Video can be a powerful tool to engage potential readers, connect with fans, and promote your books. Content Marketing Institute has tips for how to engage people through video, such as by being authentic and sharing stories, being interactive with polls and other things (if you’re doing a live stream), and playing with constraints.
The Book Designer has a number of great ideas for types of videos authors can make, including book trailers, behind-the-scenes videos, interviews, and book readings. Some of these types of videos could work well as a live stream event, which you can then have on your YouTube channel so people can watch later as well.
The way you create your video is determined by where you want to post your video. For example, for YouTube, you’ll want to film horizontally. But for Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, you’ll want to film vertically. Content Marketing Institute has more tips for Facebook videos, which include describing your video in about 300 characters and making sure to grab people’s attention within the first three seconds.
For authors, it can be helpful to have a YouTube channel. If you create content for other platforms, you may be able to repurpose them into longer videos for your YouTube channel. When building your channel, it’s helpful to keep in mind that YouTube works like a search engine, and SEO can help boost your rankings. Content Marketing Institute has tips on how to improve your SEO on YouTube, which includes paying attention to keywords, moderating comments on your videos, and using tags.
There’s a lot to consider when it comes to making video. Asking yourself some key questions before diving in can help you focus and create content that resonates the most with your readers, potential readers, and fans. Content Marketing Institute provides a list of questions to think about, such as figuring out your primary goal for the video, what you want people to do after watching your video, whether you want to have a script, and how interactive you want to make the experience.
Making videos can be a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. So go out there and experiment!
