How to Get Your Whole Team Making Videos

Your whole team should be making videos. Whether you want more tutorials and how-tos for your customers or replacements for those unnecessary meetings with colleagues, video can solve a whole slew of business problems.

But, if you’re like many businesses, you might only have one or two people in your whole organization who currently create video content (if you have any at all!). 

So, while you know you need more videos, no one wants to look in your already-overworked video editor’s eyes and tell her you need to double (or even triple) the current output of video content. 

But here’s the thing — you don’t have to be a video pro to create pro-quality videos. In fact, anyone can make great video content.

You just need to get more people on your team to get over their hesitation about making videos. And, while that may seem like a monumental task on its surface, the truth is — with a few resources — you can get your whole team making videos right now.

Why should your whole team be creating videos?

Your whole team should be making videos for two reasons: 

1. People prefer video compared to text alone, and video is one of the best ways to communicate with customers, colleagues, and just about anyone who needs to know what you know. 

2. Video is so valuable and has so many potential uses, that it would be impossible for one person on your team to take on all the video tasks at hand.

People prefer video

In our recent research Video Viewer Habits, Trends, And Statistics You Need to Know, we found that 55% of respondents reported viewing informational and instructional videos two or more times per week. That’s up 10% from 2016 and nearly double what it was in 2013. People actively seek out video when they need to learn. 

And, it’s usually a better customer experience. 

Recently, I bought a pair of selectable-weight dumbbells to add to my home gym. When I unpacked them, I found that they weren’t operating properly. I poured through the user manual to find a fix, but there was nothing there. 

Without really thinking about other options, I called tech support. (Yep, sometimes even someone constantly writing about video forgets to think about video first.)

Now, just about everyone in the nation is under some kind of lockdown and can’t get to the gym, so tons of people were calling at the same time. The call queue was jam packed.

I (embarrassingly) waited on hold for nearly an hour before I realized that others likely have had this same problem.

So I Googled it and voila: The first result was a video from the brand and it showed exactly how to fix the issue. It took three minutes to watch and about 20 seconds to fix. 

And, because I could watch what was happening, I saw exactly what to do. It wasn’t complicated, but it would have been difficult to describe over the phone. 

Now this is a win-win. I’m a happier customer and the video helped reduce the burden on their support staff by helping me help myself. 

People learn better with video

But video isn’t just important because customers prefer it. Our research on the Value of Visuals found that 67% of people actually learn better when presented with video or visual instructions vs. plain text. And, they don’t just learn better, they actually learn faster, and they perform better, too.

So, by creating video how-tos, tutorials, and other support content, your customers are more likely to better understand how to use your product or fix an issue they may have. 

And remember, this isn’t just for your customers. There are all kinds of uses internally, as well, including:

1. Employee training (both formal and informal).
2. Replacing unnecessary meetings.
3. Quick how-tos.
4. Presentations or share-outs.
5. Messages from management or senior staff.

In fact, the same Value of Visuals study found that companies who use more video and visual content in their internal communications can recover an average of $1,200 per employee per year in lost productivity.

So, there are all kinds of reasons why you should be making more videos. Unfortunately, some people have some outdated beliefs about creating video content.

Common misconceptions about making videos

Despite applications like Camtasia that can make video creation as easy as dragging and dropping media on a timeline, there are still a lot of misconceptions about making videos, including:

1. Video takes too long to create
2. It’s too costly
3. I don’t have the skills 
4. I’m too busy
5. I don’t have good enough equipment

These are all legitimate concerns — and under some circumstances, they’re true. If you’re trying to make Hollywood blockbuster movies, it’s going to take a long time, be expensive, and require professional skills and equipment. 

But guess what? For most business applications, including things like how-tos, tutorials, product showcases, explainer videos, etc., just about anyone can create professional-quality videos with little more than a good screen recorder/video editor, a low-cost microphone, a webcam, and a smart phone. In fact, if your video doesn’t need to include camera footage, you don’t even need the smart phone.

As far as the pro skills go, with Camtasia, you don’t need them. And, with the release of Camtasia 2020, it’s never been easier to create great-looking, engaging, and powerful videos — even if you’ve never created a video before.

Here’s how to get your whole team creating video

I can spend all day trying to tell you about how easy it can be to get your team to create video, but you’re probably saying to yourself something like, “Ok, buddy … that’s all well and good, but where’s the proof?”

Well, I’m glad you asked. Here are a few ways you can (with some help from Camtasia 2020) get your whole team creating videos quickly — no pro skills required. 

Make it easy

Even seasoned writers know the intimidation of staring at a blank page. For those who’ve never created a video, staring at a blank canvas can be even more intimidating. In fact, it can make us close the video editor, never to return.

Camtasia 2020 obliterates the blank-canvas scaries with templates you can share with your whole team. Now, instead of looking at a vast empty timeline, your team can create videos from intuitive and easy-to-use templates. Placeholders on the timeline tell them where to drop video clips, images, audio, and more. 

If you can drag and drop, you can make amazing videos with Camtasia 2020.

You can choose from Camtasia 2020’s library of pre-built templates or create your own and share them with your team.

And templates don’t just make it easier. Creating videos from templates greatly reduces the time it takes, as well. Making videos in Camtasia was always fast, but templates make it even faster.

So, templates are a game-changer. But don’t take my word for it. Ronan Kieran, IT Training Manager at Bosch had this to say: “Camtasia templates are probably the easiest way for your subject matter experts, support agents and management to gain fast access to video editing and become content creators themselves.”

Don’t make them think

For one-off quick internal videos, consistency isn’t a huge deal. But, for any videos meant to be shared outside your office — especially anything customer-facing — you want your videos to be consistent.

For new video creators, that can be daunting. If you don’t know how to create a basic video, how in the heck are you supposed to know how to make your video look like something that’s already been created?

Whether you’re a team of two, 20, or 200, Camtasia 2020 takes the guesswork out of creating consistent video content by allowing you to share the tools your colleagues need. 

Packages

Graphic designers have long had the ability to package up all the assets, fonts, colors, etc. from what they’re creating and share it with others. Camtasia 2020 brings that ability to video creation. Now you can share templates, asset libraries, themes, shortcuts, favorites, and presets in a single file. 

Just package up the pieces you want to share and Camtasia does the rest. Send it along to whomever needs it and Camtasia automatically imports the pieces for them and puts everything exactly where it’s supposed to be. 

No more guessing at hex codes or wondering if you have the most recent template variation. A few clicks and your team is ready to go.

Themes

Colors, fonts, specific callout types — these are all part of brand consistency and can help ensure your videos look and feel the same, no matter who created them. In the not too distant past, you had to manually share color hex codes or RGB values, font guidelines, etc. 

Camtasia 2020’s new themes means no one on your team will ever again have to wonder if they’re using the right color, font, callout, or other brand asset. 

Simply create your theme and share it with your team. They can import it directly into Camtasia and it’s ready to use.

Need more than one theme for different products, departments, divisions, etc.? That’s no problem. Create and share as many themes as you need. Camtasia 2020 allows anyone with the themes to instantly apply them as needed. 

Favorites

No more hunting for your most-used callouts, transitions, or other tools and effects. Camtasia 2020 allows you to add them to your list of favorites for instant-access across all your video projects. 

Provide resources

Even the most resourceful video creator can use a little more help, training, inspiration, assets, and other resources. Here are some great ones you can share with your team right now.

Camtasia Assets

TechSmith Assets for Camtasia is a huge library of stock photos, graphics, audio clips, video and video clips you and your team can use to help give your videos a little more pizazz. Camtasia 2020 includes a limited number of free assets, but a subscription provides access to more than 900,000. And, you can use the assets royalty-free in any Camtasia project and in projects made with other applications, as well.

TechSmith Academy

TechSmith Academy is a totally free hub chock full of tutorials, interviews with experts, how-tos, and more for learning all about creating professional-quality videos. From the basics to more advanced techniques, it’s all here. Did I mention it’s totally free?

Camtasia tutorials

Camtasia is easy enough that anyone can start creating videos almost immediately. But, like any software, the more you know, the better you’ll be. We have a huge library of tutorials available to help anyone become a Camtasia expert.

Camtasia certification

When purchased with a subscription to Maintenance, Camtasia 2020 offers a full certification program. Your team members can learn at their own pace or do it all in once. Either way, when they’re done, they’re a certified user of Camtasia.

TechSmith Snagit

Camtasia is a powerful screen recorder and video editor, but what do you do if your video needs screenshots? Sure, your computer’s operating system comes with the ability to take a screenshot, but Snagit is so much more than that. Capture all or part of your screen and then use Snagit’s wide array of callouts, arrows, and other tools to make your image informative, explanatory, and helpful. 

When it comes to creating outstanding tutorial, how-to, educational, and/or customer education content, Camtasia and Snagit are the ultimate power couple. Oh, and you can get a special price if you buy them in a bundle!

TechSmith Video Review

Just like any content, videos need to be reviewed, edited, and approved before being released for public consumption. It can be a cumbersome and time-consuming process — that is, unless you have TechSmith Video Review. Video Review allows you and your team to upload videos and collaboratively provide feedback. Reviewers can make comments or suggestions at specific spots in the video and even draw on frames to clearly demonstrate their point. Video Review helps you get your video out the door in less time than you might think possible. 

TechSmith Audiate

I feel like I could write about 10,000 words on how cool TechSmith Audiate is. As if video editing wasn’t daunting enough, many (if not most) videos you create are going to need a voiceover. 

So, now you have to be a video editor AND an audio editor? 

You can record and edit voiceovers right in Camtasia. Seasoned audio editors will have no problem with that, and even those who are new to it will get the hang of it pretty quickly.

But Audiate takes voiceover recording and editing to an entirely different level by transcribing your voice in real time — as you record. Then, you can literally edit your audio just like you would edit text in a document. So, rather than staring at a wave form and trying to figure out exactly what you said and where, you can see it right on your screen. 

Oh, and Audiate automatically flags all your “ums,” “uhs,” and other hesitations so you can easily find and delete them. You can even delete them all at once. 

Already have a voice over recorded? Import it into Audiate and it will transcribe it for you.

When you’re done, save audio file and import it into Camtasia. You can even export the edited text as a transcript or as an SRT file for captions.

I could go on and on, but suffice it to say, TechSmith Audiate will transform the way you record and edit voiceover audio. 

TechSmith blog

We publish a ton of content on how to best use video and visuals to better engage customers, colleagues, and others. 

Here are 10 of our most recent ones to get you started:

1. The Ultimate Guide to Easily Make Instructional Videos
2. Video Statistics, Habits, and Trends You Need to Know
3. How to Make a Video Template in Three Easy Steps
4. Why People Stop Watching Your Videos (And How to Avoid It)
5. How to Record a Presentation (With Webcam, Narration, and More)
6. Video Length: How Long Should Your Instructional Videos Be? (New Data)
7. YouTube Thumbnails Sizes and Best Practices
8. How to Record a Webinar
9. How to Make Great Training Videos
10. How to Make a YouTube Video

Other graphics applications

While Snagit is a great image editor in its own right, sometimes you might have other graphics needs. At TechSmith, we use Canva for a lot of our blog and social media graphics. It’s super-easy to use and has some great functionality for sharing graphics in teams, as well. 

Another option is Venngage, which is lesser-known, but includes similar features.

Help them remember they’re not on their own

Getting your team on board with creating video isn’t just about providing tangible software and resources. You need to give them the support they need, as well.

I’m not here to tell you how to manage your team, but anytime someone learns a new skill to apply to their job, they may need a check-in or two to see how they’re doing. Make sure they feel supported from the top down. Help them understand that no one expects perfection from the get-go. 

Ask them what they need to be successful and listen to their suggestions and concerns. 

Remember, it’s not just about hitting deadlines. Ensure every member of your team feels engaged with the content they’re creating, understands the reasons behind why video content is so important, and where to go for help when they need it.

It’s easy to get your whole team making videos

You need more video content, but some or all of your team members may be hesitant to take the leap into video creation. Creating great video content doesn’t have to be scary or hard. With the right tools, the right resources, and the right support, getting your team on board making video is easy.

And, best of all, you’ll have happier customers, better communication, and better content.