'Net Features : WeVideo

10 Tips for Overnight Web Video Superstardom

Allison Howen — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:30:00 GMT

If you want to spice up your Web presence, it may be time to consider implementing a video strategy.

If you aren't convinced, consider this: A recent comScore study reveals that Americans watched 33 billion online content videos in February alone. Moreover, Invodo research shows that consumers watch video 60 percent of the time when it is available, and that 52 percent of consumers who watch product videos claim the videos make them more confident about their purchases, which helps to reduce return rates.

In addition to those stats, implementing a video strategy can help your enterprise drive site traffic, improve time-on-site and engagement metrics, increase conversion rates and grow its social fan base. That said, producing videos can be a complex and even an intimidating process if you’re just starting out, which is why Website Magazine has compiled 10 tips that will help you become an overnight Web video superstar, just check them out below:

1. Get Good Equipment

While a simple Webcam along with a free online editor is suitable for composing basic videos, you should consider purchasing higher-end equipment if you intend on producing videos on a regular basis. For example, if you are creating product videos that include a lot of detail, you should invest in an HD camera. Also, there is nothing worse than trying to edit a shaky video, and since shooting a steady video with a handheld camcorder is harder than one would think, a sturdy tripod is also a good investment. In addition to those pieces of equipment, some of the Web’s free video editors, such as YouTube or WeVideo, don’t include as many features as you might want, in which case you should purchase a more robust video editing platform, such as Apple’s Final Cut Pro or Adobe’s Premiere Pro. Lastly, if you’re struggling with capturing sound, a microphone will certainly help with this problem.

2. Make a Plan

Before your jump into the production stages, you must first create a plan for your video. For example, what is the goal of your video? It could be to drive more traffic to your website, to inform your audience about a new product or to foster a better relationship with your customers. Once the goal has been identified, you must decide what type of video will allow you to reach this goal, such as a demonstration, an advertisement, a comedy or just a straightforward informative piece. You might still need some inspiration for your content, in which case you should check out TubeRank. This platform enables users to set three conversational triggers in order to view similar videos that have been successful on the Web as inspiration.

3. Write a Script

You may be good at giving off-the-cuff speeches, but that is not the best strategy for video content. This is because online videos have the ability to be seen by millions of people, and you don’t want any flubs to take center-stage over your content. By writing out a script, you can make sure that you include every important piece of information into the video and that your thoughts are organized so that the video isn’t too long and turns your viewers away. Additionally, you might even be able to find a way to fit some quirky or entertaining tidbits into the script that would be harder to implement when improvising. That said, don’t rely so much on your script that you come off as stuffy in your video, because it is important to show your personality in order to be more relatable to your viewers. This is where practice comes into play…

4. Practice Makes Perfect

Before you start shooting, make sure to practice because you need to be confident in the content that you’re selling. While you should practice in front of an audience at least once so that they can give you some tips for improvement, the best way to self-identify areas of improvement is by simply reading the script aloud and recording yourself with a Webcam. This will not only get you familiar with being on camera, but it will also give you an opportunity to analyze your voice (did you pronounce every word correctly?), as well as an opportunity to identify any nervous ticks you might have. Furthermore, by reading the script aloud, you will feel more comfortable with its content and be able to edit areas that don’t sound quite right.

5. Just Do It.

This step is pretty self-explanatory: Just do it. While your first video will most likely end up not being your best in the long run, it will help to give you confidence, which will go a long way in future productions.

6. Put On Your Editing Pants

After your video is shot, it’s editing time. It is important to note, however, that the amount of editing you will have to do depends on your video’s quality, content and purpose. For example, if you’re a skincare line that is shooting a product demonstration, you may want to splice in some close-ups of a model’s skin during a step-by-step demonstration. Conversely, if you’re a pet store that is putting together a video of your customers with their pets, it might be appropriate to use some unique effects, such as custom graphics, or attention-grabbing transitions when switching between photos and videos.

7. Don’t Forget About Audio

While you should certainly make sure your audio is consistent throughout your video during both the shooting and editing processes, you might also want to consider adding background music or sound effects to specific parts of your video. If this is the case, make sure you have permission for any audio you add to the video. YouTube, for example, allows users to access select audio from Creative Commons for their videos.

8. Ask for Feedback

After the video is edited, it is a good idea to show it to colleagues before publishing it to the ’Net. This is because an extra set of eyes and ears might see or hear something that you didn’t, such as a black spot between transitions. Furthermore, outsiders might suggest adding an element that you had previously overlooked, like captions or additional images or video footage.

9. Distribute

Once you are mentally prepared to become an overnight Web video superstar, it is time to start distributing your video across the ’Net. If you are not hosting the video on YouTube, then you will need to use another hosting platform like Vzaar or Brightcove. Once the video is up, it should definitely be featured on your website, but you should also create social and email campaigns around it too. By sending the video to your subscribers and sharing it with your Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest fans, you are increasing its audience reach and its chances of going viral.

10. Measure

After your video is published, it is time to start measuring results. While you should definitely evaluate metrics like views, time watched and completion rates, you should also analyze traffic spikes on your site because of the video. It is also important to monitor the devices and channels customers are using to view the videos, as this can help you tailor future video content and promotion strategies based on the audiences who respond best to this type of visual content. Additionally, to measure the popularity of your video across the social Web, you should analyze popular engagement metrics, such as shares, likes, comments, retweets and replies.

Creative Design Tools for Non-Designers

Pete Prestipino — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 20:10:00 GMT

Face it; you're not a Web designer. You may try your digital best, but hey, you've never been trained in the art of virtual aesthetics. But that’s okay, because we can't all be Web Van Gogh's.

However, for those of us that run websites and don’t have a dedicated design team to allocate work to, it's still necessary to participate in the design process, from wireframing to reviewing, and all those little tweaks along the way.

Luckily, there are plenty of great creative design tools available on the Web that are easy enough that any non-designer can use them. Check out the list below to see if there’s something that can help you look like you play a designer on the Web.

deviantART muro

muro, by deviantART, is a browser-based HTML5 drawing application for the site’s members that allows them to create images from scratch, featuring over 20 brushes, multiple filters and the ability to add layers to an image.

Fluid UI

This is a mobile app prototyping tool that lets users quickly and easily create interactive mockups and wireframes of mobile applications for Android, iOS and Windows 8.

Label59

Ever had a great image to share that just needs a little explanation to make sense? Have you been looking for a better way to engage your audience with photos? Well, Label59 is for you, as this Web app provides an intuitive toolset that lets users label photos and even create an interactive presentation in minutes.

Sumopaint

Sumopaint offers a fast and simple graphics editor application for Web browsers, PCs or iPads that works in 22 different languages, and includes a basic version that is always free for everyone.

Actual Reports Designer

While Actual Reports Designer is really a multi-faceted tool for creating simple designs, it is particularly useful for non-designers that want to generate QR codes to market their services, products or content. The tool includes a library of over 500 industry standard signs and symbols to choose from, as well as a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface.

WeVideo

One of the more popular online video editors available, WeVideo includes three distinct editing modes (Storyboard, Timeline and Advanced) to allow users to edit videos however they’d like. In addition, it integrates with YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Instagram, Dropbox, Box and many other websites.

Balsamiq Mockups

This is another wireframing tool that basically lets users feel like they’re “drawing” an early version of their websites, while allowing for various tweaks and rearrangements at any time. Plus, it is collaboration friendly, so teams can create a design and modify it in real time during a meeting.

MindMeister

MindMeister is a mind mapping software with a particular focus on collaboration that has been used by everyone from EA to CNN to Oracle to help users visualize their thinking.

Pixlr

In the wake of Picnik, a number of free image editing services emerged, but none of them are as efficient and user-friendly as Pixlr, which is why it is now the Web’s most popular online photo editor.

Magisto

Turn everyday videos into memorable movies with Magisto, the automated online video editor the selects the best parts of a user’s video, adds the music, themes and effects they select, and the puts it all together to create ‘beautiful” films that can be easily shared with others.

Clue

This simple online application makes it easy (and kind of fun) to test what people remember on a website. Simply enter the URL into the empty bar to create a test, and then see what users report to be the most impactful elements of the page.

Bounce

Like Clue, this app was created by the folks at ZURB and makes it easy to share ideas on a website. Again, just enter a URL, and then users can highlight specific areas on a page and leave feedback for the website owner.

Moqups

It always helps to have a roadmap, so that’s why services like Moqups are so nice. This Web-based HTML5 application lets users create wireframes, mockups and prototypes of their websites with an incredibly intuitive interface.

IcoMoon

IcoMoon was the Web’s first custom icon font builder, meaning it allows users to choose specific icons that they need and turn them into a unique font to improve compatibility we various screen readers.

Sketchfab

Users can publish, embed and share interactive 3D models with Sketchfab. The tool supports 27 different native 3D formats with no plugin required and unlimited uploads.

HTML Banner Maker

Create banners that work across all devices using HTML5 with this Web app that requires no prior coding knowledge.

NodeFire

NodeFire is an HTML5-based interactive animation create that lets users quickly and easily design banners, advertisements, text effects, drop-down menus, scrolling items, marquees, buttons, mini games and much more.

TweenUI

With TweenUI, it takes no time at all to create sleek looking HTML5 banner ads that look great across mobile devices and tablets.

Mugeda

And if you’re looking to create rich media HTML5 ads just for mobile devices, you can turn to Mugeda, the cloud-based solution that can be easily integrated into a publisher’s existing ad platform.

WeVideo Debuts at DEMO Fall 2011

Michael Garrity — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 23:00:00 GMT

DEMO Fall 2011 was the host to an announcement about an interesting concept by a new company called WeVideo, which offically launched the beta of its new editing platform.

Professing to fix a problem plaguing most uploaded videos, that they haven't been appropriately edited and "don't tell a real story," WeVideo has created the first ever cloud-based editing solution provider.

This platform is designed to make video storytelling and collaboration accessible to everyone by removing the obstructions that typically hinder video editing and introducing high performance and convenience that harness the strengths of the cloud.

WeVideo have identified the problems with the editing of currently uploaded videos as issues of cost, complexity and the necessary computing resources that are associated with the available desktop editing software options. Looking to go beyond the abilities of other online video editing providers, WeVideo is using its cloud-based platform, accessible to users from any Web browser, smartphone, tablet or computer, to provide a rich, yet simple, suit of editing tools with all of the primary capabilities, such as royalty-free audio, transitions, graphics, personalized text options and professional effects. They also support most digital video formats from any device, including mobile phones, cameras and professional equipment.

This is the first time that a company has created and offered a social editing environment that lets users form their own video editing community. WeVideo promises that this platform will enable "easy collection of video content from mulitple contributors, as well as the opportunity to co-create and/or develop individual videos based on the same clip library."

In addition, as if you couldn't have guessed, videos will be easy to share on popular streaming sites like YouTube and Vimeo, as well as social networks and other sites.

Starter packages are completely free and scale up to match export quality and the storage needs of users.