The best and most engaging content you can create is in video and audio formats. Podcasts are still popular and video is becoming even more popular. We have all heard of YouTube, however most of the other platforms, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Pinterest, are wanting to be fed more and more video content.
Equipment You Will Need
The answer to this is quite simple, you already have it.
If you own a smart phone, and let’s face it, everyone does now a days, then you have the most powerful tool you will ever need at your fingertips.
If you want to create a video, you have a video camera. If you want to create a podcast, you have a voice recorder. If you want to take a picture of yourself or a product, you have a camera. Hell, if you want to quickly put down your thoughts for a blog post, open Google Docs and use the voice to text option. It may need some editing later but most of the work is done.
With a smart phone, you have everything you need to be able to create content. You even have internet access and can therefore add the content to whatever platform you need. You can also upload your product images if need be.
Making it More Professional
Of course in most cases you will want to edit your audio and/or video. Don’t stress there are a ton of great and free options out there for this. A quick Google search will give you many options and lots of great reviews.
For your audio podcast, download a program called Audacity. It’s been around for many years and it’s used by a load of podcasters. Transfer your audio to your computer if it wasn’t recorded on there in the first place, and open it in Audacity.
You can then run through it and cut out any bits that are a problem. When I do a recording I usually cut the content into small portions and take a pause between each one. If I make a mistake half way through one of those portions, then I start again at the beginning of that bite size track. Then when editing I can remove entire portions that were mistakes and keep the best options. Same goes for video. This means that you can record the entire thing without worrying about stopping and starting the audio or video recorder, or having to start again from the very beginning.
Once you have the entire piece of audio, you will want to make it sound better. I use a studio condenser mic to record and I still have to do this. It’s called “making your voice sexy” in fact I titled the macro on my Audacity as “make voice sexy” because, well, we all want a sexy voice.
To do this you will need to use a combination of effects. I’ll probably write another posts about how to do it but in the meantime, do a Google search for “audacity make voice sexy” and you should find a load of people giving instructions.
What you can then do, as I already mentioned above, is create a macro in Audacity which puts all of the steps together so all you do is click the macro and it goes through the series of events or effects automatically.
For video there is a great piece of software out there called Shotcut, which is also free. I have found however that for some reason my copy of Shotcut is hanging a lot so I need to look into that, or I may just look for another video creation software.
However Shotcut is easy to use and will get your video sorted in no time. It comes with a load of effects and transitions that you would need to make your video look professional. Download it, play around with it, there are a lot of tutorials online, so you can’t go wrong.
Taking it a Step Further
When you do have a budget to work with then I would suggest getting some better equipment. Apart from my mic, I’m not ready to do that myself. My laptop, smart phone and mic are all I need for what I do. Oh, one handy tool I haven’t mentioned is a smart phone tripod. They are really cost effective and extremely handy. I got one that allows me to remove the smart phone holder section from the tripod base so that I can also attach it to a full size camera tripod.
Concerning my mic, I bought the Samson Meteor, which I absolutely love, however it does come with some constraints. I was looking into getting a desktop mount suspension boom and shock mount, but the way the Meteor is modelled, it makes it difficult to use these.
So, when you are looking for equipment, make sure you consider everything else you may need down the line.
As far as microphones go, you may want to consider getting a lavalier mic. This makes it easier to use the mic without it being too intrusive or needing to mount or hold it. It clips onto your shirt and voila, you’re ready. This is especially handy if you are doing video content.
So I hope you are inspired to start creating better content. You don’t need to spend hoards of money on professional studio equipment, you already have the answer, and it’s probably in your pocket.
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