No more excuses! 43% of consumers want more video from your brand. 37% of people watch marketing videos to that last second. 57% of marketers say videos give them the highest ROI.
You know your brand needs video to stay relevant. But you keep pushing it off. You think it will be time-consuming or expensive. You might think it will be hard to figure out. You’re not a screenwriter or video producer. But here’s the secret.
You can be.
Brands like yours are getting all of the benefits of video marketing without the exorbitant cost or excessive time. They’re doing it with this simple video marketing hack.
Let’s explore how!
Why Turn Blogs Into Videos?
Why not just start from scratch? What’s the benefit of starting with your blogs? I’m so glad you asked.
1) You’re getting the most bang out of your content buck. You’ve already paid to have this blog written. It will take all of 5-10 minutes to re-purpose it. Why would you start from scratch?
2) You’re putting your bets down on known winners. You already have the analytical data for the blog posts. You know what topics are ready to perform on the court — and which ones are better left sitting on the bench.
It all starts with gathering your superstar posts.
1) Take Inventory of Your Superstars
Start by gathering your best blogs. Review the analytical data to determine which ones got the most views and interest. Which ones best help you meet your marketing goals?
Also, look for ones that would complement great visuals. For example, storytelling blogs often translate well. The blogs you choose should be very logically laid out. Number-based blogs work best. Chances are these are your top blogs anyway.
Choose 1 blog to get you started and follow along with me.
2) Determine the Length
56% of marketing videos are less than 2 minutes long. When you’re starting out, these are a good length to shoot for — and score.
500-1000 word blog = 200-250 word script = 1.5 – 2 minutes
3) Hook’em
Hopefully, your blog started with a great hook. If it did, use it. If it didn’t then spend a little time crafting the perfect one.
This hook should stop someone’s feed dead in its tracks. As they’re scrolling past hundreds or thousands of social shares, yours must say “Hey, over here. You’ll really want to see this.” — without those exact words, of course.
4) Debone Your Blog
Now it’s time to do what no content writer ever wants to do — dismantle their perfectly-written creation. But remember, it’ll all work out for the best in the end. You’ll a whole new content creation to be proud of.
Blogs contain a lot of extraneous information. Even if you edit ruthlessly, there is still a ton of fluff you can strip away to leave the bare bones of your blog.
These bare bones will become your script. The stuff you removed will either be represented in an image or removed from the piece altogether.
Be absolutely fearless in this endeavor. This is no time for sentimental attachment. If you don’t need a statement, kick it to the curb.
Whittle that 750 word blog down to the 200 most important words. This will likely include some headings and some of the most impactful statements in each section.
After you debone it, read it aloud. Do you need to make any small changes to make it flow better? Remember, that in video, transitions aren’t necessary.
Images do the job better.
The script is ready. Now on to the production.
5) Create a Presentation
Use Powerpoint, Keynote or another program to create a slideshow.
What?! That’s not a video.
Oh, wait for it. You shall see.
You can find some amazing high res images for free on sites like Pixabay. Or, if you just can’t find what you’re looking for use a paid service.
Now, you may decide at this point to put some of the script on the slides. Other parts you may just have visuals. Keep the word count on slides low.
Most people retain images much more than words, either spoken or written. So use as few words as possible on the slides. However, note, that many people scroll their feeds on mute. You need some words to get attention and tell the story.
People will turn the volume up to get the full experience.
6) Become an Actor
Either become an actor or hire one to read the script. Both Powerpoint and Keynote have an audio feature. This will allow you to set the timing for your slides to match the audio.
Practice. Practice. Practice. And if you do lots of videos, purchasing podcast recording equipment may be worth your while. It helps cancel out background noise and makes editing easy.
This will really up your production value.
Another option here is putting more words on the slides and then setting to music. Consider your target customer. Which will best reach them where they are in buyer’s journey?
Then create.
7) Save as a Video
Save the file or export as a QuickTime video. It’s best to do this early before creating your whole video just so you can get a feel of how it looks.
There are also paid video programs that will make it easier to edit your video. Once you have a few videos under your belt, you may want to invest in one. But I’m showing you how to do this on the cheap to get the highest ROI.
These programs will help take your production to the next level. So I highly recommend them if you want to make more videos.
Creating Videos Out of Blogs
There’s no reason to wait. Start making videos. Your customers and your bottom line will thank you.
You can hop on the video bandwagon more easily and cost-effectively than you think.
Re-purposing your assets and using what you have to create videos is a great way to engage your target audience in a way that they enjoy being engaged. And with this hack, you can do it on a budget.
What experience have you had with video. Are you finding success by increasing your video creation efforts? I’d love to hear from you. Comment below.
Guest article written by: Leigh Clayborne is a professional content writer with 10 years in healthcare management, 10+ years content creation and 3+ years creating content marketing materials. As a creative analytical, she understands the art and science of creating content that converts by connecting with customers. She is Hubspot certified. Connect with her on Linkedin, Twitter @LeighClayborne and Quora.