Since it has become such an accessible form of content to produce, it is quite easy to establish yourself and understand what needs to be done to produce a formidable video. You have stumbled upon the perfect place to start your journey as a content creator which will give you the ability to venture into multiple forms of video content. From Vlogs to Cinematic movies, the possibilities are endless! 

Why is Video Content relevant?

There are many types of content creators that have established themselves on various platforms. Content can vary from images to info graphics and videos. The platforms that are most used by video content creators are Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube. There are other channels such as Twitch.

Statistics show that video is considered as the number one informational source for 66% of the world’s population. To be more specific, 500 billion videos are watched within a day on YouTube and 75% of those videos are watched on smartphones.

From the data presented above, it is clear that the COVID 19 pandemic made the average consumer much more reliant on their smart devices, therefore the number of consumption has drastically improved.

It is important to understand the importance of video content before we dive deeper into the entire process.

What do you want to shoot?

There are a million and one different styles and type of videos you can shoot. Every single piece of content you scroll through each day has a different style and it is up to you to decide what you want to improve and fine tune on.Here is a list of video styles that you could easily use to embark your journey as a videographer.

Vlogs are basically blogs which have adapted a video format and is very easy to get into. You can do a video log of one of your experiences and you can showcase what you saw along with your thoughts and ideas on what happened. A lot of Vlogs are shot on phones nowadays.

Cinematic video requires a bit more know how as you need to understand fundamentals such as color grading / frame rates and aspect ratios which will be elaborated further into this article. These types of videos are best when used with cameras with interchangeable lenses but can be formidably shot on Smart phones as well.

POV video is also very fun and easy to as you can give the audience a unique perspective. Showcasing unique experiences as seen from your eyes are always fun to watch. They are commonly shot on action cameras such as GoPro and DJI since they are more rugged and can be used in extreme conditions.

What could be achieved through video content?

The video below was done to showcase the various style of videography using a smartphone and a mirrorless camera.

Choosing your Camera

The one in your pocket!

Smartphones are considered as extremely powerful cameras nowadays. Since you’re reading this article as a novice, the most accessible camera for you would be your smartphone. The justifications behind using your mobile device for videos are plentiful. It’s always with you can shoot, edit and upload your content on one singular device, which would be impossible to achieve on the other mediums that would be discussed throughout this article.

 It is a much more convenient tool for content creators who want to focus on portrait platforms such Instagram Stories and TikToks because the user gets to see exactly what they are shooting accurately as the device could be tilted to whichever way you decide to record your footage.

If you are currently on the lookout to purchase a new smartphone for video, an iPhone would essentially be considered as an option. 

Just observing the video linked above gives you an idea on how much smartphone cameras have evolved. From crystal clear 4K footage, depth of field and the ability to shoot 240 frames per second from a smart phone sound too good to be true.

Apple marketed the new iPhone 13 Pro Max as Hollywood in your pocket. Although everything above seems like technical jargon, by the end of this article, you will be ready to use these terms in everyday conversations.

There are many arguments going around smartphones and how other brands are more beneficial when compared to apple, but from a videographer’s point of view, the iPhone from a software standpoint alone would be ahead of the competition. 

Although Apple comes jam packed with all these amazing features, it also attracts a very hefty price tag as well. But there’s still a bias towards Apple from videographers because if you are unable to purchase the latest and the greatest, Apples entire line up of mobile devices are adequate contenders for when you decide to select a worthy advisory for your content creation journey. 

Tempting Options!

If you have the ability to spend a bit more towards educating yourself, the sensible approach would be to purchase a DSLR or Mirrorless camera with interchangeable lenses. Since this will be your first camera, it is important that you do not dwell into the high-end market although it may seem rather tempting.

An entry level camera DSLR would be a formidable tool to understand how a professional camera would work. You can easily purchase a used camera for under 50 pounds. Action cameras are also quite hardy if your focused on capturing POV style videos.

These are a few more tips for you to research on when deciding on which camera to get. Make sure you scroll through the entire list!

Essential Jargon

Throughout this article we have been talking about a lot of video related words that you might already be familiar with. It is essential that you know what the following terminology means in order to understand what you are doing.

Frames per Second (FPS)

You might have heard statements such as 60 fps / 120 fps and 240 fps. This term essentially tells you the number of images are taken within a second in order to capture a video. 

Why most cameras and mobile devices try to obtain a high number of FPS is to achieve slow motion. The more images your camera takes within a second, the slower your footage becomes. To sum up the higher the FPS, The slower the video.

F/ Stops

Resolutions and Aspect Ratios

Choosing your software

There aren’t a lot of software’s which could be recommended but it is important that you try out each one of them to further improve yourself. For Mac users, the software of choice would be Final Cut Pro as it works natively since there is software integration. For Windows users, the best option would be DaVinci Resolve which is a very powerful tool that won’t choke your computer.

For mobile users, apps such as iMovie, Filmr and Quick might get the job done. Almost all of these software’s and apps come with a beginner’s guide but I am more than willing to cover another blog on a medium you choose.
A few honorable mentions would include premier pro / After Effects and Camtasia Studios, but these software’s are very good for a beginner to hone their skills.

Thank you!

Since you’ve reached the end of this article, I would like to thank you for reading this blog all the way till the end. Please share your thoughts on how I could serve you, the person taking the leap to become a videographer.

Make sure you comment down below on what I could cover next. What software or camera do you want me to do an in-depth analysis on?

Until next time…

The post How to dominate as a Video Content Creator in 2022 first appeared on wbsdigital.

This Social Media Report which is created to understand and identify how the “Sponsor a Gambian Girl (SaGG) Foundations utilizes their social media platforms to reach a wider global audience to gain financial aid for them to continue their efforts to work as a non-profit organization which supports the well-being and education of young Gambian girls. 

This analysis will aim to provide information on how the SaGG foundation has utilised their social media, a comparison between their competitors acting in a similar capacity and recommendations on content that SAGG could use to expand their social presence across the platforms. 

Social Media Listening

This marketing tool is used to understand the trends and discussions that are currently happening in the entire industry, to narrow down why users are engaging in a specific trend. In this scenario the market that SAGGfocuses on would be providing education to girls in The Gambia.   

To depicts what the general consensus is for the SAGG Foundation when compared with one of their direct competitors, the ABAANA Foundation is a prominent counterpart. ABAANA is a charity that focuses on providing education for African Children to overcome poverty. The statistics below visualize that apart from Instagram, SaGG is ahead of the competition when it comes to Likes. When looking into the SaGG foundation’s reach across their social platforms, the graph below clarifies that Instagram is where their core audience lies.

But even though the SaGG foundation has a higher number of followers when compared to ABAANA, the latter is higher when it comes to engagement. They have more likes comparatively, which means that their posts have managed to capitative the audience. 

The following graph visualizes the last three posts both organizations have posted on Instagram and Facebook. It is evident that even though APAANA has less followers, their content could be considered as much more engaging than SaGG.

It is quite difficult to narrow down the audience’s point of view which in case would be the sponsors or donors. This is due to SaGG not having have any comments on their last three posts which if compared to ABAANA had more engagement by the audience in the form of comments. 

When looking into the social trends followed by the entire industry, it important todraw comparisons from a industry giant which is UNICEF. The biggest difference which could be seen between all of these organizations that are operating in a similar capacity is the quality of the content and the clarity of the message they wish to communicate.

Having engaging posts with call to action and hashtags effective used and having content which needs to be captivating is essentials charitable organizations are a very competitive industry.

Social Media Goals and Recommendations

After going through all the content that the SAGG foundation had published throughout their social life span, it is clear that the foundation follows a certain brand image. Their video content follows the same suite and has the same outlook as their social posts.

Organisations such as UNICEF has a very dynamic social media feed as seen above and tends to derive from their format occasionally. Since the target market should not be limited for charitable organizations as the goal should be focused on attracting all demography’s without limiting themselves.

The SaGG foundation already has a multitude of content which could be amicably used in their posts, and it could be argued that a redesign of their posts and content would the give the entire foundation a fresh new outlook in their social platforms.

The following image is of a post that SaGG had published about one of their conversations with a guest speaker. They had followed the same formatting which are used on their other posts, but the main area of concern would be that there is a lot of time which could be used more effectively. The message could be delivered with much more impact since the necessary assets are already in place.

The post below is a recommendation which the foundation could use as a reference for their upcoming social media video content.

The content is very thorough, and the entire ratio of the post is used to display critical information that the audience will constantly reatain whilst focusing on the subject matter of the post. More attention is given to the message rather than the speaker. The main reasoning behind such a substantial change would be to captivate the viewer as soon as they come across the post. The post may influence the viewer to repost it or share it. 

The posts below are a few examples of SAGG’s Instagram stories.

Stories of this nature are very unconventional in the year 2022. Most Instagram users tend to unfollow pages that are not up to date with the quality of their social posts. Instagram stories should generate brand awareness whilst building a meaningful relationship with the audience. When looking at the Instagram story which was published by the SAGG foundation, even though there is a strong message lying behind the story, the user isn’t influenced enough to find out more about it.

The video above is another Instagram story which could be implemented by the SaGG foundation. The aim of this story is to provide a teaser for the audience so that they become genuinely curious to swipe up. Very simple elements are used to provide only the necessary information for the user to push them to enter the SAGG foundation Instagram or Facebook page.

In conclusion, it could be seen that the SaGG foundation uses a fixed structure when creating content for their social media and when comparing with other non-profit organizations, the use of organic and captivating footage always tends to capture the attention of the audience. It is always better to derive and try new things as social media is a platform which will evolve at a very rapid state.

The post Social Media and Content Marketing Report first appeared on wbsdigital.