Video remains one of the most compelling marketing tools business owners can leverage to reach their audience.
However, plenty of us are more than a little uncomfortable with coming face-to-face with the camera’s all-seeing eye.
The good news is you don’t have to be the star of the show to produce compelling video content!
Here are some styles of video that are super effective, popular and 100% face-free.
Text-Based Video
If you’ve been on YouTube, Instagram, Bluesky or any other social media platform in the past several years, you’ve no doubt seen this style of video. These videos are typically short in length and feature bold text that overlays some type of compelling footage.
For example, a podcaster might produce a short video that just features the most interesting few seconds of a recent interview. Instead of simply using captions at the bottom of the video, the text of this video would appear in large letters at the center of the screen and might change color or size to match the emotion of the speaker.
Engaging visuals + Easy to read text = Eye-Catching Content
Text-based videos are attention grabbing and perfect for posting on social media. This is also a low cost option that’s relatively easy to produce.
These videos work best as short form video content and are a great way to pique interest in your longer content. You can easily snip content from a blog post, your website or existing video to create a text-based video that links back to the longer content.
How to Make Text-Based Videos
Vyond, VEED IO and Animaker all provide tools for creating text-based video content.
Product Tutorials
Product tutorials are an excellent gesture of goodwill to your audience. By delivering value to your customers for free, you’re establishing yourself as a friendly, helpful and trusted professional. This type of video allows you to focus on demonstrating the features of your product, rather than focusing on yourself.
How to Shoot a Product Tutorial
You can film your product from above so that only your hands are visible engaging with the product as you walk viewers through its features.
Alternatively, you can rely exclusively on footage of the product from different angles, at different phases of assembly or while in use and use a separate vocal track.
Screen Share
Screen share videos are Ideal for businesses that sell a digital product/service. In this type of video, the viewer gets to watch your screen as you navigate through software, an application or an online process.
These videos are a life-saver for any of us who struggle to match the written instructions on a manual to what we’re seeing on our computer screen.
How to Record a Screen Share
Use a screen-sharing application such as loom or zoom, record your screen as you walk your viewers through the features of your software.
You can record your voice simultaneously as you record the video or you can opt to record the video first and add a voice-over after the fact.
If you’d rather skip the voice-over altogether, you can simply add captions to the video or use highlighting features to draw attention to your cursor as you navigate through the software/application you’re recording.
Animation
This is a more expensive option for creating faceless videos, but it might be the perfect medium for your brand. Animated videos allow you to share a little more personality and creativity and can also be a great option for trying to visually explain something that’s difficult to capture video of in real life.
If you’d like to try DIYing your own animated videos, programs like Canva, Powtoon and Vyond allow you to design your scenes with ready-made templates, props and characters.
However, doing it yourself still means learning new software and many business owners are happy to hand that part of the process off to a pro.
Recommendations for Animated Video
- Start with a Freelancer: For your first professionally made video, hiring a skilled freelancer from a platform like Upwork is a fantastic starting point. It allows you to understand the process with a lower financial commitment.
- Have Your Script Ready: Whether you hire a freelancer or a studio, you can save time and money by having a clear idea of your message, target audience, and a draft of the script.
- Review Portfolios Carefully: The most important factor is the quality and style of their past work. Find someone whose portfolio resonates with the vision you have for your brand.
Film Outside The Box
Just because we’re used to seeing talking-head style video content doesn’t mean it’s always the most effective content. It’s just some of the easiest to produce.
Historically, the most effective content tends to be the most creative. And with free and low-cost applications, producing video has never been easier.
That said, if you’re just starting out, we recommend trying a short-form video project to learn your way around whatever software you choose and get familiar with the process.