If you haven’t already, this is your year to go digital! Our team wants to help you ease into the digital by giving you the best tips for creating quality video content in a user-friendly way. This year, you’ll be able to market your practice with confidence!
Now, as promised, we are going to provide a quick guide to mastering video content this year! We know that others might say you need more equipment or professional aspects to make your video stand out, but this guide is not about perfection or the highest quality. This is what is attainable for a busy therapist like you who wants to be relevant and on-trend this year!
Believe it or not, most of the content you see online was collected with a phone. Videos shot on today’s phone cameras camouflage amongst other professionally shot videos, especially when edited! If you have a phone newer than 2015 you should have no issue capturing great video content.
Whether this is a stack of books on a table or a tripod, start with what is affordable. If you are planning to regularly create video content then a tripod with a light ring could be the best option for you.
There is no shame in filming in the same spot! Actually, it makes it easier for you and produces consistent quality content for your audience. Set up an area in your space that can be dedicated to filming. Make sure this spot has decor that speaks to your business and has good natural lighting.
It is always better to use natural lighting than to have to use flash or editing the photo later to brighten it! Try to aim to film in not only a spot that has good lighting but also at a time of day where lighting is the most optimal.
Typically, filming yourself while you face a window is going to get you the best lighting for your videos!
To manually adjust exposure, click and move your finger to the sun icon and drag up or down depending on the adjustments you need.
As natural as videos may appear online, most online content creators plan out video topics very strategically. It is important to plan what you are going to talk about to make sure the end-user gets the most out of your video. Try not to plan the video word for word as that will add additional pressure on yourself to hit every word, just make sure each topic is covered!
QUESTIONS TO GUIDE YOUR VIDEO OUTLINE
As we mentioned above, filming in the same spot is not frowned upon! This will actually help take some of the stress out of the production aspect of making video content for your practice. Also, framing and filming spots can make the world of a difference in your confidence behind the camera.
Just as in real life, if you look good you feel good, and the same applies when you’re on screen! Make sure you fit well within the frame. You don’t want too much or too little space above your head. For landscape videos, either be right in the center or slightly off to the right or left. Use the guide below to see how you should fit in the frame at all distances.
(Credit: Vidyard for the photo, https://www.vidyard.com/blog/low-budget-video/)
If you can see the final video in your mind, it will be easier to think of how you will need to approach the video. Use others in your industry as an example when you aren’t sure what kind of vision for your content you should have. Make sure to consider your brand and your personality when turning examples from others into ideas for your counseling center. The more your vision represents you, the more confident you will be to see that vision through.
Your words matter and your pace matter as well. These aspects can tell you a lot about improvements you can make to your videos.
You might be feeling the need to speak faster to help paint your picture clearly by the end of the video. If you are feeling the “need to speed” go back and review your video notes and find points you can skip to help reduce the need to rush.
You might be going fast because you feel like you need to spit out everything you remember as quickly as possible before you forget. Try to focus on the topics you want to cover and one point to make about each. This way you aren’t trying to remember exact lines or force sentences that don’t flow naturally.
Nervous about timing? You might be rushing because you are worried you aren’t going to be able to get everything out in the time allotted. If you can, have a second timer or clock to allow you to see when 30 secs - 1 min pass so you know to move on to your next point.
Do you have enough talking points? You might be going slower cause you don’t have enough points to touch on. Make sure you are able to provide value in your video and you aren’t going too slow for the viewer.
Make sure you aren’t too slow with your pace. The culprit here could be one of two things, either slowness in changing topics or slowness in how long you take to explain the topic. You want to be careful of both of these. Viewers are sensitive and have short attention spans. Don’t make the user feel talked down to by simplifying topics down too much. Also, don’t make the user bored by talking too long about one certain touchpoint.
Make sure you are in a comfortable position when you speak to the camera, the more natural you look, the more natural your message will come across. If you are standing to film, loosen up and do a couple of power poses first to help bring energy into your stance. It is good to have intention with your hand placements and making sure you aren’t fidgeting too much.
Your tone of voice is crucial. We touched on this when controlling your speed of speech but your tone is just as important. How do you want to come across? Do you want to seem knowledgeable versus expert? Are you wanting to be persuasive versus respectful? A lot of your overall “tone” will come from your word choice. Making sure you aren’t using more aggressive words when trying to be resourceful to your viewers.
“Therapy is a must for all! There is no reason to not get help, you will never regret the time you spend in therapy.”
“Therapy can be a great resource for those looking for growth! You know what is best for you. Therapy can provide a safe space and very few individuals regret putting time into themselves!”
You may be wondering what exactly “editing’ means? Will this take long? What exactly are you looking for or needing to fix?
Whether you edit video right inside of your camera roll or within a program, video editing does not need to be over complicated. You can add video into a web-based program like Canva to add graphic elements or text to it! For iOS users, iMovie is also a great way to edit and add aspects like transitions, music, overlaying text, and more.
If you aren’t comfortable with editing the videos, find a marketing company, like ours, who can take your clips of the film and return a perfectly optimized video back to you. This may help those that do not have the time or may be apprehensive about using technology.
It’s extremely important to have a plan for what you are going to do with your now-created videos. You will want to make sure that you don’t run through all your videos too quickly while also ensuring you aren’t posting too scarcely. Posting one to two videos a week may be attainable and for some, three to four videos a month might be more realistic. Make sure that no matter what strategy you use, also commit to something you can be consistent about. It is better to start with one video a week and increase to two once it’s in your wheelhouse than committing to three videos a week and being inconsistent week to week.
Now that you have a plan, how do you stick to it? Many individuals use scheduling tools to help remain consistent without having to set alarms for when to post and having to do it at the moment each time. At Theory About That, we encourage you to look into Later or other social media scheduling tools. It is great for those looking to post on Instagram, as you can add the first comment of hashtags as well as tag a location, select a thumbnail for the video and create a “Link in bio” URL for users to find web pages related to the video. For YouTube, you can upload at any time and use the internal scheduling to determine when you want the video to go public.
For those who have difficulty with social media and programs like the scheduling tools, hiring a social media company may be a great option to help ensure this important step gets completed. At Theory About That, we plan our client’s content, provide captions and optimized descriptions, and schedule a month in advance so you can be sure content will be evenly distributed throughout the month.
It takes time to feel comfortable in today’s modern world of advanced video content and it is okay if you are behind the curve. What is important is that you start implementing what you can in a way that is realistic for you.
Most of the therapists creating consistent videos also had to start from square one and had their fears and doubts as well. Just remember when you take the time to learn helpful tips like the ones mentioned above, you won’t waste time on videos that are less likely to work for your content marketing.
So even if you are just getting started with video or you are looking to take your video to the next level, Theory About That can be a resource! Whether you are looking for an expert to consult with, a team to help with the work, or free content and resources to learn best practices from a team that understands both therapy and marketing, we are here!
