How to make “Edutainment” videos for your website
I’ve written before about why you should be using video, and hope I’ve convinced you to add it to your website and social media feeds. Maybe you see the need, but feel stuck for a topic.
‘Edutainment’ is growing in popularity
With half a billion views and one million shares of educational content on YouTube every day, videos are becoming one of the most popular ways of absorbing information worldwide.
You don’t need to be an internationally renowned expert to make them, either. In fact, some of the most popular videos follow the ‘learn along’ format.
Your viewers can learn just as much from your failures as your successes (and will probably find those even more entertaining to watch), and being open and honest makes you amore relatable person.
Just tailor your content to your audience and you can form a bond with your customers that will eventually show itself in your bottom line.
Your videos are part of your brand
Videos are a great way to express your brand. And by ‘your brand’ I mean a clear expression of who you really are – your values, interests, and goals.
Your viewers will be drawn to your authenticity and consistency more than chasing the newest trend. On the other hand, if you’re genuinely interested in celebrity-watching, then express that.
Authenticity means showing the real you, not pretending to be something you think others will find impressive. Your audience is out there, you just have to find them.
Keep a consistent look, feel, and sound
Once you’ve decided on your overarching brand philosophy, it’s time to decide on the smaller things, like your colour and design scheme, font choices, and so on.
In general, go with big and simple. Find the qualities that make you stand out and accentuate them.With billions of videos and millions more being uploaded every day, YouTube does not reward subtlety – it’s better to go over the top than fade into the background.
If you have the budget, consider licensing a piece of music so that your videos have a distinctive sound too.
Keep a consistent title structure
For instance, say you have a channel called ‘Cooking with MyBrand’ and you want to do some videos on how to shop for food and identify the freshest vegetables and ripest fruit –it would be best to call those videos ‘Shopping with MyBrand’ instead of ‘MyBrand goes grocery shopping’.
Your viewers are probably subscribed to dozens of channels, and you want them to be able to identify your content at a glance.
How to make a good ‘edutational’ video
You don’t have to be an expert, but you should strive to deliver the best quality that you can. Some issues to consider when designing your content are:
- Who is your intended audience?
- Age, nationality, income and educational leve
- What is your level of familiarity with the topic?
- How does the subject fit with your brand and existing videos?
Do your research
If you’re not an expert you can still present good information if you do your research, or reach out to others who are experts in that topic.
Write out a script so you know what you’re going to say before you go on camera. You can spot the holes in your argument ahead of time – if it doesn’t make sense written down it won’t on video either.
Make it fast-paced and entertaining
Your viewers watch your videos for entertainment. Sure, they want to learn something too, but ‘a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down’ as the song says.
A good opening can grab your viewer’s attention, and interesting graphics and exciting music can hold it until the end of the video.
Depending on your content, shorter videos are better. A good script can help you say exactly what you want to say without shilly-shallying around, and good editing will cut out all the ‘ums’ and ‘ers’ and keep your narration moving.
Don’t give your viewers time to get bored and click over to another video.
Video is a fantastic was to connect to your customers and position yourself in your niche. You can make that personal connection that’s so difficult in today’s online world.
If you would like help with your branding or advice on how to make a good video,
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