Businesses are increasingly getting into video as a medium to market themselves and their brands. Platforms like Facebook Live, YouTube, and Instagram allow you to broadcast live video streams to connect directly with your audience and create your own TV show.

But the questions are, “how do you make professional looking videos?”, “should I use freelancers or do everything myself?”, and “what tools do I need to get it done?”.

It’s time to bring back our resident video expert, Sheryl Plouffe, who loves questions about taking what you’re already doing and incorporating video.

On today’s podcast:

Simplified editing and workflow tips for authentic branding

The pros and cons of editing yourself

The pros and cons of outsourcing video editing

Sheryl’s app recommendations

Links:

Sheryl’s Facebook Group (Personal Brand Breakthrough):

Video Shop

Video Leap

Camtasia Studio

Fuse

Simplified editing and workflow tips for authentic branding

Sheryl dispels myths about the complexities and time constraints of video editing.

You can shoot and edit video on-the-go with your smartphone or tablet. This can be an incredibly effective use of time, enabling you to record, edit and share your content from anywhere.

For example, Sheryl edits video content on her phone during with her son’s hockey practice!

The pros and cons of editing video yourself

The pros:

It’s faster – once you get used to the workflow and the process of editing becomes automatic, it gets really fast. Whereas with outsourcing, the turnaround time can be much longer.

It’s affordable – this is the bootstrapped option

You have complete control of the branding – you can, of course, instruct a freelancer or employee how you want your message to be communicated, but that’s much simpler when you are completely hands-on with the process.

The cons:

The learning curve – you need to spend a little time getting up to speed on the processes

It can take a little more time when you’re starting out

A tip for simplifying the editing process is to write and practice your script so that you record your 2-3 minute video in one take. This means you have much less editing to do.

The pros and cons of outsourcing video production

The pros:

If you’re not tech savvy, it can be a better use of your time to outsource

The cons:

You have to find the right person to work with who understands your brand and how you want to communicate yourself

Turnaround times are longer – editors have other clients, so your work can take up to a week to produce

Costs – you obviously have to consider the budget for content creation

Sheryl encourages us to consider what kind of content we are creating. If we are making long-form, sales page content that is highly scripted, you may want to outsource the editing to ensure you get it looking professional.

But for in-the-moment, authentic 2-3 minute videos you are making on a daily or weekly basis, it can be better to do it yourself for all the reasons mentioned above.

Sheryl’s app recommendations

Sheryl suggests a couple of apps that can make editing video yourself simple.

Video Shop for iPhone and iPad

Video Leap – for green screen technology right on your phone