Video content has always presented a great opportunity for publishers, but technical and cost barriers mean that it is an opportunity that is often overlooked. 2019 has seen that opportunity grow and publishers who can find a way to produce video on a budget may find themselves with an advantage.
Why video will continue to be a strong prospect in 2020?
Video commands high CPMs
Video ad formats generally pay more than display ads. Advertisers have a chance to impact harder and are willing to pay more for that.
Videos get more exposure
Video thumbnails are still a common occurrence in Google’s organic search results and give publishers an additional chance of appearing on that important first page of results, with a click-friendly thumbnail to boot.
The exposure benefit on social media is currently even greater. With every platform desperate to be the biggest video sharing platform the dials on video content have been turned right up.
Users love it
Most importantly users seem to love it. Video is eye catching, engaging and holds attention.
But isn’t video expensive?
It certainly can be, and if you are a publisher funded through CPMs those costs can make video see like an impossible prospect. Video content doesn’t have to be a miniature version of Ben Hur though. With some creativity and forward planning video can be produced affordably. Here are seven ways that video content can be created on a shoestring budget:
Turn photos into video
Still images are easy to produce, or even to license. Add some animation, captions, background music or a voice-over and you have video. This can be done fairly simply through most free video editing software, or even more easily with services such as Animoto or Wideo.
Screencasts
The runaway success of video game content demonstrates how easy and effective screencasts can be, but the format doesn’t just work for gamers. Technical how to videos, reviews and more are all good content as screencasts. At OKO we’re big fans of screen-cast-omatic, which we use to produce all of our internal help videos and training.
Presentations
Presentations make great video content (just look at the success of Ted Talks). If the presentation is filmed then this is an easy win, but all’s not lost if it isn’t. Slides plus voice over still make for compelling content. A new breed of animated presentation software such as Prezi even makes it simple to turn slides into video.
Interviews
Staff, suppliers, expert users, developers, friends, customers and contacts – everyone has a story to tell. Some natural light, a tripod, camera and a half-decent microphone and you have video. Interviews even work as voice-over only using a “photos into video” approach.
Video conferences and hangouts
Video conferences and Google Hangouts are video by nature, so easy to turn into compelling content.
Old podcasts
Some people love podcasts, some have never tried them. Re-purpose your podcast content for the video generation and it can reach a whole new audience.
DIY animation
If you don’t mind investing a little more time, then animation can also be an option. DIY animation solutions, such as Vyond and Animaker allow you to do this easily and at reasonable cost.
Ready to get into video?
If you can produce the video we can help you monetise it! We have video ad inventory from AdX and premium demand partners with proven results. We can help with technical set-up, the strategy and of course accurately measuring the results. Get in touch today for more information.
Mat has been supporting content creators on the web since 1996. As Co-founder of OKO Digital, Mat became the first person in the UK qualified to AdSense partner status and repeated this first with Google Certified Publishing Partner programme.
Leave a Reply