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When you only have a couple of moments to capture a potential customer’s attention, you’ll have the most success with video content. That is exactly why it has become digital marketing’s cornerstone as it can easily and effectively communicate complex messages and drive conversions.
However, it is not just enough to put raw footage in front of your audience; there is a lot of post-production work that has to go into it. Namely, cutting and editing. In the following pointers, we will share with you the best editing techniques every digital marketer should adapt and start applying as soon as possible.
Top 10 Video Editing Techniques Every Digital Marketer Should Know
1. Master the Art of Storytelling
Video content should pass on some form of information between the business and the viewer. If a story is involved in this, or better yet, the message it has to convey is wrapped into a genuine story, you have a winning combination right there. A video, just like a well-structured essay, has three main parts:
The Hook: Just as its name implies, it is meant to be the attention-grabbing first 5–10 seconds. You can use bold visuals, intriguing questions, or even a surprising fact, which will have the viewer stay away from scrolling further.
The Body: Once you have the viewer’s attention, you need to steer them towards the core message. Break down the content into easily digestible parts. Use cutaways to keep the audience engaged. When you are selling a product or service, it is always a good idea to show a demo of it. In this segment, you can switch between the presenter speaking and close-ups of the product in use. Editing tools like Movavi software make it easy to sequence clips and add transitions to your video content. This way, you are guaranteed to enhance the narrative flow, and the message at hand will be transmitted more easily and clearly.
The Conclusion: Return to the problem at hand and how the product has solved it. To seal the deal, incorporate a call to action, such as visiting your website, subscribing to one of your pages, or even making a purchase.
2. Trim Excess Footage While Maintaining Flow
Trimming your videos and cutting the raw footage is necessary, no matter how well-made the original raw footage is. Some people swear by using uncut, unedited videos, but that can only get you so far. Well-trimmed and impactful videos drive views and further actions from potential customers.
As that is what we are generally looking for. So that onlookers or viewers could become part of our sales funnel. The big three tips are the following: Cut out unnecessary pauses and remove filler words and sections that don’t add value. However, be careful not to over-trim, as that may disrupt the natural flow of the whole video itself.
Tips for Better Trimming:
Use jump cuts to speed up the flow without losing coherence.
Identify and rearrange the most impactful parts of the original footage to ensure they become the main focus point
Keep your videos as long as each platform’s standards demand it. You can upload longer formatted videos onto YouTube and shorter ones to either Instagram or X (formerly known as Twitter) or even Facebook.
3. Enhance Audio and Add Subtitles
It all indeed boils down to how good your visuals are in a video, but it can be a huge turn-off when the audio’s quality does not match it. Poor sound can distract or even deter viewers from continuing to consume your content. Take your time with the audio and seek perfection when recording the raw footage. Post-production audio editing is more than possible, but if the trouble with audio can be mended right away from the start, then by all means should try and accomplish that.
Audio Tips:
Make good use of noise reduction tools. They will greatly help with eliminating background hums, clicks, and echoes.
Balance audio levels. This will ensure that dialogue, music, and sound effects will complement each other instead of taking away attention from one another.
Adding subtle sound effects to emphasize actions or transitions can help with the video’s flow.
Subtitles and Captions:
Subtitles can immensely improve the video’s viewability. Not only will they make your videos accessible to a wider audience, but they will add a certain premium quality as well. Subtitles can also make your content more searchable when it comes to SEO.
4. Use Smooth Transitions for Professionalism
Properly done transitions are essential in creating a polished look for your videos. They serve as a guide for the viewers through the video. Simple cuts are great for fast-paced content; next-level and more intricate transitions like fades or wipes can add a professional touch to your videos.
Best Practices for Transitions:
Keep it Simple: Avoid overusing and stacking flashy effects on top of each other. They can distract from the message your content wants to convey to your viewers.
Match the mood: Each situation or how the story is paced out has to follow a certain flow. Slow fades are best used for emotional content, while quick cuts work really well with high-energy videos.
Segment Your Story: Transitions help you navigate between sections and topic shifts. They keep the flow of the whole video natural.
5. Apply Consistent Color Grading
Color grading is often overlooked but can prove to be a powerful technique to unify the visual tone of the video. Colour consistency can establish your brand’s identity and evoke specific emotions in viewers.
Techniques for Color Grading:
Use warm tones if your content has an overall cheerful and inspirational tone. Customer testimonials and success stories are perfect for this technique.
Cooler tones are the best suitable for modern and sleek visuals, such as tech product and service promotions.
Most importantly, you need to match the color palette to your brand’s style. It is advisable to follow through with the same consistency across your content library.
6. Incorporate Background Music Thoughtfully
It is not mandatory, but well-incorporated background music can elevate your video, enhancing emotional impact and, most crucially, keeping viewers engaged. Just don’t forget, as much as the earlier mentioned details, background music has to align with your brand and complement the video’s tone.
How to Use Music Effectively:
Use royalty-free tracks to avoid copyright issues.
Use upbeat music for promotional content or tutorial videos and softer melodies for heartfelt stories.
Adjust the music volume accordingly so it does not compete with the dialogue but complements it.
1. Optimize for Multiple Platforms
Every platform has its own unique requirements. There are certain pointers and standards that, if followed correctly, can lead you to more views. For example:
YouTube: The perfect platform for long-form videos. Optimal for detailed storytelling at high resolutions (16:9 aspect ratio). YouTube also offers short-form videos as well, in case you have videos available in 9:16 aspect ratio as well.
Instagram Reels or Stories: Short, vertical videos (9:16 aspect ratio) with bold visuals and quick call-to-actions.
LinkedIn: Meant for professional and informative videos with a conversational and thought-provoking tone.
2. Leverage Motion Graphics and Animations
Motion graphics and animations can add another layer of professionalism to your videos. You can best use them to:
Explain complex concepts visually, like data visualizations or step-by-step processes.
Highlight key points, such as product features or statistics.
Create animated CTAs to draw attention to specific actions.
It is key to keep animations subtle and ensure they align with your branding.
3. Analyze and Iterate
The fun really starts once your video is live. You’ll need to wait a bit to see how each of your videos performs, and if any pattern emerges, then that is the best to analyze fully. Look at:
View Duration: See when viewer numbers dip or when they climb the highest. That way, you’ll know how to pace your videos better or if your content length is optimal enough.
Engagement: How many likes, comments, or shares does the video receive? Not only that, but how do those engagements span out? Are they from followers or non-followers?
Conversion Rates: Is the video driving the intended action? If not, it is always a good idea to A/B test various aspects of your content.
Use these insights wisely to refine your editing techniques and create even more impactful videos in the future. The more data you can collect, the easier and more effectively you can apply your experience to your work to achieve better results.
Final Thoughts
Among all the skills and knowledge a digital marketer can possess, video editing is one of the most versatile ones they can call their own. With it, they and their work can stand out from the crowd. Your videos have a story to tell and an audience to find. Make sure you apply the earlier-mentioned pointers properly and fine-tune them to your own needs.
