YouTube Ads: TV Ads for the 21st Century

Anywhere you find content these days, you can be sure someone has figured out a way to offer advertising with it. Facebook has Facebook Ads, Instagram has Instagram Advertising, and YouTube has YouTube Ads. While you and your local competitors are likely already fighting for market share on the first two channels, chances are that your local YouTube audience has a lot of untapped potential.

Not everybody has the resources to make a high-quality video that mimics the commercials that you see on TV. But, with some preparation and some on-hand resources, you can make a video to boost your business. Find tips on preparing a video for YouTube Ads that will be cheap but effective for your business.

Around 300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute and over 5 billion videos are watched on YouTube every day. With viewership like that, advertising on YouTube is a great tool to boost your business.

Preparation

Before you start filming, write out your video concept. Include some information about your business, like what you do and the services you offer potential clients. Remember, this video is an advertisement, so keep your message simple and clear for those who watch it.

Start your video with a hook that will keep people watching. You need to grab the viewer's attention quickly so that viewers won't skip your video.

After you put your ideas into words, make a storyboard. A storyboard will help you organize who you want in your video, what you want to talk about, where you want to film, and what supplies or decorations you may need.

After you create your storyboard, you are finally ready to create a script. Write out your talking points, key messages, and information about your services. Doing this will help keep you on topic in front of the camera. Practice your talking points out loud before getting on camera so that you are comfortable with them.

Filming

Once you've created your concept, made a storyboard, and written a script, you're ready to start filming. A professional camcorder is great, but if you don't already have something like that, use something that you use every day: your phone. Using your phone, you can easily get the video off of your phone to edit on a computer, or even begin editing the video on your phone.

Some other things to remember when filming your videos are lighting, sound quality, and camera stability. First off, make sure you're filming in a room that has plenty of natural light so the people in your video are well-lit and look their best.

Second, pay attention to sounds in the room or building where you will be filming. Sounds like a refrigerator hum or a lot of echoes could reduce your video's overall sound quality and make your video difficult to understand.

Finally, when filming, keep your camera stable. If possible, stand your device on a tripod during filming. Keeping your camera stable at all times will make sure that there are no missed shots.

Editing

Editing is a time-consuming task, but once you complete the editing process, you will be ready to upload it and watch your business grow.

There are many different programs that you can use to edit your video. Some can be downloaded and used right from your phone. When editing, there are a couple of things to think about.

The first thing to think about in editing is if you are filming and recording your voice separately, make sure that what viewers hear and what they see match.

Add the titles or roles of the people in the video; this helps your viewers understand who is speaking and what exactly they do for the company. Also, add the company logo in the video to show that the video was prepared by the company.

Finally, let your viewers know what you want them to do in your video. If you want them to visit a website, include the link somewhere in the video. If you want them to contact the company, include the phone number.

Uploading

After editing, you are finally ready to publish your video advertisement. Allow a fair amount of time for the video to upload. The longer the video, the more time it may take. Once your video is uploaded, you will have to set an advertising budget for your video. YouTube has a simple breakdown for how they charge advertising: you only pay if your video has been watched for at least 30 seconds or if a viewer clicks your video.

Hopefully after reading these tips, you feel prepared to boost your business by creating your own YouTube ad!

To view the original article, visit the Homes.com blog.