Videos work great for content marketing for three reasons:
- Certain demographics of users LOVE watching videos;
- Videos open up more marketing channels (Youtube, Vimeo, etc)
- Videos are highly engaging: People like sharing videos
Now, the days when video content was so hard to create that most people were just shying away are over. Videos are no-brainer now. When it comes to video tutorials and mashups, I am simply using iMovie (free easy time-saver). However, in many cases, you won’t even need any desktop software.
There are some awesome online tools that allow you to create professional videos that will diversify your video marketing and let you experiment with genres, styles and types. The first one that comes to mind is of course Youtube Hangouts on Air.
But it’s not the only one!
The following four tools are all freemium, so you’ll have a chance to play for free first:
1. Animoto
Animoto is a huge time-saver! Grab your screenshots and videos, choose (or upload your own) music, add text breaks – you are done! A new video is ready to distribute.
I like using it for screenshot showcase (for tutorials) and for summing up discussions, hangouts, etc but I am sure there can be lots of other ideas (this about weekly user photo showcase, testimonial showcase, etc etc.)
2. Powtoon
Powtoon is a freemium tool to create animated presentations and video instructions. The best thing about this tool is that it lets you create video instructions that grab attention and have huge viral potential as opposed to traditional step-by-step video guides.
It has lots of templates with different mascots:
There are lots of available elements inside: Characters, animations, text affects, image holders, etc. The free version will keep its watermark on the final version.
Powtoon is awesome for creating concept explanations, fun tutorials and even promo videos.
They also have #slides project in private beta which I am really looking forward to playing with! Stay tuned!
3. Vidtrack
Vidtrack is a new tool I’ll need to play with. It lets you user-generate your videos by enabling your readers to send you video messages. I think it may work for testimonials, contests, etc
You can try it for free and create 5 videos. I imagine you can use those videos in lots of ways (especially if you need some editing in place).
Just look at some examples of videos featured on the site get inspired
Their newest feature is the website recorder which also has a WordPress plugin allowing your users to create content for you:
Our video recorder will allow you to put a video record button anywhere on your website. Whenever someone clicks the record button it will activate a webcam or mobile camera. Site visitors can record any type of fan videos, crowdsourced videos or user generated videos. These could be video testimonials, video interviews, video contests, video auditions, video reviews, video feedback, etc….
Are there any other time-saving video creation tools you are aware of?