Video – especially short-form video – is a highly effective digital marketing tool for advertising on social media, and its popularity is rapidly increasing. Mobile video advertising has the ability to grab the attention of potential consumers and keep them hooked, allowing you to reach your target audience wherever they may be.
This being said, it’s important that any video content that you do put out there is of great quality; you should invest time into creating this type of content to ensure that it’s attractive and promotes a positive image of your brand. Creating videos doesn’t have to be expensive though – you can make engaging video content with just your smartphone and a few helpful tools that will elevate your videos and make them stand out. In this blog, we’ll share our top methods to help you be on your way to creating great mobile videos to advertise your brand.
The Basics
If you’re a beginner at shooting mobile videos, it’s a good idea to first understand the fundamentals of how your brand or business can create the most effective video content.
Plan out what you’re going to do...
…and what message you want to get across before you start recording. Be clear and concise, and try to break the information down into key points if you want to keep your audience’s attention.
Find the best angle...
…by first putting your smartphone’s camera into selfie mode when choosing your filming location. It’s best to try to use plain backgrounds that won’t distract your viewers. Once you’ve found a good angle and location to shoot, you can swap the camera you’re using to the back one, as this usually provides much better quality than the front camera. If you want to use selfie mode, just make sure you’re looking at the dot and not at yourself.
Free your workspace
…of any unnecessary background noise so that your video sound can remain clear and uninterrupted. It’s certainly not ideal for your viewers to hear noises such as people chatting, sirens, or a baby crying when you’re trying to provide information about your brand or showcase a certain aesthetic.
Use optimum lighting...
…by ensuring that your subjects are facing the light itself and not any reflective surfaces that will affect the aesthetics of your video.
Take a test video
Make sure everything is going to look and sound as you want it to. You can then fix whatever needs to be fixed and iron out any small issues before filming the real deal.
Choose an effective thumbnail
Once you’ve shot your video and you’re happy with its content, ensure that the thumbnail you select will entice viewers to watch it rather than scroll past. The thumbnail should be eye-catching and attractive, and it should portray what the video itself is about.
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Now that we’ve gotten the all-important basics out of the way, let’s get into some of the things you can add into your video content creation to make your mobile videos really stand out and look as professional as possible.
Clip-on Mobile Light
Lighting is undoubtedly one of the most crucial elements in mobile video creation. Poor lighting can make your brand come off as unprofessional and can obscure some of the content that you’re trying to get out there, whereas great lighting will enhance your videos and allow your audience to fully appreciate what you’re advertising. A clip-on mobile light is a portable, lightweight, and effective solution to improving the quality of the lighting in your mobile videos without having to break the bank. You can find rechargeable clip-on mobile lights such as this one on Amazon, which are perfectly compact and can easily be attached to your mobile to provide illumination wherever you need it.
Mobile-Compatible Microphone
Sound quality is just as important as light quality, and while smartphones come with decent built-in microphones, they can fall short in noisy environments or when you need to capture clear audio from a distance. Investing in a mobile-compatible microphone can make a huge difference to the effectiveness of your videos. These small, clip-on mics are ideal for recording clear, crisp audio right into your phone – just make sure that the model you choose is compatible with your specific smartphone. Mobile-compatible microphones are a small investment that can make a huge impact on the quality of your video content, so it’s a great idea to snap one up if you’re looking to incorporate more video advertisements into your social media strategy.
Mobile Phone Tripod
Shaky video footage can be distracting, comes across as unprofessional, and can reduce the overall quality of your content, so you’ll want to make sure your shots are nice and stable. A mobile phone tripod will ensure that you have the stability you need to create smooth and steady video footage. A compact and flexible tripod is ideal for filming on the go and they’re extremely convenient as they don’t take up a lot of space, meaning you can shoot your video content from pretty much anywhere. With not much extra effort required, using a mobile-friendly tripod will ensure that you can produce much more professional video content.
Free Video Editing Software
Once you’ve captured some high-quality and engaging footage, the next step is editing. Luckily, there are a whole range of free and mobile-friendly video editing apps that you can take advantage of without having to spend a fortune on expensive software. These apps allow you to trim clips, add transitions, incorporate music, and apply filters right at your fingertips, among many other features and abilities that will help you to improve the quality of your mobile videos. Developed by the creators of Tiktok, CapCut is a great option for editing video content shot on your smartphone – its features are tailored specifically for social media videos, allowing you to quickly make your video content even more engaging within just a few taps.
So, creating high-quality mobile videos doesn’t have to involve a lot of expensive equipment or professional training. By following our beginner’s guide, and with the right tools and a bit of practice and patience, you can significantly enhance the quality of your videos and make your brand stand out among your competitors on social media. You can start by experimenting with these tools and techniques to find out what works best for you and your brand, then as you become more confident with your video creation skills, you’ll be able to produce professional-looking content that will captivate your target audience and elevate your social media presence. Happy filming!