YouTube is an excellent platform for marketing videos, but it's incredibly competitive. There are thousands of new videos uploaded every day, so why should people be bothered about yours?
If you want your YouTube videos to work for you, there are a lot of elements that you need to get right. Writing eye-catching titles and great descriptions is important if you want to encourage viewers to take action, for example. But before you do any of that, you need to create engaging videos that stand out from the crowd.
Good production values are crucial, and using drones to film your marketing videos is a great way to take things to the next level. You can get some amazing shots that elevate the production values of the video and impress your viewers. However, there is an art to using drones in your YouTube videos and if you get it wrong, you end up with something that looks amateurish. If you think that using drones could help to improve your YouTube marketing videos, here are some simple tips to help you get started.
Invest In A Good Quality Drone
You don't have to spend a fortune on drones, but you do need to invest in something with a decent specification. If you want to use drones in YouTube videos, they need to be easy to fly – so look for a drone that has an intelligent battery and good range. You don't need anything too powerful, but it needs to be able to stay in the air long enough for you to get some shots while making your marketing video.
When buying your drone, you need to look at the camera quality and functionality. Drones typically come with a high-definition camera that allows you to take stunning aerial shots. Most drones will give you an option to view the live footage as it is being filmed, but some also allow you to record video and take photos while in flight. If your drone doesn't have this option, then consider using a recording device that mounts onto the drone itself – typically these cameras can record for around an hour and provide fantastic quality even when viewed from a distance.
Keep Up With Drone Maintenance
Once you have your drone, it's important to keep it in good working order. Maintaining the device is essential for getting consistent and reliable shots that will make your videos look amazing.
Most drones come with replacement blades (you get a set of spares when you buy a new drone) but these don't last forever. If your blades are looking worn down or there are other parts that aren't working properly, then this will directly impact how steady your shots end up looking. You need to check all of the components regularly and replace anything that looks worn out or broken – otherwise, you'll never be able to achieve the kind of professional results that you're after.
If you do notice any problems with your drone, don't just ignore it. Flying a damaged drone increases the chances of crashing it, and that's going to be more expensive. So, get in touch with a drone repair company (click for more information) and get them to take a look. It's much cheaper and easier to fix small problems instead of waiting until the drone packs up completely and you are forced to replace it.
Practice, Practice, Practice
Before you start using your drone to film your YouTube videos, you need to be proficient at flying it.
Once you have mastered the basics of controlling your drone and getting it into position, things become much easier. There are no real rules for how to use drones when creating YouTube videos but you need to be comfortable controlling it. If you are not very skilled, you won't get smooth shots and the camera will be shaking around all over the place. So, before you switch the camera on, put some hours into flying and find some tips and tricks online to help you learn the basics.
Keep An Eye On The Weather
If you want to use drones in YouTube videos, then make sure that you check the weather forecast. Drones are very sensitive and they don't cope well with adverse weather conditions – so never take your drone flying if there's likely to be bad weather on the horizon unless you are experienced and you know how to manage difficult weather when flying.
Shoot Loads Of Footage
When you are filming video with a drone, there is more potential for shots to be shaky or out of focus, so you need to film plenty of footage. You never know when a good shot might come up, or what happens to make something unexpected happen on camera – so it's always worth staying airborne for a while to capture different angles and points of view that will really bring your marketing videos to life.
The more footage you take, the easier it is to choose the best bits – and that means less work editing clips together later on. If you have twice as much footage as you need, the final video will be much better. But if you don't film that much, you will have to make compromises and use sub-par shots in your marketing videos.
Check The Battery Life
There's nothing worse than flying your drone and getting some great footage only to find that the battery has run out. Always check how much life is left in the battery before you take off. If you are filming for a long time, then it's worth buying another battery or two – so you don't end up running out of power when you need it most.
If you are not confident flying a drone, you could consider hiring a professional drone videographer to do your filming for you. However, this is an added expense that you don't necessarily have to cover if you can learn to do it yourself. It takes a bit of practice to get comfortable with flying the drone but once you are proficient, you can film some amazing YouTube videos.
Matt Hoffer is a crypto enthusiast and gamer. When he's not de-constructing the blockchain, you can find him chilling with some lemonade in the shade or playing a round of golf.
