Our 3 favorite tools for video marketing – a review
Companies are now making the shift to video marketing to get their vision across. We have come up with a selection of our content marketing team’s favorite software, each of which lends itself to different types of video, depending on your needs. Take a look!
Lumen5
Lumen5 is a user-friendly online tool designed to visualize blogs from text to video. It makes it easy to make quick, snackable content to share on social media, giving your posts a visual boost and engaging the reader.
It is an excellent choice to provide a visual summary of your blog or article as an alternative to text. This helps you to better promote your content and get more views through a new form of visual communication.
Dirk Stael, Senior consultant, adds “Lumen5 makes it very easy to unleash your inner Martin Scorsese. Define a few one-liners, drag and drop fitting video footage from the extensive database, adjust timing where needed and you’re ready to publish.”
Quick steps for success:
- After writing your blog or article, highlight the text that should be included in the video. You can use this as a script.
- Lumen5 is a smart tool: it scans your blog and automatically suggests text and images to go in the video.
- Publish your video - Download or share online.
- Incorporate highlights into your existing text.
Lumen5 is not ideal for:
- How-to videos
- Long or informal videos
- Editing existing material
- Adding subtitles
Pros:
- User-friendly, quick to use
- No need for a detailed script
- Professional look & feel
- AI-powered: suggested images/texts (huge database)
- Very versatile: end result can be used for websites/social media/newsletters
- Even if you didn’t write the blog yourself, you can still make the video
Cons:
- Outro cannot be removed in the free version
- Sometimes grainy quality of stock images/video
Powtoon
Powtoon is a creative vehicle for making animated videos. It’s the perfect choice for creating simple instructional, informal videos, and it includes a set of ready-made templates to make the process easy and fun. You can use a template, a storyboard, or start from scratch to create your customized video.
"Powtoon is a powerful storytelling tool that allows me to translate text into animated video. It's user-friendly, fuels my creativity, and above all - it's fun. And so is the end result. In fact, one of our customers loved Powtoon so much, that they bought their own login and asked us to train them," says Laura De Rycke, Content Marketing Consultant.
It is a useful tool to:
- Animate an existing PowerPoint presentation
- Announce a new platform in an informal way
- Create simple instructional videos using ready-made templates
- Tell a story using characters and emotions
It is not recommended for:
- Formal videos or ‘serious’ customers
- Adding subtitles
- Editing existing material
Pros:
- Lots of possibilities to be creative
- Great for informal, light videos
- Insert video, images, music, etc.
- Templates are a great way to start
Cons:
- Limited set of emotions when you are working with the characters (angry, happy, sad)
- Labor-intensive & time-consuming (if you start from scratch)
- No ability to add subtitles
- Capability to add a voice-over (but not ideal timing)
Camtasia
If you’re at a more advanced level and want to make videos that really stand out, Camtasia is the choice for you. This all-in-one video editing and recording software allows you to edit and fully customize video and audio files to get the look and feel you want to deliver your message in a professional way. Though the learning curve is a bit steeper, Camtasia offers a host of interesting options designed to personalize your video and emphasize your message.
"I love working with Camtasia because it’s an all-in-one program for your video editing. From recording your screen with a simple click, to mixing and matching video, audio and subtitle files, Camtasia has everything in its toolbox to create the most comprehensive tutorials and inspiring how-to videos," says Simon Corveleyn, Content Marketing Consultant.
Camtasia is a versatile tool that enables you to:
- Edit video/audio files (e.g. about a new online platform or app)
- Make professional-looking instructional videos
- Combine your work with other tools, such as Powtoon
- Add subtitles
- Record yourself with a webcam or smartphone, or create a voice-over with Camtasia Recorder
Camtasia’s advanced features allow you to:
- Cut unnecessary pauses/load time
- Add annotations/arrows/highlights to draw attention to a certain area on the screen. You can also blur confidential info
- Time the elements (move them around)
- First edit video, then edit audio (creating separate tracks) import media or add voice-recording
- Add captions
Pros:
- Fully customizable (from recording to result)
- Professional look & feel
- One-stop-shop (including subtitles and audio)
- High definition videos (1080p)
- Perfect for how-to videos
- Camtasia how-to videos are also available
Cons:
- Steep learning curve (not for beginners)
- Labor-intensive & time-consuming
How can we help?
If you’re interested in providing a more visual aspect to your current content marketing strategy, get in touch with us. We can guide you in your quest to combine text and visuals to grab your customers’ attention and get your message across in a highly personal way.
We have set up a “video communicators” community on Microsoft Teams, where the experts can share and explain visual tips to the rest of us, increasing our learning curve and benefiting our customers. We are eager to learn what video tools you prefer and what video tips you have found beneficial for your content marketing strategy.
Enjoy a more interactive experience with your target base, a more engaging way to express your corporate vision, and explore new, more creative methods for establishing brand loyalty. Reach out today! The future of content marketing awaits.