Video marketing is booming.
According to Wyzowl’s 2021 State of Video Marketing report, “86% of businesses use video as a marketing tool,” and “87% of video marketers reported that video gives them a positive return on investment.”
Video can be a powerful marketing tool, but you can't overlook its complement: audio.
The best marketing content adds value for your target audience (for free!) and demonstrates your authority and expertise on the subject matter.
In video marketing, the content that adds the most value is usually not the visuals but the audio.
Think about the last video you watched with poor audio quality. Maybe you didn’t finish it because the video had a lot of background noise or the audio was muffled or glitchy.
Your target audience will search for content elsewhere if your audio quality is subpar. Prospective customers might also question the quality of the product or service you offer if your marketing content is poorly executed.
Here's your master checklist for crisp audio content so your next video doesn't fall flat.
A Friendly Environment for Recording
Capturing quality audio starts with a good shooting location. A carpeted room or studio is preferable because you have control over the sound quality. A small, enclosed room — even a closet — is your best bet if you’re not concerned about video quality!
Test your camera and microphone on-site ahead of your shoot, especially if you have little control over the environment — a park or high-traffic lobby, for example. Ask locals about upcoming events or construction work in the area. Keep a close eye on the weather if you plan to film outside.
A friendly environment to quality sound goes a long way, even without expensive equipment!
Wind and Rain Protection for Your Microphone
If you’re filming outside, make sure you’re prepared for strong wind and rain if necessary. For wind and other ambient noise, invest in a “dead cat” or wind muff windshield. These are covers made to keep background noise at a minimum.
You should also do your research on which microphone to purchase. Some are created with extreme weather conditions and temperatures in mind!
External, High-Quality Microphone
If you’re using your camera’s on-board microphone, you’re likely farther away from your subject — your audio source! But you’ll minimize ambient noise with an external microphone because you can place it closer to your subject. External microphones also give you more control over the audio levels.
We know professional video and audio equipment is costly. But you should invest in a high-quality microphone if video is an integral part of your digital marketing strategy.
Good Audio Editing Software
Video editing software is most effective for — you guessed it — editing video. This software is usually limited when it comes to editing audio.
If you want to produce high-quality sound, consider investing in audio editing software. Adobe Audition from Adobe Creative Suite, Peak Pro for Mac, and Sound Forge for Windows are great solutions for next-level audio production. There are good free options as well, such as GarageBand for Mac and Audacity for Windows.
Heard of restoration software, multi-track applications, or maximizers? Other tools like these can enhance your audio quality even more if you’re willing to invest the money and time to use them. Check out this blog next if you want to learn about other solutions.
The Right Permissions
Imagine you worked hard on a great video for your business, but it’s quickly removed from YouTube because you don’t have permission to use the audio in your video.
One way to make sure you aren’t breaking copyright laws is to create your own audio, but you might not have the expertise or budget for that. A good alternative is royalty-free music. When you purchase royalty-free music, you don’t own the music. But the service where you purchase the right to use the music will then pay the artist, record label, or website owner.
Learn more in this article about the difference between “copyright-free” and “royalty-free” music and view a list of top royalty-free service providers.
A Good Storage System
Here’s the beauty of capturing quality sound: you can use it again and again for digital marketing content!
Splice and dice your content into smaller “preview” videos before you release the longer video or podcast. If possible, convert audio that adds value for your target audience into an audiobook or lead magnet. Send short videos in a welcome email series.
You can multiply the valuable content you provide to prospects and customers without a lot of extra work on your part. With so much content, you’ll need a good system for organizing and storing your audio clips so you can find them quickly in the future!
As you prepare to shoot your next video, we hope this short checklist helps you create high-quality video and audio for your target audience. Let our team at Sigl Creative help if you’d like to add video to your digital marketing strategy but don’t have the time, expertise, or equipment. Schedule a call today, and let’s talk about how our team can take your video marketing from functional to exceptional.
