Editor’s Note on October 26, 2020: Some additional details have been added – the updated notes appear in bold, italic text below.

Have you noticed the social media trend of videos lately? Sometimes, while scrolling through my own personal Facebook page, I see nothing but the videos that friends and my liked pages are sharing. From cooking videos like Tasty – which are so mesmerizing despite my complete lack of cooking skills – or videos of animals doing cute things, the videos seem to be nonstop. Outside of Facebook, I spend a lot of time on YouTube. From that platform, I have seen high-quality videos produced by brilliant content creators with massive budgets and high-quality equipment.

Video is still the king of content on social media because of how easy it is to consume and how it has such a tendency to leap out of your audience’s timeline. You may be wondering how you can tap into the magic of video, but you’re worried that what you might make won’t be good enough for viewers. I personally have spent a lot of time both researching and watching video content online, and boy, do I have some encouraging thoughts to share with you!

Be a Creator

It’s okay that your first, second, or hundredth video is not the quality that you perhaps want to achieve. There are so many different factors that affect a video’s quality, but I can almost completely guarantee that no matter what you put out into the world for people to see, you will always be your own harshest critic. Do not let the fact that your camera is the cell phone in your pocket stop you from going out there and trying to make something new. The quality of cameras in phones these days is incredible.

If you don’t have any experience in editing videos, that’s okay, too! There are so many tutorials online nowadays, and if you have a specific question, you will be able to find your answer on the internet. If I have a question about how to do something as a web designer, all I have to do is ask Google. Google will provide. The more you exercise your skills, the better you will be. Don’t let not having those skills already stop you.

Seek Inspiration

Over the course of my research, I found that there are so many people out there doing similar but distinctly different things. Do some research into your own market and look at what others are doing. Identify ways to search for the results you want and go out and just start. Starting might be the hardest part, but do not be discouraged by the fact that there will be people with more videos or subscribers than you.

In my research, I looked at two different areas: national and regional. From the national companies, I knew immediately that their videos would be closer to long-term goals for videos. With a staff of dedicated and talented people to make these videos, Moz creates great marketing content for us at Roundpeg to learn from and work toward. From regional companies, I learned about what may be more realistic to achieve soon, with more practice of course. On that end, Atomicdust and Hatfield Media provided great examples of high production quality.

If you’re looking to see what we’re doing to get our feet wet with video, check out our weekly Facebook live. We’ve recently joined forces with Streamyard to improve our weekly live stream. We’re learning what works for us and what content we want to create, so join us for our journey, too.