
Animation Videos with Adobe Spark
Now we’re entering another dimension of content – Animations! The slogan for Adobe Spark is: Animated Videos Made in Minutes. They definitely delivered on that promise. You’re able to create compelling content by blending photos and clips with a variety of animation presets.
Unlike traditional video and animation software applications that rely on a timeline or keyframes, Adobe Spark Video presents a unique, simplified narration-based animation mode. Easy to use, practical and seriously, you’re able to put something together in a few minutes.
Final Thoughts
Did I mention that all these tools are free. Well, if that’s not a good enough reason let me tell you this. These tools are not just fun. They are actually very cool. I say “cool” in a sense that this is how the future of online interactions is going to be. In a few years, most of your social media posts will need to be live and animated. So you don’t wanna be the guy asking your nephew for help with your online marketing tools. I’m not asking you to be an expert. Just play with these tools when time permits, so you’re ahead of the game.