Are you an online educator who wants to use video project ideas to teach your students about the basics of online video marketing? Or someone who wants to learn about using videos to grow an online following?
From Instagram and Youtube to even LinkedIn, at VEED, we know how videos can be a powerful way to tell a story and be heard online.
In this blog post, we’ll look into:
- 4 ways to find the best topics for your video projects.
- 10 Video project ideas to create an online following.
- How each video project idea can teach people about video marketing and online community-building.
Let’s go!
4 Ways to Source Topics for the Video Projects
For many people, it can be quite hard to figure out what kind of topics they can base their video projects on.
A good, original idea for a video project might end up being either too niche or too generic to attract an online following. So how can your students prevent this mistake?
Here are some ideas.
1. Listen to Your Current Audience (If You Already Have One)
If your students already have an online following, they can just base off their video project ideas on the topics with the best engagement. Most of the time, popular topics in other types of content can also be popular as videos.
Tell your students to listen to their followers and observe their engagement metrics. These metrics provide important information on relevant topics.
2. Go to Relevant Communities on Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Industry forums
Online communities can provide insights into the topics that are being currently talked about by industry experts.
Searching through online forums is a particularly useful tactic to discover the things that community members ask each other. These discussions normally go beyond the surface level, are more granular, and go to the specifics of various topics.
Your students will also get a feel of the vocabulary and the jargon used. When familiar language is used in videos, this normally indicates to the target audience that the person in the video knows what they’re talking about and that they have done their research.
In more concrete terms, advise your students to join Facebook and LinkedIn Groups to see what they like to talk about. Follow relevant Instagram hashtags to see which types of videos and photos trend the most. Heck, even encourage them to join relevant Slack groups to see what’s up!
3. Look at What Relevant Competitors Are Doing
If your students don’t have an online following, they can analyze the content that other people and relevant companies are currently creating.
This will help students figure out what other companies or people are doing to get an online following with videos.
There’s a whole industry behind spying on what competitors are doing, but here are some ways your students can do a competition analysis to find great topics for their video project ideas:
- Follow competitors on social media. This is a no-brainer. Competitor content can provide great indications on relevant topics. In particular, encourage students to get into the nitty-gritty of the competitors’ day-to-day activities. Watch their webinars. Look at their comments section. Follow their Instagram Stories. See what they’ve included in their Highlights. Small interactions can reveal gems that even the competitors themselves have not discovered. Make sure that your students get a feel of the types of videos the competitors are regularly churning out. These provide ideas on relevant topics that the students can use.
- Use Facebook Ads Library to spy on running ads. This is a revelation to many, but you can actually see your competitors’ ads that are currently running on Facebook, for free! This is particularly a good idea for students wanting to create a series of ads.
- Check the types of YouTube videos they’ve posted. If the competitors have a well-established channel, your students can sort out their videos to figure out what has worked (and what hasn’t). This will help students discover how competing Youtube channels churn out content and the kinds of videos made to attract a following.
4. Use Search Tools to Figure Out What Your Target Audience Regularly Ask
Finally, your students can also use powerful search tools to figure out what queries people ask for and source topics from those. Here are some tools that have been extra useful in my content sourcing journey:
- TubeBuddy has a freemium browser extension for Chrome that shows an estimated global monthly search volume for keywords on YouTube.
- Answerthepublic.com is a great site where you can enter a term and see exactly what kind of questions people are asking around this topic.
- Quora is an international question-and-answer website. Students can go to channels on relevant topics and see the top questions being asked.
- Google Keyword Planner lets people see the monthly search volume for queries on Google for free.
10 awesome video project ideas to get an online following
1. Turn Old Content Into Videos
As Gary Vee says, less is more. Let’s start with the most important video project idea marketing video content creators have to embark on: repurposing old content into videos.
People already have a ton of video project ideas. They just haven’t realized it. Whether offline or online, they've probably already scribbled out some notes for a presentation or have been publishing content on social media or their blog. These are all content pieces they can turn into videos.
You know where this is going… ask your students to turn their blog, social media posts, or any content into videos! Why? Content repurposing gives new life to old content and helps it attract people who prefer to consume videos over other types of content.
This mindset of content repurposing is also an excellent way for content creators to find out new ideas for videos.
And the sky’s the limit! Finished repurposing those blog posts into videos? That’s just the start! Cut those videos into smaller chunks to create soundbites or teasers for social media.
In video content repurposing, there's an important thing to keep in mind.
Various channels require different canvas sizes. Here are some canvas size specifications just on Instagram:
- IGTV - Vertical, 9:16 | Horizontal, 16:9
- Feed - Square, 1:1 | Landscape, 1:91:1 | Portrait, 4:5
- Stories - Vertical, 9:16
Neglecting these can result in poorly-cropped videos that look unprofessional and therefore not attract an audience.
In other clunky video editing platforms, this process can be super frustrating. But with VEED’s easy-to-use video editor, this is as simple as clicking a canvas size option and dragging your video, so that it fits the canvas. Watch the guide below to learn how simple it is.
2. Create Youtube Videos That Are SEO and Evergreen
Different channels attract different kinds of people. A great video project idea is to find out the types of video content people regularly search for on social media and YouTube. How? Well, search engine optimization (SEO) isn’t just for Google!
Video SEO is the secret behind many YouTubers’ success. Think of the number of monthly searches (mostly by broke college students) for easy $1.50 meals or something similar on YouTube. Judging by the number of views on the highest-ranking videos for that phrase, it’s probably in the thousands! Use keyword tools like TubeBuddy to figure out what people search for on YouTube.
Suffice to say, a video project idea can be to create beautifully-edited SEO videos that target relevant keywords.
Evergreen content includes videos that never go out of date because people search for them regularly.
SEO evergreen content is one of the main ways that VEED has managed to rapidly grow their YouTube channel to 1000 subscribers.
Here's a video on the topic!
For this video project idea, challenge your students to create a Youtube series on relevant topics that regularly get search clicks.
Of course, it doesn’t have to be on Youtube, but it’s a good platform to understand the basics of video SEO.
3. Jump on Trending Content And Challenges Bandwagon
Have you, like me, spent an inordinate amount of time trying to master TikTok dance challenges but never having the guts to upload them online? Well, a great video project idea is to learn how to use challenges and trending video topics to attract a following!
On TikTok, go to Discovery and click on the trending hashtags to see how people are getting followers just by participating in these challenges.
If you want more information on growing your TikTok account, read our awesome guide on how to get more TikTok followers.
If you were into YouTube communities in the earlier part of the 2010s, you’ll probably know who GloZell is. At the peak of her career, she managed to interview people like Barack Obama. But do you know how she managed to amass such a large following in such a small amount of time? Video challenges. Here are her most popular videos ever on YouTube:
They’re all challenges.
Challenges have mass appeal, so they work for attracting a more general audience that likes to see fun and silly stuff once in a while.
Ultimately, you don’t just want to mindlessly jump on what’s trending. Why? A content marketing strategy isn't solely about chasing virality.
Doing various trends and challenges might bring in followers fast, but a lot of them will churn without a proper way to retain them.
4. Create a series of Instagram Stories videos to engage followers
Instagram Stories has become an integral part of the platform, especially when it comes to engaging with followers.
Thing is, not many content creators still fully understand how the type of video for Stories work. This video project idea can help your students get acquainted with Instagram Stories and how to regularly produce them at a high quality.
Making this type of video can be important for students considering the platform to acquire a following. Never mind the fact that as of 2019, there are around 50 million daily active users on Instagram Stories alone. The important thing here is engagement.
People watch Stories to see another side to the content creator they're following, outside the general aesthetic standards of their Instagram wall. It's also a chance for the creators to develop a closer rapport with their followers.
5. Use Video Interviews to Amplify Other Voices and Create a Following
Video interviews are an excellent video project idea to help students build a network and attract an online following in the process...through videos!
Simply put, everyone wants to learn from veterans and experts. And many people love to binge-watch celebrity interviews.
One of VEED's clients, Patrice Lhoni manages @f1interviews, an unofficial Instagram account that posts interviews with Formula 1 drivers. Using VEED's editor, he's managed to edit and syndicate this type of video faster than ever.
Since using VEED, he's gone from having 7k to 127k video views, and this is only increasing What I'm trying to say is: interviews as video content work splendidly. It helps interviewers gain notoriety within their niche, build an audience, and amplify other voices in the process! Win-win.
6. Start with Visualized Audio or Podcasts for Those Who Are Camera-Shy
Have students who aren't so keen to show themselves in front of a camera? That doesn't mean that they can't take advantage of videos as a medium!
People have completely embraced podcasts as a way to consume content. But on social media and YouTube, you can even take this to the next level and visualize audio content.
As a video project idea, ask your students to create a bunch of audio content to engage with people on social media. Then you can ask them to visualize them one way or another.
The more creative types might be able to find the energy to create animations or cobble together stock footage. But others can use VEED's easy-to-use visualizer to very easily create soundwave videos to share on social media.
7. Record Video Testimonials from Happy Clients
Video testimonials are recorded accounts from happy clients on how a product or service has helped them.
As an online educator, you can focus on teaching the basics behind great this type of video. Learning the mechanics behind a well-scripted video testimonial is a video project idea that can help students realize the importance of placing customers at the forefront of their marketing.
This type of video convert. According to a Content Marketing Institute study, video testimonials ranked #2 on the most effective medium for meeting marketing goals. That's how darn effective it is.
Businesses send video testimonials to their most hesitant prospects who need a final push to try out their product or services. Video testimonials can be used to upsell to existing customers.
Why are video testimonials powerful? Well, some prospects might hate reading or being aggressively sold. A video testimonial means that they just have to watch and listen.
They're also a form of social proof, a credible endorsement of your product from a third-party source.
8. Film How-to Videos To Show Expertise for Linkedin
Sharing content is all about sharing value. Whether this is helping viewers out on a problem that’s been bugging them or making them laugh, content creators develop an online following because their subscribers see the value in the videos they make.
Ultimately, you want to teach your students how to become comfortable in front of the camera and displaying their value for everyone to see. It pays to help students realize that every single one of them has a unique perspective to offer.
What better way to teach this than to create how-to videos that flaunt expertise?
As a video project idea, you can encourage students to create videos based on relevant topics that they’re good at.
Some of the entrepreneurs today with the biggest brands and most successful businesses started by creating super helpful videos.
If the students are startup founders, this video project idea is also a great exercise in using videos to explain and sell products and services.
Who knows, if you give this out as an assignment, maybe some of your students will decide to create an online course. Time for the pupil to surpass the master! Just kidding.
In any case, videos like these work well on all social media platforms. But people on LinkedIn might be more particularly eager to see these videos, because it’s a social network for professionals and business-oriented content.
Ultimately, this type of video project idea can be extremely beneficial for entrepreneurs wanting to create a community centered around their business.
9. Develop a Series of Social Media Video Ads
This video project idea is particularly useful for marketers wanting to explore the power of social media video ads.
It’s no secret that a well-crafted video gets hits. The same rings true for video ads, but they need to be more compelling than images to work.
As such, creating video ads involves a certain craft in itself that is different from the usual social media videos.
Video ads are a great way to help people fast-track their exposure towards thousands of people, and effective ones can help generate buzz.
This video project idea can be based on creating a series of video ads around a product or service with a certain audience in mind.
These video ads can be a series of edited versions of other video project ideas presented above or even these videos merged. For example, a video ad that blends customer testimonials with how-to expertise can be a compelling way to market a product.
10. Email Sales Videos for Effective Outreach
This is probably one of the more underutilized sales tactics.
Teach your students how to effectively create personalized sales videos that have a good script, effective messaging, and smooth video editing.
Sales videos also differ from other types of videos in that they need to be short and quick to the point.
It’s never been easier for anyone to create professional-looking videos. Today, all it essentially takes is a good phone camera, confidence, and an easy-to-use video editing tool like VEED.
Video Project Ideas Require Discipline to Work
These video project ideas provide a glimpse into the world of video marketing and creating an online community through videos.
But, of course, the most important thing to keep in mind when assigning these video project ideas to students is to teach them the importance of doing effective outreach once these videos have been made.
After all, video content creation is one thing. But another important part of the pie is promotion and making sure that your videos reach relevant people who want to see your content.
If you want a simple, yet powerful video editor, VEED is there for you. You can add text to your video, merge, trim and split your videos, add an audiogram, and other video editing stuff to create awesome video projects.
