Content Creation Series ~ Using Youtube Video

We’ve covered a lot of different ways to write content, today we’re going to look at how we can use video to create content. While the post title is using youtube video there’s a lot of different ways you can do that, so let’s dig in.

Why use video?

Video is the latest craze in content creation. A lot of people love video. It also provides the ability to interact with more than one sense at a time which can increase retention and focus. There are many people who learn better when they are able to see and hear something rather than just read it.

While there are many benefits to using video in your posts just remember that not everyone in the world loves video ~ there are people who are still running on dial up and video can be cumbersome, if not impossible to view. It will be important to take a look at your market and think about what type of people they are, and from there gauge how successful video will be for you.

Creating a video.

There are many different types of videos you can create, here are a few I’ve used from time to time and have worked well for me.

1. Screen capture video. This is where you show something on your screen. In your video you show exactly what you’re doing so people can see it. This is great for tutorials or if something is pretty specific and it’s easier to show peopel than tell them the process. These videos can be done very simply and for free using the Jing software. They can also get very complicated and fancy if you use software like Camtasia. There are quite a few different pieces of software available now that will help you with screen capture, but those or two of the most well known that I’ve used.

2. Personal video. This is you and a video camera. You set it up and talk to the camera. This can be great for building your brand, letting people know you’re a real person. It is a very personal way to get your message across. If you have a website in a niche where being a “real person” is important these would be great videos to do. I use my RCA Small Wonder video camera for these types of videos. It was under $80 and works great for this use.

3. Image videos. These are really easy to do with Windows Movie Maker. You just gather images that are related to the topic of your video. Pull in some music or audio to play over the images and then put them together to create a movie. Here’s one I did for a recipe website of mine ~ although I didn’t use audio on this one ~ and probably should have now that I look back at it.

4. Animoto videos. Animoto is a video creation site where you gather images and then choose some music and the service will then create the video for you. You can create 30 second videos with a free account. If you want longer videos you’ll need to upgrade. I’m not sure exactly how I feel about these videos yet. I think if you’re going to do video JUST to build links they would be fine, but I’m not sure how great they will be for driving traffic or building relationships. Here’s an animoto video I did for a Valentine’s Recipe site I did last year.

Do I have to create videos?

Now don’t panic. You don’t have to create a video to be able to use video to create content for your site. On the contrary, you can easily grab a youtube video someone else has created and use it on your site. There are some benefits to creating your own videos though.

1. You get to put a link to your site in the description of your video when you upload it to youtube (or any/all other video sharing sites you upload it to)

2. Videos quite frequently rank very well in google. You can get more free traffic to your site via your video.

3. It will build your brand as a person who knows what they’re doing in this niche.

Now some of this is not going to be important to you at all if you are just building small niche sites ~ but for some people who are building authority sites ~ or bigger niche sites becoming the “go to” person in their niche can be really important.

So no… you don’t have to create video to use video to create content.

How do I use video?

Whether you’ve created your own video and uploaded it to youtube or you’ve found a video that fits your topic quite well and you want to use it in your blog post or on your lens you can.

1. Find a video you want to use.

2. When you’ve found the video go to the actual video page at Youtube. You’ll see there the options you have for sharing (using the video)

3. You can link to a video in your post (as I did twice in the paragraph above about different types of video). To do that you grab the url for the video.

Once you’ve got the url you come back to the post you’re writing. Highlight the words you want to use to link to the video and then click the anchor button in the text editor. You will then put the url in the box where it goes and then choose blank in the next drop down list so when they click the link it will open a new window and your post will stay open as well.

4. You can also embed video right into your post. To do this you grab the embed code for the video instead of just the url.

Once you’ve got your embed code come back to your post. Here’s the trick. You have to click the “html” tab at the top of your editor. This will take you to the html side of your post. You can then paste the embed code in the post where you want it to show up. If you’re doing the embedding as you go that just means scrolling down to the bottom of the post and clicking the ctrl and V buttons at the same time ~ it will paste automagically.

There are plugins that will make this process easier but I just use the plain old embed code.

If  you want to use video in your squidoo lens it’s as easy as choosing the  youtube module, then choosing a video to show in your lens. Here’s the complete instructions.

Why would I use video?

• Video ~ whether you create it or you find one you like ~ is a great way to break up the everyday blog post with something different.

• Video is a great way to really SHOW a concept instead of just explaining it.

• Video is a great way to show people your product ~ especially how it works or looks in real life in real use. Using video in this way is another way to “presell” people on the product or service you’re offering.

Take micro niche finder for example. They offer 5 free videos showing exactly how you can use the product to create different streams of income. I know that was part of what sold me when I bought it. I could see how I could use the product to make money ~ with some clear examples in mind it was much easier to click the buy now button.

While James made those videos, videos someone else has created can be just as effective when selling a product.

• Different people assimilate content better in different forms. The more forms of content you can offer the more people you are going to reach.
• It can be a really fast way to put up a post when you don’t have a lot of time.
• You can even transcribe someone else’s video for your post. That way you provide not only the video (for people who like them) but you’ve also included unique content (the transcription) for the search engines and the people who don’t like video.
• To drive traffic. You can create videos about specific “good” keywords. Post them to youtube and then build some links to them. When the videos rank some of those people will click through to your blog via the link in your descriptions, as well as the link you may have mentioned in your video itself.

Video can be as simple or complicated as you make it. There are people who have created entire blogs just from video. One of the most famous of these is Gary Vaynerchuk who did an entire blog about wine using video posts. It is now one of the most popular blogs around.

So take some time to think about where video fits into your blogging style. Do you want to use it to supplement your content? Provide additional information? Breakup the writing? Or do you want to make video a staple on your blog? The major way you communicate with your audience? Any and all of these work ~ you just have to decide what will work for you.

Need some help getting started? Wherever you are I can probably help. Whether it's Squidoo, niche blogs, or an authority blog, one on one help is available!!

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Other Posts That Might Help:

1. Web Traffic Series: Traffic From Youtube
2. Content Creation Series: List Post
3. Content Creation Series: Write Tutorial Posts
4. Content Creation Series: Q and A Post
5. Content Creation Series: Definitions