What’s the formula to great DIY videos that give you the business results you want? I wish I could say it were the quality of your production, but that’s not necessarily the case. Expensive sets and high end equipment don’t always translate to conversion and return on investment for companies who create videos for their brand.

Don’t get me wrong, quality is extremely important, but it’s not everything. What if I told you that you don’t need a completely and ridiculously big production budget to create videos that convert? That means you can create videos on your own and still let it produce the results that you want.

I’d like to share with you one secret to making DIY videos that can and will bring great exposure, brand awareness and even sales for your company. Well to be honest, that “secret” is no secret at all. The key lies in the content of your video.

Content Is King; Context Is God

We’ve all heard the saying “content is king.” But here’s a saying made popular by digital marketing expert Gary Vaynerchuk popularized- “Context is God.” What does that mean? It means that as important as content is, just pumping out content for the sake of having it doesn’t do anything anymore today.

People are looking for something that matters to them. They want something that is relevant to their lives and that adds value. What does your content have that your audience need? Does it answer people’s problems or at least provide a bridge to a solution to their problems, entertain and add value? If it doesn’t do any of those things then you can be sure that it’s not going to work.

Here are three ways to make sure that your DIY videos provide relevant context for people, keep you relatable and engage your audience.

1. Start with your audience

I don’t know how many company videos I’ve watched that already starts talking about their company and products within the first ten seconds of playing. It can get quite egotistical if I have to be honest. Before starting on who you are, why not try starting with who your audience is and what it is about them that catches your attention? You can also start by talking about their problems and how your company desires to bring solutions to those problems.

2. Work on your script

Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!” Planning and preparing a script for your DIY videos helps you build context because- let’s face it- being relevant and customer centric doesn’t always come out naturally. That’s why we need a script to guide our content into a more client-sided conversation.

3. Be Authentic When Tell your story

After you start with your audience, you can start telling your story. When telling your tale remember that authenticity is what builds trust fastest. People like transparency and honesty. The more honest you are in your telling your story through your DIY videos the more people will be compelled by your content. It doesn’t matter if your video is shot in 4k resolution or not if your DIY videos do not tell an authentic and honest story.