If you’ve got ideas to share with the world, video is the best medium to leverage. A well-made clip can change people’s lives, and catalyze your own success to boot.
Of course, you need to know how to use video to your advantage, so here are some tips and suggestions to get you started.
1. Check out popular motivational videos to get inspiration
You don’t have to start entirely from scratch and try to work your way toward an effective approach to making motivational videos. It’s simpler to see what others are doing with this format and to take inspiration from their creations, as well as learn from their mistakes.
A quick search on YouTube will provide you with popular clips that have accrued millions of views, and by watching a few of these you’ll get a sense for what works, what doesn’t, and what kind of style you’d like to adopt for your own efforts.
2. Make use of stock resources
Another joy of the digital age is that you have access to vast libraries of video content that are available to use as part of your personal projects, adding a layer of professionalism to even the most amateur production.
For example, if you’re looking for looping videos to use in the background of your clips, you can get them on Videvo. There’s a vast array of stock footage that is high quality and free to harness as you see fit.
3. Get to grips with green screen technology
From video game streaming stars to news anchors and film actors, using a green screen is standard procedure in many parts of the media and entertainment sector today.
You can even set one up for your own videos, and this is a good idea because it gives you a clean background against which you can work all sorts of editing magic, such as overlaying yourself on the aforementioned looping stock videos.
With effective use of a green screen, you can transport yourself to another world, use juxtapositions to emphasize a point, and generally let your creativity run free.
4. Focus on your passions
Unless you’re passionate about the subjects you’re covering in your videos, it will be obvious to audiences that you are going through the motions or are less than committed to the views you’re expressing.
Your clips will be far more authentic, engaging, and shareable if they not only look good but are an unambiguous conduit for the things you hold most dear.
Don’t worry about whether or not there’s a large audience for your area of interest; the internet is the perfect place to find communities of people who are aligned with your passions.
5. Learn about the narrative power of video
There are lots of ways to tell a story with moving images, so you can weave together narratives through more than just the words you say.
Editing is a good example of this; the number of cuts you use can convey emotion in an unspoken way, and the way that each shot is organized on your timeline lets you make a point without having to spell it out.
The same goes for things like the use of music, as audio in particular has a huge impact on the tone of a video. Inspirational and uplifting soundtracks and effects are a tried and tested choice, but remember that there still needs to be light and shade, and you can’t just have the emotion cranked up to 11 from the first moment.
6. Give actionable advice
A problem that many motivational videos share is that they spend a long time building up to a weak payoff; one which is lacking in actual substantive suggestions for what viewers can do to make positive changes in their own lives.
You need to buck this trend if you want to connect with people in the right way. Give examples from your own life of how you’ve overcome everyday struggles, and viewers will value the actionable nature of your input.
7. Share your experience
Everyone has something to share and inspire. When it comes to creating motivational or inspirational videos, you don’t need to be a motivational speaker like Anthony Robbins, you can share your experience to spark an idea for others.
For example, you don’t need to be a math teacher to share a lesson about math. You can show your audience how you learn math or solve a particular math problem. You just need to be one chapter ahead and share what you’ve learned in school and life.
Another great way to create motivational videos to inspire others is by sharing what you have read in books or courses. People are curious to learn new stuff and improve their lives, and if you can summarize what you have read and put it into a short video, that will be interesting.
The Bottom Line
You can follow your own path to motivate others with stunning videos shared online, and it’s definitely helpful to stand out in the crowd if you want to build momentum. Overnight success is rare, so stick with it even if your clips don’t set the world alight immediately.