Video content marketing has been growing in popularity over the past few years due to faster internet connections, and because data suggests strongly that video engages better than any other medium online and marketers have been jumping all over it.
There are lots of different types of videos you can create and use in your content creation efforts and various tools and software you can use. This article aims to break down the main categories you can work on and give you my favorite tools and resources.
These days you don’t even need to be a skilled video producer or great with software to be able to create professional results.
Whiteboard Animations
Whiteboard animation videos are one of the best ways to educate students or prospective customers on your website about a subject, product or service. I’m pretty sure everyone has seen at least one whiteboard video online in their time. This is the kind of video when you have a whiteboard-style background and a human or cartoon hand moving over the canvas placing objects or sketching out illustrations and text live on the screen while someone narrates over the top.
These have been scientifically proven to engage students due to the way they take people through an animated and visual process step by step as to not overwhelm the viewer. You can use these for anything from educational or training videos to explaining how your product or service works to new customers and leads.
Explaindio 3.0
Explaindio Whiteboard Animation Software is our favorite tool for creating this kind of video content because the software runs on your computer, is more affordable than many of the others like VideoScribe, TruScribe, etc and is extremely easy to use. You can use Explaindio to create all sorts of videos to use in your business or training course online not just Whiteboard videos.
Other Whiteboard tools worth a mention are:
VideoScribe, Doodly, YDraw, Demo Duck, Easy Sketch Maker & TruScribe.
Explainer Video Tools
Explainer videos are another popular format with a lot in common with whiteboard animations in that they are one of the most effective ways to educate and explain something to your audience. The other benefit is you can create these without any raw video footage or cameras by simply using software to create slides and scenes to help tell your story in a presentation type video.
The difference between explainer videos and whiteboard videos is that explainers often tend to use different graphical backgrounds, cartoon scenes and other animations to tell the story slide by slide. Imagine an animated Powerpoint or Keynote presentation told in a video format rather than as a stop and start style presentation.
Animaker
Animaker features some great cartoon explainer templates to help you tell your story in a light-hearted manner with professionally illustrated cartoon characters and scenery.
Check Animaker here for free.
GoAnimate
GoAnimate is another explainer tool with a focus specifically on animated characters and cartoons to help tell your story.in a range of different settings and scenarios from office to home.
Explaindio (Again?)
As well as being able to create whiteboard animations Explaindio also allows you to make your own explainer videos using a series of slides, scenes, cartoons, characters, and text. This is another reason why this software is so versatile and cost-effective, two birds one stone. Not that you should throw stones at birds, we definitely don’t endorse that!
Best Screen Recording Tools
If you teach professional computer skills like how to build websites with WordPress, or tutorials on other software you will need a utility for screen recording and while there are a lot of tools out there you can use, there are only three options I recommend.
Camtasia
Camtasia is our favorite tool for recording your screen and then adding enhancements to improve the impact of the video as an educational tool such as highlighting, magnifying glass, recording your webcam in the corner so you can make your video content more personable than just the screen on its own and much more.
For me, the standout features include the ability to highlight and magnify your cursor in different ways to draw the users’ attention to specific details and the fact it has its own integration with PowerPoint.
It’s a premium tool but if you are creating a video course and generating revenue it’s a worthwhile investment.
Loom
Loom is another screen recording tool but with a difference. Loom comes in two forms, either as a downloadable piece of software to run on your desktop or a browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge.
The best feature of Loom is that when your video has finished recording it’s automatically uploaded to the cloud so you can share it in a couple of clicks. This is ideal when trying to teach or explain something to a client, colleague or freelancer and so I use it a lot for this purpose. There’s also a free and premium version so you can try it with zero risks. I personally use their free plan as it’s not the tool I use for all screen recording situations.
OBS Studio
OBS or Open Broadcaster Software is an open-source streaming tool for Windows, Mac, and Linux that you can use for a wide range of applications from streaming multiple sources into one feed for your YouTube or Twitch channels or as I use it, as a screen recorder.
I had actually stopped using it for a while only because there wasn’t an easy way to pause while recording so I can try and get clean takes without having to merge 40 different recordings together but alas in a recent update they added this must-have feature and now it’s the tool I am using most for screen recording.
I can connect it to different programs and use my StreamDeck to quickly switch scenes, allowing me to seamlessly switch between recording my web browser to a PowerPoint presentation without having to edit these things in post-production.
Video Editor Suites
Ultimately when you want to have full control over the videos you produce you will need video editing software but which you use likely depends on your skill level. If you are new to video editing then you are likely to want to start off with either iMovie or Microsoft Movie Maker, to begin with just to learn the basics and get up to speed but you may feel limited after a while and want to upgrade to something a bit more feature-packed.
iMovie & Microsoft Movie Maker
The two standard video editing suites for Mac & Windows users respectively iMovie and Microsoft Movie Maker will get you started on the basics of editing video clips and using some of the other basic transitions, text overlays, etc. These entry-level tools are a great place to start out if you are new to using video.
Try iMovie | Try Windows Movie Maker
Adobe Premiere
Adobe Premiere is the best option for more advanced users that have practiced with the more entry-level video editors and are looking for something the professional studios use. Premiere really is the best of all options but I have some experience with video editing and I am looking to improve my skills using more functionality, I still think Filmora is better for starting out.
Learn more about Adobe Premiere.
Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro is a very popular and high-quality video editor for Mac users that offers pretty much everything that Adobe Premiere does bar a few features here and there and of course lacks the benefits of being part of the Adobe family of products in that you can migrate files from one to another easily like in the case of Adobe After Effects. A lot of professional video editors still use Final Cut Pro like Casey Neistat purely because they are used to it and like the way the software operates despite Adobe Premiere being considered the industry standard.
Try Final Cut Pro.
Filmora by Wondershare
Filmora is lesser-known than Final Cut and Premiere, however, is not to be overlooked. This editor is available for both Windows & Mac including a mobile version FilmoraGo for smartphones like iPhone & Android. Filmora is more affordable than Final Cut and Premiere and is more advanced than iMovie and Movie Maker whilst remaining very easy to use for beginners. This is our pick of the video editors for most people looking to use more video content in their business and marketing. Learn more about
Filmora at Wondershare.
Movavi
With Movavi video editor you can enjoy fast and easy editing with different tools like video cutter, filters, templates, overlay music and more. You don’t need to download it, you can use it in your browser. It can be used for screen recording, converting videos and it is perfect for people who work remotely or thinking about starting a career in vlogging.
Try it at Movavi.
Video Assets, Effects & Animations
One of the best ways to make your video content more professional and spice things up is to use effects and animation software like Adobe After Effects (for more experienced users) or Viddyoze for beginners and intermediate users of video programs.
Adobe AfterEffects
AfterEffects is one of the top tools for creating special effects, animations and other video assets like lower thirds, intros, outros, and overlays. While using this tool involves considerable training you can buy and download templates ready to use that just require some basic editing before you output them to be used in your video editor like Adobe Premiere.
Read more here.
Viddyoze 2.0
Viddyoze is a fantastic tool for video products, editors and also small business owners who want an inexpensive video intro maker and a tool capable of creating lower thirds, alpha overlays, professional transitions, and social media effects to help promote your brand across all channels.
VideoHive
VideoHive is part of the Envato Marketplace and one of the great things about this website is that you can buy and download different digital assets to use in video production as described above in the AfterEffects section. There are literally thousands of animations, 3D elements, Logo Stabs and reveals to choose from designed by some of the most talented animators and 3D illustrators in the world. Browse the assets on VideoHive.
Stock Video Footage
In addition to animated graphics, text and whiteboards it is also nice to have quick access to lots of HD video clips you can use in your videos. Here are my best picks for stock video footage.
Pexels is a fantastic stock image website I use all the time and they now have a video area of royalty-free videos you can download that are all high quality. Use these video clips in your explainer videos and create other montage videos containing these clips to make your content even more professional and varied.
iStock – One of the better-known stock photography website and part of the Getty Images network. If you want to pay for video clips that are 4k and professionally shot then this is one of your best options.
VideoBlocks – Lesser known than iStock but one of the best alternatives that are cheaper and still provides plenty of choices.
PlaceIt – PlaceIt is a unique tool that provides hundreds of video and photo templates that allow you to place your own image or video inside. These immersive videos are a really impressive way to showcase your new product website or app. See what your website, app or product looks like when displayed on a laptop screen, iPhone, office wall, or superimposed in other real-life scenarios all in HD.
Short Form Video Websites
There are several other cloud video editor tools that provide similar options to create short-form video content using templates, pre-set music, and your videos and photos.
Magisto – One of the better known and has some very professional templates for businesses, marketers, and photographers. Used by Forbes, Wired, TechCrunch, and Mashable to name a few of the digital powerhouses that put it to use. Check out the examples for yourself.
Go to Magisto
Biteable – Very easy to use, free to start, attractive templates and you can also make simple explainer videos with this tool. It allows you to upload your videos and photos but also includes a large library of 2D & 3D animation scenes, cartoons, and other options you can put to good use and help you be creative.
Read more about Biteable
Renderforest – Probably the most versatile SaaS tool of the bunch Renderforest allows you to create everything from explainers to intro videos, logo animations, mobile app promos, and animated infographics.
Visit Renderforest
Animoto – Another great website to help you create professional-looking short-form video content using templates for business, photography, social media, travel, weddings, real estate, and marketing videos.
Try Animoto
Video Tools for Mobile / iPhone & Android
In the modern digital age, you have more opportunities to create video content than ever. You can capture video with that device in your pocket anywhere anytime and even more productive is the fact with the use of apps from the iOS App Store or Google Play you can then edit your videos, photos, and text to create some pretty impressive results.
Even if you don’t have video content to start with, just some text and photos you have downloaded you can still use apps that apply a ken burns effect, overlays, text animations and quickly you have some short-form video content you can share with the world via social media.
Quik – A fantastic video app for iPhone & Android Smartphones created by the clever folks over at GoPro that allows very fast and simple video edits on the move. This is a must-have for any mobile video maker.
View Quik App.
FilmoraGo – My personal favorite as it can be purchased with the parent software for desktops, has similar features and again is a fast app to use when doing simple edits like trimming and combining clips, this app is also very easy to use.
Read more about FilmoraGo.
Spark by Adobe – Combine video clips, photos, icons and text with this easy to use video maker app from the digital content empire that is Adobe. This is just part of a suite of mobile editing apps from Adobe’s labs.
See Adobe Spark Video.
Ripl App – Create eye-catching animated videos in moments from your photos, text and using Ripl’s creative templates. This app has a free and premium version and is available on iOS & Android.
Unique Video Tools
There are some video tools out there that don’t justify their own category so I will itemize these apps and websites here.
FlickGraph – This video tool has one purpose, to create cinemagraphs by allowing you to take a video file and select your favorite still from the clip and then using a rubber remove areas you want to allow the video to show through. This allows part of the scene to be moving while the main subject is perfectly still and high definition. This cinemagraph effect is very popular and can then be saved as a video or a looping GIF file for use in marketing and on websites. See FlickGraph Cinemagraph Creator.
Lumen5 – This is a brand new tool that allows you to paste a link/URL from one of your blog posts and it automatically pulls in all of the text and media and allows you to turn your article into a video that contains music, images, and video mixed in. I found this tool awesome because it’s very fast to use. Simply add your article URL from your WordPress website, medium blog, Steemit page or any other source and it will do the heavy lifting for you. Add your tweaks, images, etc and within minutes you have a video version of your article you can upload to YouTube, Vimeo or Facebook Video and share around. Why not even play these using Facebook Live Streaming for even more visibility. Try Lumen5 here.
Here is a video I made using Lumen5 from a Steemit article I wrote.
So What’s The Best Tool for Video Content Marketing?
You should now be ready to step up your video content game with these tools, or if you need more help you could always outsource it.
Well, that depends on what you are teaching or selling but I think a mixture of the different popular video formats is the best way to go if you are marketing a product or service, if you are an educator then I think using a combination of whiteboard animations, explainer videos, and Camtasia is the best Woolwich for creating an immersive learning experience online.
If you are creating professional videos for businesses and using photography and raw video footage then I would likely look more at using a video editing suite and some of the additional tools for creating intros, logo effects, and software for creating video assets I could use in my video editor.
Want to see the best tools for creating short-form video content on your iPhone or Android smartphone? Check out our content app guide.
Another form of video content that’s growing in popularity is live streaming which was once reserved for video gamers but is now being utilized in more creative ways by artists and other types of businesses to demonstrate their products. Ultimately it’s not all that different from doing a webinar.
Have any suggestions for this list? Let me know, This is an ongoing list that is being updated and evolved regularly. I am always interested to hear what is working for other people.
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