Camera Shy? – Here Are Some Options For You
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Have you heard before that video is a great marketing approach for small business owners but didn’t give it a second thought because, well, video is kind of scary? And anyway, you have a radio face, are not a TV super star, and it probably costs too much anyway to make a professional video…
If that’s you, let me first tell you that yes, video is a bit scary in the beginning, just like when you ski for the first time. And I’m pretty sure your face would look great on video, as long as your message is engaging, people really don’t care how you look. And finally, no, you don’t need to spend a fortune to create a little video in your home office. But just like when you ski for the first time, you’re not going on the black slope on your very first day (I’m writing this post in a restaurant in the Swiss mountains, while my boys are taking ski lessons), so today I’d like to tell you about some less scary options on how to start out with video.
Record a Powerpoint presentation
An easy way to start with video, is to narrate your powerpoint presentation. Couldn’t be easier. Create your slides, then prepare your narration. I like to write mine on little cards. Then, if you have Microsoft Office 2010 or later, you can record your voice and save to a video within Powerpoint. So no need to show your face, but people will still get to hear your voice!
Screencasts: Record your computer screen
Sometimes you will also want to record what’s going on on your screen. This type of video is most often used for educational videos, for example to create a tutorial of a software. I use a program called Camtasia for this. It’s a very comprehensive tool, and has also many editing features. But for a free version check out Jing (up to 5 min videos) or screen-o-matic.com. Both allow you to record voice & screen.
Tools needed
Since you’re not using a camera for this type of video, the most important thing is good audio quality. So make sure you have a good headset microphone. Mine is from Logitech. Other than that you will need the recording tools, either Camtasia, Jing or screen-o-matic.com and finally you will need to host your videos somewhere. You can embed them on your own site with a player (I use Flowplayer), host them on Youtube (free) or on Amazon S3 if you plan to host many of them (very affordable but not so user friendly at first).
Now, the ultimate goal is still to do videos where people can put a name to your face, but screen casts are a good way to start with this media.
Now it’s your turn! Have you experimented with video yet? If not, what holds you back?
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