Whether you’ve been making videos for your company for years or you’re just getting started, creating goals will be a very important waypoint on your quest for success. Like every other aspect of your marketing strategy, having clearly defined video goals from the start will help you in every step of the process. 

In this post, we’ll examine the process of setting goals for your video marketing. This will include looking at the various stages of the customer journey, along with using the SMART goals framework to set yourself up for success.

Customer Journey

The customer journey — sometimes referred to as the buyer’s journey — is the path to purchase, and there are three stages: awareness, consideration, and decision. In marketing, you want to make sure your videos help with one of these three stages or goals in the customer journey. When you’re considering making a video or video series, it’s important to understand which of these three stages your video will fit into.  

Awareness

The awareness stage is the part of the journey where potential customers realize they have a problem that requires a solution. This makes this cohort of potential customers very wide since they may not even know they need your product or service specifically. These viewers would be at the very beginning stages of research, attempting to gain as much information as possible to solve their problem. Videos in this stage should be highly informational and educational. Videos that introduce potential customers to your brand will also fit nicely into this stage.

Consideration

The consideration stage is when viewers are, as you may have guessed, considering your product or service. These viewers are going to be noticeably more interested in what your company can provide them. Since viewers in this stage have a better understanding of what they’re looking for and how they may fix it, you’ll want to provide more detailed content to address their needs. Videos like product reviews, platform overviews, or perhaps webinars will provide the information they seek. 

Decision

The decision stage is the last stage before a purchase is made. This is when you’ll want to use video as a way of showing customer satisfaction. Customer testimonials or video case studies are a great way to show potential customers how your product or service will benefit them over your competitors.

Retention

The retention stage is a bonus stage after a customer has converted. Videos that benefit retention are ones that will help your customers along the way as they use your product or service. This may be content that keeps them informed about product updates, live streams further explaining the platform, or any number of other ideas to keep your customers engaged. 

For a more in-depth rundown of what types of videos work best in each stage, explore our breakdown of each of these stages in our post, ‘The Four Specific Types of Video You Need in Your Inbound Marketing Funnel.’

Understanding which stage you’re trying to address in your video is the first step to creating great goals for your video marketing efforts. Below, we’ll explore how to use SMART goals to take your video planning a step further. 

SMART Video Goals

One of the most well-known goal-setting techniques is the acronym SMART. Since its creation back in the 1980s, this method of goal setting has been used by businesses and individuals alike for any number of scenarios. Some of the letters have changed slightly over the years but the most used grouping is as follows: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-related. These five points will lead you to create goals that help keep your videos on the right path to reaching your viewers at the proper stage in their journey. Below, we’ll cover each of these points in more detail and give examples of how each can apply to your videos. 

Specific

The first part of setting up your goal is to have a specific objective. Far too many times, businesses make videos for the sake of making videos. It’s important to evaluate why you’re making that video and what, specifically, it is meant for. 

Instead of saying, “We need to make a video”, you should say, “We need to make an engaging video to introduce our brand new feature to our target audience.” The more specific the goal, the easier it will be to determine the success of the video.  

Measurable

Once you have the ‘S’ locked in, it’s time to shift to quantifying your video goals. Adding some sort of measurable element to your goal will make it easier to track its progress and effectiveness. For example, do you want your audience to sign up for a newsletter or free trial? If so, how many subscribers would you like to add? Taking these ways of measuring into account will be a great way to gauge the success of your video.

Achievable

Now that you’re thinking of a quantifiable goal, it’s important to keep yourself and your team grounded by ensuring that whatever you choose to do is achievable. It can be fun to dream of your video going viral and attracting hundreds of thousands of eyeballs and garnering more subscribers than you could ever imagine, but that’s not realistic. You also don’t want to sell yourself short and choose a goal that is so small that it isn’t even a challenge. Instead, use past data, the information you have from similar campaigns, and industry standards to determine a goal that hits right in the sweet spot of achievable. 

The other side of setting an achievable goal is understanding your constraints. Similar to dreaming of your video going viral, if you imagine the video you’re making will be a blockbuster-movie-level endeavor but you only have the budget to film with your smartphone, you’ll likely end up feeling pretty disappointed. Consider all these factors right from the start: Budget, labor, gear, time, and so on.

Relevant 

The relevant aspect of your goal relates to the content itself. Is the idea you’re trying to pitch going to be pertinent to your audience? This can be difficult because, with video, there are so many creative ways you can present your message. You can use emotion, aesthetically pleasing elements, metaphors, and more to try to get your message across.

The main thing to remember is that you’re making this video to get your viewers to take some sort of action, so the video has to focus on what resonates with them, not just what excites the creator. Do you really need all the flashy special effects, or to rent a castle for your shoot location? In some cases, yes … absolutely it will help get your message across, but be sure to assess this on a case-by-case basis to keep it relevant to your overall goal. 

Time-Related

Last but not least, give yourself a due date. This may sound like a no-brainer goal, but a lot of times this important aspect is overlooked because it’s so simple. For video projects, there are two due dates: creating the video, and connecting the measurable results of your video to a timeframe.  

In terms of video creation, you’ll need to do your best to assess the bandwidth of your team if you’re producing it in-house. For example, if your team is small and juggling many different tasks, it will be unrealistic to imagine they can create a final video in 48 hours. On the other hand, if you have a 10-person crew dedicated to the task, that deadline might be more reasonable.

Since videos can technically live on the internet forever, it’s especially important to decide on a timeframe for when you hope to achieve your measurable result. This is a good way to set expectations for how your campaign will perform. Revisiting our newsletter sign-up example, it would be unrealistic to expect 10,000 signups from a video campaign on the first day. However, 10,000 signups over the course of six months, based on past performance, might be a more realistic timeframe.

Video Goal Example

Our overarching goal is to increase awareness and attract new customers. We’re going to do this with a video series that teaches our viewers how to create better video content. We hope to increase our newsletter signups by 15% over the next year. Lastly, each video we produce will be planned, scripted, recorded, and edited over two weeks in accordance with our larger editorial calendar. 

With this framework, you’ll be in an excellent position to create highly targeted, achievable goals for your videos as they pertain to your larger marketing strategy. The best part about SMART goals is you can use them for any goals in your organization, which will keep everyone on track and moving in the right direction.

The post Setting Goals for Video Marketing appeared first on SproutVideo.

During the height of the pandemic, we saw an astronomical rise in video marketing across the board. Brands produced more video than ever before, and consumers’ viewing habits were at an all-time high. However, as things begin to shift toward what was considered normal before the pandemic, some big questions remain about what will happen to the video boom.

How important is video going to be moving forward? Will platforms still prioritize video? Is short-form content going to stick around? In this post, we’ll address some of these questions and more as we take a look at what companies can expect from video for the rest of the year and beyond. 

Video is the Main Character

Video is one of the best mediums for conveying messages of all kinds. For companies, it is valuable because it keeps people engaged, helps deliver complex messages, and is an easy way to promote products and services. For consumers, video is helpful, quick, accessible, and simple to engage with. In fact, 72% of customers prefer to learn about a product or service by watching a video according to Hubspot.

During the pandemic, those of us staying home saw just how vital video could be as a means of connection. And as video connects families and friends, it also connects companies to consumers. That connection certainly isn’t going to vanish overnight. Companies that want to stay top of mind will have to create even more high-quality video than ever before, which sounds like a daunting task for many businesses. Luckily, there are so many ways to create video content, making it the best time to embrace this new shift. 

Emphasis on Video Everywhere

Back in the day, a lot of video production was for TV commercials or strictly for posting on YouTube. Top-tier companies paid lavish amounts to create these highly produced and very polished professional videos. While this still happens, and for good reason, there is an endless amount of new places to post content, a desire for different levels of quality, and an appetite from the consumer for a wider variety of content. 

You can now post videos virtually anywhere on an extremely wide variety of platforms. Whether that’s on social media platforms, or hosting on-demand or live videos on your company website (which we’ll cover below).  

More Hybrid Events

Many brands were forced to switch to virtual events last year. While many will be returning to in-person events, the skills those companies learned can still be useful in making future events more accessible. In other words, if you have the ability to add a virtual aspect to your events, you should continue doing so. 

This not only will allow you to create more content, but also let folks who can’t physically attend continue to participate in your events. If you need a place to start, explore our guide to paid virtual events here.  

Short-Form Content Is Here to Stay

At the beginning of 2020, TikTok made waves in the social media space as a video-only platform featuring content that is 15 – 60 seconds long. The pandemic fueled its growth, hitting milestones far faster than any other social platform. It attracted kids, adults, and businesses to the platform, and highlighted the benefits of short-form content. 

Fast forward to today, and many of the mainstream platforms have adopted features similar to TikTok. Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts were made to directly compete with TikTok’s rising popularity. Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, even went as far as to say Instagram is no longer a photo-sharing app and added an emphasis on video content and creators. Clearly, the impact of short-form media is going to be huge moving forward.

Good news for brands: this is just another opportunity to distribute information in a new fashion. If you have a large library of material you already have a comprehensive content bank you can pull from. You can recut videos to fit the parameters of short-form content, or create new short videos from some of your other pre-existing content. To make the most out of your content, explore our guide on producing multiple assets from a single video.

Hosting Your Video Content

With so many videos being created every day, video hosting is a major consideration for many companies as they continue to build out their own video marketing programs. Of course, social videos will live on your social platforms. But for bigger projects—non-public content, videos that need to be privately shared, and placing videos on your website—it is worthwhile to look into a professional solution.

Many folks turn to YouTube for all their video hosting needs, which is great in its own right. But for more control over your videos, you’ll likely need to host elsewhere. Customizable players, video marketing tools, security features, and much more can typically be found with many of the top professional hosting services.

The same process applies to live content. Social platforms are great for going live, but certain topics and events will need to be hosted in a more secure environment. For example, while a live stream Q&A could work great for your audience on Facebook, if you’re having a town hall event, you likely won’t want to host that so publicly. Pandemic or no pandemic, having a grasp on how you host your videos natively will be essential. 

There is a good chance these shifts in the video marketing world would have happened sooner rather than later; the pandemic just pushed those timeframes into overdrive. Furthermore, now is the best time to go full force into video creation to help elevate your business. For more tips and tricks for everything video, be sure to sign up for our newsletter with the form below.

The post 2021 Video Marketing Refresh appeared first on SproutVideo.

Why Use a Smartphone for Video?

There is a well-known saying in the video creation world: the best camera is the one you have on you. At any point in time, usually, that camera is the smartphone you have in your pocket. While most videographers would opt to use a high-quality camera or camcorder, there are a few reasons that a smartphone might lend itself as the better option. 

The two main reasons are convenience and cost. In terms of convenience, most people, if not all, already have their smartphones on them 24/7. A smartphone and video accessory kit—an optional but recommended upgrade—will be lighter and easier to transport when doing a video shoot. When it comes to cost, it is essentially free to use your smartphone, since buying professional gear can be quite the investment, especially if you’re just starting out. Using your smartphone is a great way to get your feet wet without investing thousands of dollars at the start of your video journey. 

Smartphone Limitations

Using your smartphone as-is will result in good video content. However, with some upgrades, you can turn good video into great video. First, it’s important to understand the limitations associated with working with just a phone. Optics, audio, form factor, and interface are the four categories we’ll cover. In each of these categories, a professional camera will outperform a phone, which is where these upgrades and accessories level the playing field. With a mix of software and phone-specific hardware, you can level up your phone to the best of its ability and improve your overall experience. We’ll outline each of these areas and solutions you can implement below. 

1. The Phone Camera Itself

The first limitation to address is the actual camera module on a smartphone. The highest-end smartphones come with one to three different back cameras, all with varying apertures, focal lengths, and sensor sizes. The quality of these cameras tends to vary, not to mention the front-facing cameras which are lower quality than the ones on the back. While these cameras may work for what you’re shooting, you could miss out on the ability to change up lenses, which can help with artistic choices throughout your shoot. 

To avoid this problem, many companies over the years have created smartphone-specific lenses you can use with your phone to improve its optics. These are available for purchase in varying focal lengths and styles, which can add a lot of interest to your shots creatively. 

Moment Lenses offer some of the best phone lenses on the market today. With options like the Tele 58mm, Wide 16mm, or even the various anamorphic lenses, you’ll be sure to find something that works for your project. They even make mounts for ND filters that are a great option so you don’t have to sacrifice other settings on very bright days. 

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2. Improving Recorded Audio

Audio recording is one of the most important aspects of video production, and while phones can certainly get the job done, the audio quality can leave a bit to be desired. Smartphone microphones themselves are fine in certain situations like phone calls and picking up any sounds directly in front of them, but unfortunately, they’re not ideal when you’re trying to isolate specific sounds. The lack of directionality is going to cause your phone to pick up just about every sound in the general area, which is rarely what you want for your video.

An easy solution for this is to pick up an on-camera shotgun mic for your phone. These small but mighty mics make a big difference since they are specifically made to isolate sound from the direction you’re shooting and cancel out other noises. These can range drastically in price, but just about anything will take your mobile filmmaking up a notch. 

We recommend Rode’s line of mobile-focused microphones to start. They have various options that plug directly into a headphone jack (if your phone still has one), lightning port for Apple users, or USB-C for Android users. Rode also has mobile lav mic options with multiple inputs if you’re planning on filming a two-person interview or something similar.  

3. Creating a Phone Rig

People tend to overlook the size and weight of their filmmaking rig, and since smartphones are small and lightweight, you will likely want more weight and control of your gear to film for a more professional effect. There is a reason you see cages, steady cams, shoulder mounts, and fancy gimbal systems everywhere on professional video shoots. It gives you an immense amount of control you can’t get wielding a camera with your hand. The smaller the phone is, the less control you have, so it will be pretty tough to move with precise control. 

Just like with the first two points, there have been huge developments to turn phone counterparts into industry-standard tools. The two options we’d suggest would be a phone cage and accessories or a gimbal.

The SmallRig Video Rig Kit comes with a cage to secure your phone, three handles, and several 3/4ths and cold shoe mounts that you can attach lights, a tripod, or even microphones to. These handles—one on top and two on the sides—will allow you to handle your phone like you would a professional camera for much more stable, intentional shots.

For ultra-smooth shots, you’ll want to use a gimbal. The DJI OM 4 is one of the best ones available at the moment. It uses a 3-axis system to create flawlessly smooth shots without any shaking, and for extra stability, you can attach this system to a tripod.  

4. Which App to Use

While the standard smartphone camera app allows you to change exposure and film resolution, there are usually very limited settings. If you’ve ever used a DSLR, mirrorless camera, or camcorder to record video, you’re probably aware of the various settings that are required to get the best footage. Frame rate, focus, exposure, white balance, and color profiles are just a few of the settings you might miss out on if you use the built-in camera app. 

That’s where the Filmic Pro app comes in. Their developers realized that all the essential settings are vital for peak performance and created this app that allows you to change those settings directly on your phone. Almost every setting you can think of—from shooting in LOG to checking focus peaking—is available when using the Filmic Pro app.

When combining these four tools, you can take full advantage of the power of your smartphone. Whether you’re just getting into video marketing or a veteran in the field, these options are going to be a valuable addition to your overall video production kit. 

Once you’ve created some quality video content with your new smartphone rig, you’ll want to pair it with the proper video marketing tools. Here at SproutVideo, we provide premium video hosting that comes with a whole host of powerful marketing tools to take your video marketing efforts to the next level. Try us free for 30-days to see for yourself.

The post Four Steps to Turn Your Smartphone Into a Camcorder appeared first on SproutVideo.

With so many new social media platforms popping up left and right, it can be tough to determine the best place to post your videos, or whether to post them at all. Not all platforms are equal when it comes to video, but with video becoming an enormous aspect of the social space, it’s more important than ever to get it right. 

In this post, we’ll go over why creating videos for social is important, and give some examples of what to post and where.

Importance of Video

Throughout the last two decades, video has taken the spotlight as one of the best ways to grow your brand. Companies big and small have heavily invested in video to utilize a number of its benefits. This includes lead generation, SEO, storytelling, product and service explanations, and more. Not to mention that consumers simply love video; for example, 68% of consumers prefer to watch videos to learn about new products and services over articles. Needless to say, video is going to be a huge asset for your brand, and the same goes for videos on social media. 

Videos on Social Media

Over the last several years, social media has cemented itself as an important aspect of marketing. More recently, there has been a huge shift in favor of video as the format of choice. We’ve seen this across the board from long-standing social media giants like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and even Linkedin, while newcomers like TikTok have hit the ground running, focusing entirely on video content. So the big question to ask yourself at this point is: should my company invest in video for social media? The short answer is: yes, absolutely. The long answer: also yes, but with a few caveats. 

Benefits of Posting on Social

Many of the same benefits you gain from producing normal video content bleed over into the benefits you gain when posting on social media. Additionally, there are a few extra benefits with posting to social sites, like more exposure, appealing to younger audiences, increased sales, the ability to convey your company’s personality, and much more. For an in-depth look at these benefits, check out this article from Later Media. 

Social Video Expectations

Every type of business has the opportunity to create great videos across multiple platforms. However, it’s important to note that the type of video content you should share will vary depending on a number of factors, such as your industry, your goals, and the resources that are available to you.

Videos created for a B2C (business-to-consumer) clothing company will likely look quite different than videos for a SaaS B2B (business-to-business) company. Videos for brand building may convey your brand story, while ones that are created to drive conversions will have more overt sales messaging in them. Furthermore, if your company has a large budget and production team, the quality and quantity of those videos are going to be a lot different than those produced by a small business with a few employees. 

For the highest chance of success, be sure to evaluate your unique situation and set realistic goals and expectations around what you want to achieve with your videos on social. 

Types of Videos To Create

While each business has different goals and objectives, there are a few types of videos that work best across the board, especially when getting started.

How-To Videos

How-to or educational content is one of the cornerstones of the video marketing world. Providing your audience with valuable information is a powerful way to position yourself as a thought leader in any industry, and these work especially well on social media since many users are craving helpful information in a quick, digestible format. 

Customer Testimonials

One of the best ways to promote your business is by having someone else sing your praises, and this is where customer testimonials come into play. These types of videos are great because they add a very human touch to your social video efforts. Having a customer explain on video how your product or service helped improve their business is a very effective way to build trust with your audience.

Product Videos

Creating product videos is an absolute must. Because your product is the star of your business, it deserves to be highlighted on a regular basis. These types of videos can explain your product, showcase new features, or simply show off your product in a simple, visually appealing way.  These videos can also be highly beneficial if your product or service is a bit more complex, since conveying your message through video on social makes it easy for potential customers to absorb the information.

Which Platforms Should You Post On?

Where you post will depend on the bandwidth of your creative team. In the most ideal situation, you would craft several videos, each specific for the type of platform you are posting to. While Facebook and Twitter generally work well for all types of content, you can also position Linkedin videos specifically toward a business audience. On the other hand, Instagram and TikTok videos are more ideal for short, visually impactful content or behind-the-scenes content.  

However, it is common for businesses to lack the bandwidth to create a large variety of content. In this case, the best solution is to plan to make great content that can live on various platforms. This typically involves cropping or editing the video, which requires some effort, but far less than creating several different types of content on a regular basis. For a full guide on planning video shoots to accommodate different social platforms, check out our Shooting for Social How To Video.

Experiment On New Platforms

We also strongly encourage experimentation. The best part of having so many different platforms is the ability to cast a wide net for your target audience. While there might be some overlap, there is a good chance each social platform will have its own separate audience.. 

If you have the bandwidth, try posting on TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and any other new social media sites that crop up. Be sure to adjust your content to fit the overall vibe of the social platform, and commit to a consistent test period. The best-case scenario is to reach a new audience and grow your community of customers or fans. If your efforts don’t pan out as expected, you’ll at least know you gave it your best shot and tried something new.

We hope these ideas will help you maximize the value of your investment in social video. If you have any other ideas about unexpected ways to leverage your video content on different social platforms, share in the comments below!

The post The Importance of Sharing Videos on Social appeared first on SproutVideo.

This post will walk you through the steps needed to take some stock clips you find on the internet and turn them into a marketing masterpiece.  

The process we’re outlining below is the same process we used in our most recent video revolving around the 4th of July. You can watch that video below.

What is Stock Footage?

Stock footage, also referred to as stock video or B-roll, is a piece of video content that you typically use in conjunction with your main footage in larger video production. You can find these on websites for free or for sale, which we’ll cover later on. 

This video content could be outtake footage, extra footage, or various other types of generic footage that creators have uploaded to various stock sites. In addition, many creators are now purposely creating generic footage to upload for the purpose of selling. Because of their nature, it becomes easier for filmmakers to find these clips and incorporate them into their projects. 

Typically, you would use clips to fill in gaps when you don’t have actual footage to connect the pieces of your story. In our case, we wanted to challenge ourselves by only using stock footage for the whole piece. This is a great option for anyone who wants to create videos, but may not have the time or resources to shoot it all themselves.

Ideation of Your Video

Just like with any video, it all begins by brainstorming a concept. This is even more important when working with only stock footage since you’ll have to take into account the potential limitations of finding clips that work for the video you’re creating. For example, with our video above, we wanted to reinforce the idea of enjoying your holiday weekend — a simple concept, but one that can be accomplished quickly and will keep viewers interested.  

Once you have your idea, you’ll need to flesh out some of the finer details. Will you need graphic treatments, overlays, titles, or a voiceover? Early in the creation process is the best time to sort out which elements you’ll need to make your video complete. 

At this time, you may also want to outline or write out a script. Once your ideas are organized, it’ll make searching for clips that fit your narrative much easier. 

Where to Find Stock Footage

When it comes to finding quality stock footage, there are two different routes you can take: paid or free. Each has its pros and cons which we’ll outline below. 

Free Stock Footage

The main benefit of free stock footage is that it costs nothing. Videographers submit their work to various free stock sites as a way of getting their name out there, and you get to use their videos completely free of charge. 

Years ago, much of the free stock footage libraries had few options with low quality. In more recent years, however, a lot of the footage you find may feel more natural or conceptual, giving you more unique options for your project. Of course, you’re bound to find extremely “stocky” footage no matter where you look. 

Our top three free stock video sites include: Pixabay, Pexels, and Videvo.

Paid Stock Footage

Paid footage doesn’t necessarily mean the quality will be better but, in a lot of cases, it might be. You’ll most likely find more polished content and a wider variety of options than you would with free options. Plus, since the individual videographers are incentivized to upload, their libraries may be larger, giving you more options for a cohesive look when picking footage. One thing is for sure: with paid stock sites, you’re much more likely to find higher-resolution options relative to free sites. 

When it comes to paying for the footage, there are typically two different avenues you can go: pay per video, or subscription-based. If you’re doing a one-off project, paying per video clip may be the way to go. Be sure to double-check the usage rights, which will vary depending on your intended use. Additionally, prices may vary depending on the video quality of the footage you’re downloading. 

When it comes to subscription-based sites, you typically would pay a yearly or monthly fee that gives you access to downloading a certain amount of videos per month. This usually offers different price tiers for different video quality, but may be a good cost-effective solution for those using a lot of stock footage. 

Some of our favorite paid stock sites include: Shutterstock, Storyblocks, and Dissolve.

How to Search for Stock Footage

To put it bluntly, there is a lot of bad stock footage out there. And when we say bad, we mean it’s too … stocky. The footage you want to find has to be unique enough and high quality enough that those who see your videos second guess if it’s a stock clip or not. So for that reason, searching for high-quality footage that works for your project may be a time-consuming process. 

Luckily, if you already created an outline for your video, you’ll already have the specifics in mind to search in an efficient manner. Follow these tips to make this process a bit quicker.

1. Be Very Specific

If you search generic terms like “office” or “video”, you’ll get generic results. Try making your search as specific as possible. You’ll get fewer results but, ideally, they will be more in line with your vision. 

2. Utilize Common Associations

While you can find a lot of different types of content on stock video sites, you’re bound to run into an idea that you can’t quite find the correct clip for. When this happens, you can pivot and search clips that represent the idea you’re trying to get across. For example, if you want a clip that represents love, you could use a clip of two people kissing. Viewers are very good at making connections through imagery. 

3. Use All of the Filters

Many of the stock sites we mentioned above have filters you can implement to narrow your search. Use as many as applicable. Similar to being very specific in your search, using filters will give you fewer results, but they will be much more in line with your project outline. 

4. Explore Clips from the Same Creator

Depending on your project, it may be useful to find more clips from the same creator. Typically, when someone is uploading stock footage to one of these sites, they’ll have a whole series of clips from the same shoot or scene, covering different angles, setups, or takes. If your goal is to have a cohesive video, utilizing clips from the same filmmaker will help create that illusion. 

5. Try it Out

When in doubt, download the clip and try it in your edit. While some clips will give you an immediate sense that they will work in your sequence, other clips may be a bit more difficult to judge. Whether you’re searching free or paid sites,  it’s easy to download and test as many clips as you need. For our video above, we downloaded over 30 clips and used the best 14.

Putting It All Together

At this point, you’ll have your idea, outline, and stock footage ready to come together into a final product. You’ll most likely need to do some trial and error to find out exactly what works best for your final edit. Additionally, you’ll absolutely need a great soundtrack to help bring your project together. For tips on finding the right song for your video, explore our post on finding music. 

Creating a video with just stock footage can be a challenging task, but it certainly isn’t impossible. With proper planning and an effective search method, you’ll be able to create a cohesive story that will hopefully have your audience second-guessing who actually shot these clips. Let us know in the comments below what tips you have for finding great stock footage.

The post Best Practices for Creating a Video Using Stock Footage appeared first on SproutVideo.

We’ll be looking specifically at lead capture, video SEO, calls-to-action, and social sharing in this post. You’ll gain insight into how these features work, and the types of content that will make the most of them.

First, check out this recording of our live stream with Lemonlight, then keep reading for a more in-depth look at each topic.  

Lead Capture

Lead capture, or gating a video, is our first feature. This is a contact form that appears before your video and prompts the viewer to input their name and email before they can view the content. Simply put, it’s an exchange of information for access to the video. 

This is great for capturing leads and growing contact lists. SproutVideo offers plenty of integrations with various marketing software platforms, like HubSpot or AWeber. With these integrations, you can maximize these leads and use them in various ways, like email campaigns, for example. 

Best Content: High-Value Videos

While it may seem enticing to gate all of your content, you’re much better off saving this feature for your highest-value content. This includes — but is not limited to — educational content, recorded speaking engagements, thought-leadership videos, interviews, Q&As, and more.

Typically, this type of video will be on the longer side … somewhere between five minutes to an hour, depending on the subject. This works best because viewers will see the video’s value and won’t mind putting in their information to see it. 

Playback Call-to-Action (CTA)

This tool is a short message that pops up at a specific time in your video to catch viewers at just the right moment. It typically contains a link to content the video is referencing. Clean design helps keep the emphasis on your message without distracting from your video.

Similarly to lead capture, all the analytics from this feature can be found in your SproutVideo account and can be sent to your marketing automation software of choice. This insight will give you a better look at how your audience is engaging with your content. 

Best Content: Product Videos/Special Offers

We recommend pairing this feature with a video that promotes either a product or service. If your goal is to promote your product, a CTA pop-up is ideal if you’re looking to prompt viewers to take action. Since the link can lead to any site you want, you would ideally use it to send people to a product page, landing page, or a link to receive a discount. 

Additionally, these work really well for explainer videos. Because they include a breakdown of your business or an explanation of your services, your CTA could link to a page that further introduces your audience to your business or an opportunity to schedule an appointment with your team. 

Post-Play Call-to-Action

Lead capture prompts action before your video, a playback CTA can get your viewer’s attention during, and a post-play call-to-action rounds things out with an end card message you can enable to appear when your content is finished.

This feature provides a space for you to write a message and include a link to a new destination, similar to a playback CTA, and is ideal for continuing the conversation with your most engaged audience members who made it to the end of your video or live stream.

Best Content: All Videos

While this may seem like a cop-out, we do strongly recommend adding a post-play CTA to all videos because there are essentially no negative outcomes from adding this feature. Prompting your most engaged viewers to view a landing page, continue exploring your content, or check out a product is an easy way to keep the momentum going. 

Video Sitemap/SEO

A sitemap is a file that can be easily interpreted by search engines’ automated crawling bots, helping them determine the theme and content of your website. Sitemaps ensure all your content is scanned correctly and your site is represented accurately.

A video sitemap takes this same concept and applies it to the videos you’re hosting on your site. Because video content has no keywords or text bundled with it, a video sitemap is an effective way to organize the relevant information for each of your videos. 

When you grant access to SproutVideo to create a sitemap, we collect the title, description, and video tags from your video and package them in a way that makes it easy for search engines to scan. This improves your site’s SEO, allowing your videos to show up in search engine results and, in turn, produce more clicks to your site.

Best Content: Blog Videos and Marketing Site Videos

When it comes to creating content that is good for SEO, you’ll want to focus on videos that are aligned well with the page where they live. For that reason, videos that are created for a specific blog post, or videos on your marketing site, are prime candidates for creating video sitemaps.

Blog videos will be surrounded by information that is directly related to the video, so when Google’s crawlers come looking, they’ll see how well it aligns. And this improves your chances of being found in search engine results. 

As for marketing site videos, the same idea applies. If you have videos throughout your site explaining your product or service, they will be surrounded by copy that is relevant to your video, improving your SEO on those pages. 

Social Sharing

Our last feature is pretty straightforward: it allows your viewers to easily share your videos with their fans and followers. When social sharing is enabled, viewers will have the opportunity to share a link to the video on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or by email.

Best Content: Educational, Entertainment, and Inspirational

The most “shareable” videos are the ones that delight the viewer so much that they want to share them with others. Typically, educational, entertaining, or inspirational videos fit this category best.

Educational videos can be in the form of how-tos or tutorials … anything that teaches the viewer. Entertaining videos can be attention-grabbing, humor-based, or just plain fun. Finally, inspirational videos can revolve around your companies’ story, purpose, or values … and these stories can really resonate with your audience, pushing them to share. Be sure to let your personality shine through with these videos, as it will make them more relatable for your audience. 

Want to see these new features in action? Get started with a free 30-day trial today.  Let us know in the comments below what types of contact will be working with your career going forward.

The post Mapping Video Marketing Content to Tactics and Tools appeared first on SproutVideo.

With intuitive, powerful tools like embedded video, video analytics, mobile playback, and a high level of security, personalized marketing videos can become more attainable and manageable for teams without extensive production and distribution budgets.

When you pair the platform we’ve built with the power of HubSpot data and automation, you’re in business. Now, with the SproutVideo Media Bridge Integration with HubSpot, you can leverage the power of SproutVideo right from your HubSpot portal.

What is Media Bridge from HubSpot?

HubSpot recently launched new media apps that allow users to embed media (like SproutVideo content) directly in HubSpot’s drag-and-drop editors. With the combined functionality, users can then leverage engagement data in HubSpot’s CRM platform and reporting. 

We can’t wait for HubSpot users to see the power of SproutVideo, especially with the new feature of embedding with Media Bridge. Now, when video content is top of mind, we hope to see marketers using video like they typically would use an image or form. The possibilities for new campaigns are endless.

Using Video as a Conversion Tool

At SproutVideo, we’re working every day to provide the tools our users need to be successful. So, when we launched more features to improve video lead capture and conversion, it made perfect sense to combine our tool with HubSpot as a way to amplify outreach and conversion capabilities even more. 

Recent HubSpot research showed that the top media type companies are creating in 2021 is video, so now that brands are more comfortable creating videos, it’s time to take the strategy even further by using conversion tools and inbound marketing strategies. 

Video is a proven strategy for brands to grow, here’s how:

• Retailers can improve product conversions by 30% by adding videos to shopping pages
• Videos can increase shopper confidence by more than 50%
• Video can be tied to ROI, providing valuable insights for marketing strategy

Ways to Scale Video Marketing with SproutVideo + HubSpot

When you combine SproutVideo with HubSpot using the new Media Bridge functionality to access your videos right from HubSpot, you will start saving time immediately. Not only that, you’ll realize ways to use video in marketing you hadn’t thought of before.

1. Use In-Player Calls to Action to Convert Leads in Email Workflows

When people engage with your content, it’s one thing. When they convert, it’s another. For email nurturing workflows, consider adding a demo video or video from a sales rep at a point of high engagement, or high drop-off. Use SproutVideo and HubSpot’s data and analytics to optimize and insert your best videos in the right places.

2. Discover New Audiences with Video SEO + Traffic Campaigns

Video has the power to improve blog traffic by 200% (if videos are optimized and shared correctly). Creating optimized videos as part of content strategy will be an expectation for marketing teams if it isn’t already. Using SproutVideo’s SEO tools and HubSpot’s traffic analytics and SEO strategy, your videos will begin to rank for your target keywords, giving your organic traffic a boost.

3. Gain Blog Subscribers with Video Lead Capture Forms on HubSpot Blogs

Take your existing blog strategy and run an experiment. Where you typically put a call to action, try A/B testing against a video with a lead capture form. (We have a feeling the video will win…) Your video can serve as a call to action, explanation, or way to showcase your brand.

4. Convert More Landing Page Visitors with On-Page Videos

Speaking of conversions, videos perform well on landing pages. Some tips— keep your video above the fold, use a compelling thumbnail, and optimize your in-video form copy. 

5. Target Campaigns Based on Video Behavior

When a hot lead views a demo video, that means they’re interested in your product or service. When they view it, then pore over your pricing page right after, they’re super interested. With SproutVideo + HubSpot you can automate the follow-up to these actions, or start a nurture campaign. Your sales team will thank you.

Whether you’re already a HubSpot user or not, explore the SproutVideo Integration with HubSpot and take a look at the Media Bridge functionality. With a specific goal of helping to reduce “tab fatigue” and human error associated with the copy + paste game, we’re partnering with the tools you use every day to improve your strategy and make life a little bit easier as a conversion-focused marketer.

The post Learn How Media Bridge Streamlines Hubspot/SproutVideo Integration appeared first on SproutVideo.

Video editing can be a challenging skill to master, though it has become much more accessible in recent years. At this point, there is a broad range of apps, from basic to professional, that make it possible for anyone at any level. 

In this post, we’ll give you a general overview of apps for at every skill level, their best use cases, and our favorite picks — starting from those who want to edit right on their phone, all the way to industry-grade video editing tools.

When it comes to choosing the right type of software to edit videos, it is going to depend greatly on your own skill set. Simple apps are limited, making it easy for beginners but frustrating for the more experienced users. Professional apps have no limits, which is great for those with experience and can be confusing for beginners. Be sure to gauge your skill level before investing too heavily in a specific app.

Mobile Video Editing

The best camera is the one you have on you. These days, that’s typically your phone. Using your smartphone is cheaper than purchasing a camera and, if you’re just starting out, editing your footage right on the phone is ideal.

Mobile editing apps will provide you the bare minimum functionality, so social media content or simple straight-to-camera videos will be the easiest content to make. With a simple editing timeline, some transitions, and built-in effects you can apply to your clips, you’ll be able to stay on par with the latest trends. 

Additionally, most mobile editing apps are typically optimized to output directly to social media platforms. This makes it easy to create and post on the go, however it means you won’t have the ability to choose which file types or codecs to export. If you’re not creating for social, this lack of control might really hold you back.

Top Pick: Adobe Premiere Rush

Anyone familiar with creative tools will recognize Adobe Premiere, and Adobe Premiere Rush is like its little sibling. This mobile-first app gives you all the fundamentals you need to hit the ground running and is perfect for simple drag-and-drop video editing, making it intuitive even for the most novice users.

Available on iOS and Android, you can get started right away with a free plan, or upgrade to the paid subscription for $9.99, and gain access to more storage and the desktop version of the app. 

Runners Up: Splice, InShot, and Quik

Other useful apps are Splice, InShot, and Quik. All three work as a strong alternative to Rush; they have a robust amount of features including simple editing tools, transitions, and effects. These three applications can be downloaded for free. However, InShot will export videos with a watermark unless you upgrade to the paid version for $2.99.

Basic Editing

The next step up is to ditch your phone and edit on your computer. Desktop editing applications share a lot of functionality with mobile apps, while providing a much more robust editing experience. 

At this level, you’ll gain more tools to complete tasks more efficiently, without losing the simplicity and automation that comes with basic editing apps. These apps make it easier to create more polished social media videos, product videos, advertisements, and more, through access to more advanced features like chroma key, higher resolution file support, and even motion tracking for some applications. 

Top Pick: iMovie

If you use a Mac, Apple iMovie is ideal if you’re just getting started with video editing. This app is one of the most simple, straightforward, and popular video editing programs out there; it uses a very simple timeline approach to provide its users with everything they need to edit basic videos, and is jam-packed with a plethora of simple features like adding titles, trailer templates, image stabilization, and more. 

iMovie comes pre-installed for free on new Macs and can be used across iOS devices. Sadly for PC users, this product is exclusive to Apple.

Runner up: Filmora 

For those who don’t own a Mac or are looking for something different, Filmora is a great alternative. Boasting similar features to iMovie and other beginner software, Filmora does a great job of creating an easy experience for any user. They even provide an “easy mode” that walks you through how to edit videos with useful templates and guides. 

Filmora can be downloaded for free with a watermark, purchased outright for $59.99, or accessed with an annual subscription for $39.99 a month.  

Professional Editing 

Once you reach a certain level of proficiency, you’ll want software that can keep up with just about anything you can throw at it, and that is where professional software comes into play. These programs give you the most flexibility possible to create any level of video your heart could desire. 

This can range from in-depth how-to content and marketing videos, to blockbuster films with dazzling special effects. The sky is the limit with professional video editing software. 

Top Pick: Adobe Premiere Pro 

When it comes to professional video editing, most people think of Adobe Premiere Pro. Adobe Premiere Pro has been leading the industry for about a decade and continues to lead the pack with innovative and collaborative software. Premiere Pro has all of the features you could ever want and more, which makes it great for professionals … though potentially overwhelming for newcomers. Without proper training, even the easiest editing techniques are less intuitive with professional software.

With Premiere Pro, you’ll gain access to a huge library of effects, transitions, and advanced tools. This program supports 4K, 8K, and VR video editing and is constantly improving to stay up to date with the latest industry standards. One of the biggest reasons Premiere Pro stands out against the competition is its integration with the other Adobe applications, especially Adobe After Effects. After Effects is a motion graphics and animation application that connects seamlessly with Premiere pro which allows for amazing collaboration and speed between the programs. 

If you want to use Premiere for a team project, you can collaborate remotely using a feature called Productions. With this, you can improve project organization and synchronization so a team can work together on the same project as long as all the files are organized on a shared drive.

For a crash course on getting started with Premiere Pro, read our full guide video editing basics guide. Adobe Premiere Pro is available on Windows and macOS, with a single app subscription for $20.99 or a package with all of Adobe’s apps for $59.99.

Close Second: Final Cut Pro

The former leader of professional video editing software is Apple’s Final Cut Pro. Final Cut Pro has many of the same features that make Premiere Pro stand out as the favorite, but is restricted to macOS, leaving PC users out of luck. However, because it is made specifically for Macs, it can utilize and optimize the program to work faster and render clips quicker than Premiere Pro. It also features a “Magnetic Timeline” that allows you to quickly put together edits that are more or less chronological. However, more complex video edits tend to slow Final Cut Pro down, giving the advantage to Premiere Pro for those types of projects. 

Another benefit of Final Cut Pro is its fixed one-time price of $299.99 and generous 90-day trial period. This should give you plenty of time to test it out before making a full commitment.

At the end of the day, whichever program you choose will depend on your current creative needs and comfort level. Have you used any of the programs we suggested in this post or any we haven’t mentioned but are worth checking out? If so, let us know which ones and how you feel about them in the comments below.

The post Best Software for Editing Video at Every Level appeared first on SproutVideo.

In this post, we’ll take you through six steps that you should keep in mind when needing to improve your live, on-camera performance.

Pre-recorded videos are nice since you have the option to re-record, start over, or edit out mistakes; however, when it comes to live video, you lose some of these luxuries. For this reason, being ready and comfortable on camera is one of the best ways to improve your delivery. These six steps will help you prepare as much as possible before you go live. 

1. Outline Your Presentation

Prepping for a video of any sort usually begins with researching and writing. You don’t want to completely wing it when you go live, and one of the best ways to prep is by scripting out exactly what you want to say, which we cover in this post. 

However, you don’t want to make it obvious that you’re reading off a script, so we recommend converting that script into a detailed outline. By scripting first, then reducing to an outline, you’ll be way more prepared to fill in any gaps in the broader topics of your live stream. If possible, have your outline on a screen close by; this will allow you to occasionally glance over at it in a way that won’t be too distracting for your audience. Once your outline is set, it’s time to practice.

2. Practice, Practice, Practice

As mentioned above, producing a live stream is going to closely resemble a live performance, like theater. Practicing the delivery of your outline will help you feel more comfortable saying the material out loud, and give you the chance to workshop parts that don’t flow as well. 

Depending on the length and subject matter of your live stream, you’ll want to start practicing one to two weeks before the big day. The closer you are to the actual event, the more realistic you’ll want to make your run-throughs. Include slides, graphics, and the videos you’ll be using for the actual presentation, so you can get a feeling for the pace and timing. We recommend setting up private test streams so you get the full look and feel for how the live stream will run when it’s time to go live.

3. Perfecting the Intro

While your intro should be included in your outline and rehearsed during practice sessions, it’s worth noting that nailing the first 30 to 60 seconds of your live stream is crucial. A weak opening could be the difference between retaining every attendee and seeing some immediate drop-offs. It will also get you through the nerves that are bound to show up when you’re suddenly live in front of your audience. 

This is where you’ll be able to show off some personality, address the audience as they metaphorically take their seats, and introduce the topic you’ll be covering. If you have this intro down, you’ll have a great jumping-off point as you continue throughout your presentation. 

4. Reduce Ahs and Ums

Um. Ah. Like. You Know. Right? These words are commonly used as filler words when we’re nervous, distracted, or just don’t know what to say next. They’re fillers so many of us use and don’t even realize; in casual conversation, they may not seem so bad, but when giving a presentation, they can become a big distraction for your audience if used too often.

The best thing to do here is to replace these words with a pause. While silence may seem like a wild idea, it’s proven to be a more effective way to improve the flow of your presentation. In addition, it gives you a moment to collect your thoughts, calm your nerves, and even build suspense at the right moment. It’s helpful to remember that a silence that seems like ages to a performer may be barely noticeable to their audience.

The first step to changing this habit is to be aware of when it’s happening. During your rehearsals, record yourself so you can review your content and see how many times you’re using filler words. Create a system when you’re practicing to draw attention to their use so you can mentally prepare to pause instead. All this preparation will be helpful when it’s finally showtime; surely some filler words will remain, but there should be far less than when you started.  

5. Getting Comfortable On Camera 

Feeling nervous is one of the biggest reasons people clam up while speaking to an audience, but there are a few steps you can take to make you feel as comfortable as possible when it’s time to go live.

Your Favorite Outfit

While the level of “professional” dress will vary depending on your industry, it’s equally important to choose an outfit that makes you feel comfortable and confident. Your content is the real star of the show, so you can take this opportunity to choose an outfit you really like. When you’re wearing something that you feel good in, it’s bound to translate to confidence on camera.  

Talk Directly to Your Audience

For some virtual presentations, you might be in a video conference where you can see your audience, though that may not always be the case. It can feel a little awkward talking to a screen while presenting a live stream, but we encourage you to imagine you’re speaking with a friend or someone you feel comfortable with. Smile. Show enthusiasm. Let your natural body language shine through. These tricks should help you feel like it’s more of a natural conversation versus a rehearsed presentation. 

For more ideas, explore our full list of 27 tips for being more comfortable on camera.

6. Let Go of Perfection

At the end of the day, no matter how much you practice and rehearse, there is still a chance that something may go awry. If you embrace the idea of letting go of absolute perfection, you’ll save yourself a lot of stress and allow yourself to roll with the punches and be natural.  Maybe an unwanted noise will make it into your stream, or some unexpected technical difficulties will arise. These can become opportunities to embrace imperfection.

Considering how many of us worked from home over the past year, most people can understand that not everything will go as planned. If you’re properly prepared and keep this in mind, you’ll be able to rebound from any mistakes and keep the presentation running smoothly. You may even come off as more relatable and thus create a better connection with your audience. 

You don’t need to be a primetime news anchor to nail a live on-camera delivery. With the proper preparation, practice, and mindset, anyone can deliver a stellar performance. Which techniques do you use to prepare for a live video presentation? Let us know in the comments below.

The post Six Steps to Nail Your Live On-Camera Delivery appeared first on SproutVideo.

Distracting audio is hard to get past. We’ve all been in a situation when some unwanted noise made its way into a video or live stream. Typically, we never want these disruptive noises to make it into our professional video work, live or pre-recorded.

Fortunately, there are some tactics you can employ to reduce unwanted or unexpected noise in your videos. By the end of this post, you’ll have a better understanding of how to reduce excessive noise when creating pre-recorded or live content. 

In this How To Video: Audio episode, Nick LaClair, Creative Director here at SproutVideo, will be walking you through an overview of the entire noise reduction space. He’ll walk you through various scenarios and examples to drive the point home.

Pre-Recorded

When it comes to pre-recorded audio vs. live audio, the technique for reducing noise will vary. The goal for pre-recorded audio, typically used for video or podcasts, is to get the absolute best audio possible. Typically, you get this by using expensive equipment, controlling your environment, and fixing everything else with post-production software.

High-End Equipment

In a similar fashion to getting the best video quality, getting the best-sounding audio is going to cost you. Compared to cheaper alternatives, top-tier mics and mixers can make a huge difference when it comes to capturing the best audio. In our example, we showed the Schoeps CMIT 5 Microphone and the SoundDevices 833 mixer retailing for $2,250 and $4,500 respectively. 

Whatever level of equipment you have, you’ll need to know how to set it up for optimal results. Our audio series is a great place to start. 

Controlling Your Environment

Of course, your best bet is recording in a studio. However, as many of us found out over the last year, sometimes you need to make do with what you have. Many of us turn to a spare room or home office for our recording space. 

While you can’t necessarily make the world outside of your recording space completely silent, you can add some extra equipment to better condition your space. By purchasing a variety of materials, or crafting some DIY solutions, you can treat your space to get the most optimal sound recording. 

Items like acoustic panels, ceiling baffles, window treatments, and more can all help create a better environment for recording crisp sound. Explore our post on conditioning your home studio for the full rundown. 

Post-Production Software

When it comes to editing audio, Adobe Audition is the industry standard. This application allows you to take that amazing audio you captured through your mic and mixer, and fine-tune it to perfection. 

In Adobe Audition, you can take a snapshot of background noise that made it into your audio (HVAC system, A/C, electric humming, and so on), have the program learn it, and then remove that noise signature from the rest of the audio. The better the equipment and environment you’re recording in, the less this extra noise will need to be removed in post-production. 

Just like any other post-production skill, this will take time to learn. Get started with our guide to cleaning up audio in post-production. 

Live Audio 

When working with live audio, whether it’s a live stream, webinars, or video calls, great gear and a controlled environment is essential. The one thing you can’t do is fix problems in post-production since you’re capturing audio live. 

For live and real-time audio, there will need to be extra measures in place to ensure great audio quality. Some of these are built right into the microphones you’ll be using, and others can be added for better results. We’ll go over some of the best options below. 

Mic placement

The most basic form of noise reduction is simply placing the mic as close as possible to your mouth or subject. If the audio source is super close to your microphone, it’ll adjust to that sound, and any background noise will no longer be audible. 

A lot of mics are smart enough to adjust so that a loud or close source will lower your mic’s gain and widen the signal-to-noise ratio. For example, you’ll see this with on-air reporters who need to hold the mic very close to their face when they’re speaking, and also when anyone else is speaking, with the sound trailing off in between. 

Of course, there are some drawbacks to this technique. Sound quality becomes a concern when you’re very close to a microphone. It may begin to distort your voice, or generate pops and other unwanted sounds. Also, if you’re doing a live video, having the microphone very close to your subject isn’t always the most aesthetically pleasing option. 

Noise Gates

The next level up is implementing a noise gate. A noise gate is a type of audio processing effect that blocks all unwanted noise under a certain threshold that you set. As soon as audio comes through which is higher than that threshold, everything will come through the gate. Think of it as a real gate; open for the sounds you want, and closed for those you don’t. 

There are a few controls that are relatively universal across noise gate software:

• Threshold: The threshold determines when a gate should open and close. 
• Attack: The attack determines how fast or slow a gate closes. 
• Release: The release determines how fast or slow a gate opens.
• Hold – The hold determines how long a gate remains closed before it opens. 

Many streaming software solutions like OBS and VMix have noise gates built-in, which make it an easy option to implement for live streams. This is especially useful when you have multiple speakers. When people aren’t talking, it’ll gate their sound, which keeps the general audio very clean. 

The main disadvantage with a noise gate is it doesn’t actually reduce the background noise when the gate is open. All sounds come through once you hit your threshold and the gate opens.

Usually, your main source will drown out any unwanted noise, but if it doesn’t, you’ll need to implement a different solution. That’s where noise suppression software comes into play. 

Noise Suppression Software

This type of software is actually built into a lot of things you’re most likely already using on a daily basis. You’ll see this built into video conferencing apps, Bluetooth headsets, smartphones, motorcycle helmets, and more. Through software programming, these items are set to cancel out the noises it expects to encounter. 

This technology is created by using powerful artificial intelligence programs that analyze your voice, and sample from a huge network of known sounds to cancel out unwanted ones. For example, the Bluetooth in a car is set to remove the road noises that are typical for that specific type of car. When it does this, only your voice will be sent to whoever you’re talking to instead of distracting road noise. 

This same idea applies to standalone noise suppression software programs as well. Specific companies have their own technology, but for more general use, desktop apps like Krisp can be used to further enhance your audio experience. 

The noise suppression apps and software do a relatively great job removing noise, but struggle the louder the background noise gets. The more it has to suppress, the more it will end up degrading your voice. 

Noise Suppression Hardware

The next step up is using hardware acceleration to supercharge your noise cancelling software. Using a hardware option is more effective because it will be able to produce a lot more power than just software alone. A great example of this is Nvidia’s RTX Voice application (also known as Nvidia Broadcast) paired with an Nvidia RTX level graphics card. 

This runs the same sort of AI processing as Krisp. It auto-detects background noise to remove it, with the graphics card to power the entire workflow. A drawback here is that RTX-level graphics cards can be pretty pricey. Nvidia RTX graphics card models range from around $500 to over $2,000.

To go above and beyond, you could combine Krisp and RTX Voice with an RTX graphics card for a final result that will be nearly flawless. Combining different software with hardware might seem like overkill, but if high-quality, uninterrupted audio is your goal, this might be your best option. 

The fact of the matter is, we can’t account for all the random noises that may make it into the background of our videos, live streams, video conferences, and webinars. The best thing we can do is be as prepared as possible with the right hardware and software to back us up. Let us know down below which precautions you’re taking to get the best possible audio.

The post How To Get the Best Audio in Any Environment appeared first on SproutVideo.