You want to create and edit videos like a pro. What are the top-rated tools to help you do it?

Before even choosing a platform, determine if you are at the DIY stage or if this will be outsourced/offloaded to a team member. If you are a business owner who is not in the film making/videography industry, then the return on time for learning advanced paid tools is low. I would recommend starting with something like CapCut (currently their annual subscription is $75 - a true steal) that has endless templates and one click features for effects such as face or body tracking. When you are at the outsourcing stage, you want to have a clear cut meeting with your editor to assess their workflow and see what makes sense for your business

I've had great success with a video editing tool call CapCut. It's a ll-in-one video editor and a graphic design tool. Available for PC and phone use.

Choose your platform: Select a video editing platform that aligns with your needs and expertise level. Adobe Premiere Pro is a professional choice with advanced features for video editing and post-production. For beginners or those on a budget, tools like iMovie (for Mac users) or Shotcut (cross-platform) provide user-friendly interfaces and essential editing capabilities. Each platform has its strengths, so choose based on your specific requirements and skill level.

If you are serious about your video marketing for your small business I highly recommend Camtasia. It allows for professional editing on a lower budget than many other programs. It also allows for various sizes so that you can post videos with the correct dimensions for the platform you are using including square. The downside is you have to download the program on your computer but it does work on both PC and Apple. They have a few different licensing versions, have multiple add-ons and work for screen recording for training videos.

You need to understand the spectrum of quality you need before you choose your platform. In addition to this you need to understand the learning curve for said platform. For instance, we hire co-op students and have them simply use Canva to edit videos and create content. The result? Exactly the quality and expectations we have. For our seasoned designers they use tools by Adobe, which are much more technical, but produce the desired outcomes we need.

There is a saying in the art world that the best artists “steal” and add their 3% (the 3% rule). I would recommend a monthly analysis session by seeing what types of shots similar companies or influencers in that space are utilizing. Then assess if their style aligns with the brand you are building, or how you could improve (hint - read the comments and look at # of shares and saves)

Plan your content: Before diving into video editing, plan your content to ensure a smooth editing process. Create a storyboard outlining the sequence of shots, transitions, and any special effects you want to incorporate. Clearly define your video's purpose, target audience, and tone. This planning stage helps streamline the editing process and ensures that you capture the necessary footage during recording. A well-thought-out plan contributes to a more professional and cohesive final product.

Knowing your content is really important. In other words, you need to know what your message is trying to convey. Consider adding Music, some still images and text to beef up your message.

One word... Research! Research who your optimal customer is. What are their wants, needs, desires? We are offering to help fill a void in their lives. Be specific, drill down and find the specific reason they would be interested in what we are offering. Then, be lay out your content in a simple form which allows them to draw a conclusion to what we offer. No complicated words or phrases. We need to be likeable.

Absolutely, it is important to plan content, and always ask a question about what you posting it engages the audience. Also posting at different times of the day 10-12-3pm great times but you can adjust that as well

The best lighting often is natural lighting, but buying extra lights and understanding basic concepts regarding the angle of light and how it impacts the mood and style of a shot is critical. You can make quality content with a $20 Bluetooth microphone or a a great microphone (likely in the $100-350 range) that plugs into an audio interface, but sometimes it really as simple as recording on an iPhone with a firm stand. Also consider whether the footage is for a 5+ minute educational video versus short form content for social media. The amount of people who value POV shots or a cameraman following you cannot be understated

Record your footage: Capture high-quality footage to provide a strong foundation for your video editing. Use a good camera or smartphone with decent video capabilities. Pay attention to lighting, sound, and framing to enhance the overall visual appeal. Consider tools like OBS Studio for screen recording or external microphones for improved audio quality. Well-captured footage simplifies the editing process and allows you to focus on refining content rather than fixing technical issues.

If you are recording someone speaking, consider recording with a second camera from a different angle to use as a B-roll. You can get a decent video with a smartphone, but a camera with interchangeable lenses can bring much more to your video and cause it to "pop." The second camera could be a phone to give the video a different feel. I also use a microphone to record the sound, separate from the video camera or phone. I use a digital recorder, and I then dub the sound in when I edit.

There are very opinions on how to record your content I always suggest using incredible and durable equipment. Many of these companies like Panasonic, Sony and others have different tiers so you don’t always have to spend the most. One of the most important things, regardless of the type of equipment you use is to always have good lighting.

I say, if you are appearing in your own video, to be transparent. Don't sound rehearsed or rigid. Humans make mistakes (we all do). It lends a sense of reality to our videos if they are not perfect. We are tempted to cut or edit and redo these errors but they really make us sound more believable and real.

I would go right back to Final Cut Pro Adobe and maybe iMovie if your pocket is challenged. You could also search sites like Fiverr to find other people to do some of this work for you, but you should check their previous work and testimonials to decide whether you wanna work with them or not.

Davinci Resolve is a wonderful application available for Windows and Mac. A large amount of the tool is free, although there is a paid version that competes with the likes of Adobe. I am not a video editor. I have no background in this area and use the free version for my editing. YouTube is full of training material, plus all the flashy effects are built-in. I have yet to find a need to upgrade to the paid version. I recorded the video using my cellphone before transferring the MP4 file to my laptop. Once in the application, I can cut, copy, paste both video and sound. Add effects, such as logos, switching scenes, etc, with a mouse click. I learned everything from YouTube. I took me about a day to create my first video.

Again for short videos Spark camera is still my go to you edited right down to the second which I love and mute sound if needed. Has been my tool the more you practice the better you get.

I like to add text to the video that mimics the words spoken. It adds another dimension to the message. Some are better at listening while others are better at reading. Change the colors of the text. Bold it, change fonts etc. These keep the reader interested.

Love HitExpress for editing, high quality editing suite, but not too complicated for the less professional video creator. And I like Viddyoze to get the intros and outros.

Highly recommend exporting any video to MP4 and then upload to YouTube, even if not for public viewing as it embeds easier to most other platforms like your website. You probably want to have a mini version, a trailer of sorts, for social media in general, with longer videos in a YouTube Brand account to be embedded in your blog / website or other multimedia applications. This will also allow you to effectively paywall any valuable videos as part of training etc.

I find that exporting to MP4 motors the best because it can be used on so many different platforms. You will also be able to repurpose your content at a later date if you want such as extracting the audio for podcast or other platforms.

Growth, both personally and professionally, is largely dependent on continuous learning and development. Metrics are essential to determining the results of your work, and getting input from peers or your audience may provide insightful information. Recognizing your advantages and disadvantages enables you to make focused improvements, and experimenting with new tools and methods keeps you adaptable in a world that is changing quickly.

In order to perfect a craft, it takes 10,000 hrs. It’s all about learning and getting better each time. Learning never stops no matter how far removed from grade school you are. Learning and researching and experimenting with new techniques, learning different software from your norm. You have fully immerse yourself in the process of becoming great and I promise you will be. Patience and persistence is key

Once you've mastered editing fundamentals, spend some time exploring the art of color grading. Used well, this can elevate the professionalism of video content by providing you with more control over lighting qualities, tones and shot consistency during the post-production process. Many tools have basic color processing filters available, but DaVinci Resolve excels in this area; giving you access to professional-level color grading control at little to no cost.