How to Create a Video for Your WordPress Website on the First Page

Most businesses are realizing the powerful influence of video in marketing today, but don’t yet know how to integrate video content into their websites. But don’t fret, because we’ve got you covered. In this article, we will teach you the best ways to create a video for your WordPress website. Whether you are a professional photographer or a skilled DIYer, you’ll find ways to integrate a video into your website that will give you an advantage over your competitors.

The Benefits of Video For Websites

If you’re reading this, I assume that you’re either a video producer or someone who’s interested in creating video content for your website. If not, maybe it’s time to consider becoming more involved in creating videos for commercial use. There are a number of advantages to having video content on your website.

To start, videos allow for more engaging content. With a video, you can use all the multimedia tools at your disposal, including text, pictures, and music, to tell your audience something special. People love to watch videos because they allow for more engagement. If your videos are interesting, you’ll likely engage your audience more than you could with just text on a page.

Secondly, videos allow for greater flexibility in terms of how you use the content. When someone visits your website, they see a collection of text content, but if they click on a video, they’ll see a video player, with no text at all. So, if you have a lot of space on your site, and you want to experiment with different kinds of content, you can put video there instead of having to worry about fitting all the text on one page.

Videos also allow for greater creativity. When you have a clear idea of what you’re trying to accomplish with a video, you can be more mindful of the kind of content you use and how you present it. For example, you might want to include a funny skit to get your visitors to crack a smile, or you could use action shots and quick cuts to show the viewer how your product works in real life. The sky is the limit with videos. You can run a video piece backwards if you want to show an event from the past or play with the speed of the footage to create a flash forward effect that brings the audience further into the action, for example.

Videos also allow for cross-platform content optimization. If you create a sales video for example, and upload it to YouTube, you can have the option of having your video play on mobile and tablet devices, as well as through the Google Search engine.

Last but not least, videos allow you to engage with your audience through multiple platforms. If you’ve got a Facebook page for your business, you can use that to launch a YouTube channel about your industry. Then, you can use the YouTube platform to engage with your audience through live chats, playlists, and videos. In other words, you can use multiple platforms to have a conversation with your customers. This kind of engagement is invaluable in today’s ever-changing digital world.

Where to Start With Video For Websites

Now that you’re firmly planted in the fact that videos allow for more engaging content and flexibility in your use of that content, it’s time to consider how you want to go about creating videos for your site.

There are basically two options when it comes to video for websites. You can either make an already existing video into an interactive piece, or you can start from scratch, and craft a whole video from the ground up. We’ve got you covered on both fronts.

If you decide to go the DIY route, the first step is to decide what you want the video to look like. Bear in mind that you don’t have to limit yourself to just one style. You can take a little from each of the following styles and combine them into something unique and memorable.

Cinematic

If your budget allows and you’ve got the talent, go big or go home. For a cinematic feel, use green screen technology to shoot your videos. This allows you to play with the lighting and create a more polished, magazine-like look that draws your viewers into the action. Don’t hesitate to add some special effects, like falling snow or dust for that movie magic atmosphere.

Vlogic

If you don’t have the budget for a cinematic feel, but you want to give your videos an old-school vlogic feel, use a video camera with a very wide-angle lens to catch everything from a dog’s point of view, to give the video a “behind-the-scenes” vibe.

The great thing about this option is that you don’t necessarily need any fancy gear to pull this off. With just a few simple camera props and a little bit of creativity, you can have a completely different vibe from what is expected of a corporate video.

Realistic

If you’re looking for more of a realistic feel, grab your smartphone and shoot some footage of yourself using the product or service you’re promoting. This will then allow you to do anything from fixing a toilet to cooking dinner, without having to worry about your lighting or camera angle. Realistic videos look like real life, and humans naturally tend to trust what they see more.

Making An Existing Video Into An Interactive Piece

If you’ve got an existing video you’ve produced that you want to repurpose, you have plenty of options when it comes to interactive content.

There are many tools and plugins that will allow you to add interactivity to your videos. One of the simplest ways to do this is to add a call to action at the end of your video. For example, if you’re showing someone how to cook a cake, you might want to add at the end, “If you follow these steps, you’ll end up with a delicious cake.”

Once you’ve added this call to action, you can either choose to have someone click it and be taken to a new page to learn more, or you can have it autoplay as soon as the video finishes loading. The choice is yours. For more information on creating interactive content, check out this awesome article from MakeUseOf about how to turn your videos into quizzes.

Starting From Scratch: Creating A Whole Video From The Ground Up

If you feel more comfortable creating a whole video from scratch, take a few days to plan out the storyline and script. Be sure to write short and snappy punch lines for each of the scenes, to keep the laughs coming. Plan out the music and sound effects, and experiment with different camera angles to see how they affect your video’s story line.

Once you’ve got a rough draft of the storyline, it’s time to start shooting. First, put together all the necessary camera equipment, including a tripod, camcorder, and a microphone. Next, find a quiet room in your house or office and set up all your camera angles. The great thing about this option is that, rather than having to worry about the finished product, you can focus on storytelling and capturing the right vibe.

Once you’ve got all the video footage you need, it’s time to piece it together. Using a video editing tool like VideoScribe, Premiere Pro, or Final Cut Pro, piece the video together, adding music and sound effects as you go. When you’re happy with the way the video looks, have somebody else review it, to ensure that everything fits within the budget and to catch any typos or errors. Finally, add the call to action at the end, and publish your video.

At this point, you’ve got a fully equipped video marketing machine. Whether you’ve got an existing product to promote or you’re creating a unique piece for commercial use, you can use video to tell your story and entice potential customers to take action.