Refresh Your Old Content By Turning Blog Posts Into Videos
Published on October 12, 2017
Have you heard the word – or, more accurately, have you seen it? When it comes to your digital marketing, video is a big deal.
How big? Well, did you know that posting a video to Facebook can amplify your reach by as much 10x, compared to a text post? Or that Facebook users watch more than 8 billion videos every day? That 55% of people watch videos online every single day, and that as much as one-third of all time spent online may consist of video consumption?
In short, video is huge – and it’s a great way to add value to or supplant your existing content marketing, like blog posts and multimedia articles.
Ready to get started adding high quality videos to your blog posts? Looking to repackage and repurpose your critical content pillars for greater social media consumption?
It’s easier than you might think to convert your blog posts into killer video content – if you put one of these Geek-approved tools to work:
Create an Amazing Animated Storyboard with Lumen5
To create simple, spellbinding text videos, there’s no better product out there right now than Lumen5.
Perfect for creating short video presentations, or even enticing social media “teasers” for your longform blog content, Lumen5 videos allow you to pull your own blog text into a video by submitting a link. That’s it!
Once you’ve submitted your article content, Lumen5’s AI platform automatically generates a video storyboard. If it’s not ready to go right away, you can take greater control of your content by formatting your text, adding striking images or background video, and setting a soundtrack – all within your browser.
The service is relatively straightforward and easy to use, meaning that you won’t need any video editing experience to jump right in. Even better, your final product is fully customizable, so you can add your logo or custom branding wherever you’d like; the animation is also easy to download and instantly share to a variety of social platforms, including Facebook and Twitter.
And once you’ve gotten started with Lumen5, you can even begin to automate your video creation by adding content sources and RSS feeds; the program will automatically begin to pull in your new content and email you your new branded videos. The best part? Most features are available completely for free; a premium tier, featuring higher video quality, is available for $49 a month.
Ready to try it? Social Media Examiner has a great step-by-step breakdown on how to create a Lumen5 video, and the video below is a great demonstration of a Lumen5 final product in action:
Narrate Your Content With Loom
The Geek team loves Loom – we even made it our “app of the week!”
For the uninitiated, Loom is a simple video and audio recording tool that allows you to record picture-in-picture, showcasing both your computer screen and your face in the same frame by using your front-facing camera and microphone in conjunction with your desktop.
Here’s a great example of Loom in action:
Looks and sounds pretty great, right? And with Loom’s unique functionality, the possibilities for adding value to your existing written content are all but endless. In particular, Loom is a great tool for creating “how to” videos; you can record yourself giving directions or advice while actually showcasing the necessary steps by demonstrating them on your screen.
What makes Loom even better? This Chrome browser extension is completely free to use, and it allows you to instantly share your video across a variety of platforms by creating a custom URL. You can also download your creation as an MP4, allowing you to further edit your Loom video using the software of your choice before embedding it on your website or sharing it via social media.
Repackage Your Content as a Live Video
Thanks to the rise of Periscope, Facebook Live, and live-streaming options on YouTube, live, real time video content has never been more popular online.
What makes many people nervous about live video, though, is that they fear they don’t have enough inspiration to get started. What’s worth documenting? What do you have to say or do that merits a live video?
One of the best ways to get started with live video is to use it as a springboard for elevating or repurposing your existing blog content. Why not shoot a video of you or your team discussing the content of a blog post, breaking it down to its key parts and then encouraging your viewers to click through to your blog to read the rest?
You’d be amazed how much power there can be to a simple, straightforward address to a camera; in today’s media landscape, consumers love to feel connected to the brands that they follow. Getting the chance to spend some time with you “face to face” may be just what it takes to commit to making a purchase or taking the next step down your conversion funnel.
The best part? All it takes to get started creating live video is a decent webcam, a tri-pod, and maybe a cheap microphone. From there, it’s easy to create videos for Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube, which you can then keep and embed on your site or across your other social channels.
Have any questions about what it takes to get started creating simple videos to complement or refresh your content marketing? Ready to get started with a content strategy tailored for your brand’s unique needs? Geek Chicago is here to help! Drop us a line today to get the conversation started! 