When it comes to content creation, I have heard just about every excuse in the book about why someone can’t create content. I am not a designer. I can’t afford to hire a photographer. I am not creative.
Ever felt like that? Well, good for you— it’s 2020, and there are plenty of apps, tools and resources that make those excuses irrelevant. Give yourself more credit— you’re reading this, right? All it takes is a little knowledge, and a little initiative, to level up your content game.
Let’s dive into 5 easy ways to unlock your content creation process’ full potential.
Recording in bulk means spending a longer period of time, whether that is 4 hours or 4 days, capturing content. This includes taking photos, recording audio, capturing video, etc. If you think about any movie, or documentary, or podcast, those pieces of content were likely created in bulk, captured all at once to later be edited and distilled.
To successfully create content in bulk, you need to have a really good understanding of what you want to create. Research accounts who are building content that you admire, and that your audience resonates with. This should be easy to figure out if you have a social media strategy, which we have detailed exactly how to go about that right here.
Once you have that research down, you’re going to want to plan your content on a monthly, quarterly, or six-month basis, depending on how ahead you can get of your content creation process. Your plan should outline what type of content you want to create and what stories you want to tell.
Then you will need outlines for your video content. If you prefer a solid document written out with details of what you are going to be conveying, make sure you write out scripts for each video. If you perform better with an outline and general direction of what to say, talking points will be perfect for you.
Once you have your talking points ready, then you’re going to dedicate time for content creation. Dedicate 4-12 hours for content creation, depending on how much you are actually going to be shooting and building. This will going to give you enough time to just focus on capturing, and not be distracted by any other tasks that you have to accomplish for your business. You can break it out into smaller chunks of time, such as two 4-hour increments in order to accomplish 8 hours of content creation. You just don’t want to break it up into such short spurts of time that you become ineffective.
When your content is all shot, it’s time for editing. Editing is best planned, and it is ideal to have blocks of time dedicated towards editing to keep you focused. Try to edit within 7 to 14 days of shooting in order to make sure that you do not lose your vision or your plan. It is amazing what you can forget after 2 weeks go by in your business, so you want to make sure that all that content that you just created gets to see the light of day.
With all of the creative apps and tools out there, why would you limit yourself to just one? By using different apps and their capabilities, you can create truly unique pieces of content.
For example, let’s say that you use one app to add effects, like smoke or weather or snow. Then you use a second app to add stickers or GIFs. To top it off, your want to use a third app to add captions or text. By tapping into these different apps, you will be able to create a very unique piece of content, rather than feeling like you are limited to what just one app can create.
Did you know that 92% of consumers view videos with the sound off on their phones, and 83% of US consumers watch with the sound off across all devices? Which means if you’re posting an amazing video or pep talk on Instagram, only 8% of your audience that sees the video is going to hear what you are saying. The rest of your viewers are just going to be watching you look fabulous speaking silently.
Think about it– how often have you scrolled through Instagram in the background while you are watching a TV show? Or are you one of the 75% of Americans guilty of using their phone while they’re in the bathroom? Yes, that’s a real stat.
Regardless, It’s extremely important to make sure that you are creating content that isn’t just going to resonate with your audience, but that they even have a chance to understand what you’re trying to say.
Good news- there are a few apps for this. InShot and Splice are two apps that allow you to easily add text to your videos. To make adding subtitles even more seamless, play your video back you yourself while typing on a desktop, and then email transcripts to yourself, with the short blurbs broken out line by line to easily copy and paste into your video. This allows you to work quicker in the editing phase, while not feeling like you’re stuck on your phone
Another great tool for captions is called Kapwing, which is a desktop online editor that is free and doesn’t have watermarks. Definitely check it out if you operate on a desktop in addition to mobile.
If you have endless phone and desktop storage, you can skip this point. But if you’re like most businesses, you feel the strain that high volumes of content can put on your hardware storage.
In order to help alleviate that, tap into outside resources to put your old content in storage. Tools like Dropbox, iCloud, Google photos, and Google Drive are all really great Cloud resources that you can access anywhere at any time. All of them have free accounts, but do require some investment after you hit a certain storage limit. Do some research to make sure that you select the best plan for you.
Additionally, you do have external hard drives, which are reliable if you do just want to buy one piece of hardware and not commit to a long-term storage subscription with Cloud services. It does limit you from being able to access from anywhere, but it is an option if you like having that information close to home.
Once you have explored different content creation apps, including our favorite free content tools, consider subscribing to those that are going save you time and money. Most of the tools that are free do you have subscriptions models or one-time fees that you can invest in order to get access to more capabilities, more filters, and higher quality editing.
Once you identify the tools that are most effective for you, evaluate the numbers in order to see if that is an investment worth making. These apps are pennies compared to hiring or outsourcing your content creation, and the time that you’re getting back let’s you spend more time on your business, while maintaining an elevated, improved content mix.
Some of the apps to definitely check out are InShot, Over App, StoryBoost, Spark Post, Splice, and VSCO.
Have an idea of how you can incorporate these tactics and tips into your content creation process? Shoot me an email at hillary@yoursocialhq.com to let me know which of these tips you’ll be implementing into your mix, and be sure to share with a friend!
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