How to Use Video to Share Learnings and Reach out to Your Community

Are you noticing more and more people on social media recording videos of themselves? People are sharing their learnings, talking about their day, discussing upcoming events in the industry and showing their experience at conferences. Whilst opinions may differ on this format of delivering information, it appears to be becoming more and more prevalent. For us at Belvista Studios we love recording our journey on film and great things have come from reaching out to our community via this format.

We have been recording and uploading videos for around 12 months and we have learnt a lot along the way. This has resulted in us feeling inspired to share what we have learnt with you. Anyone can record and post a video online, you don’t need to be a superstar or have an amazing script to read. It can be quite simple, all you need is an intent, your trusty phone camera and ‘ACTION!’ (*cue film clapperboard*).

To give you some context prior to getting into the steps of filming, let’s explore why you would choose ‘video’ format to share information with your community, clients or industry peers. Here are some potential reasons why.

1. It Can Provide Insight into You as a Person

Videos can provide your audience with insight into who you are as a person. Your audience may connect with you on another level when they hear the information coming from you in a way that reveals elements of your personality.

2. It Can Reveal Your Level of Passion

If your audience sees you speak, they will receive insight into how passionate you are about your craft and the topic you are talking about.

3. It Can Catch the Eye of your Audience

A video can catch the eye of your audience. When I am scrolling through my feed, I will often stop and be more inclined to view a video over large amounts of text. Humans are curious beings and if I see an actual person speak on video, it provides me with insight into who they are and I am therefore generally more attentive to their message.

Now that you know some of the benefits, here are the high-level steps to recording a simple video.



TIP: When I first started recording videos for Belvista Studios, I was quite mechanical in the way I presented. I was always trying to say the ‘perfect’ script and felt like I was doing an important speech at the White House. I have learnt, that it is far more effective to show some personality, relax a little and present as if you are speaking to a colleague or an industry peer at a café.

Now that you have recorded your video you can begin the uploading process. Depending on the nature of the video, the process of uploading may differ.

1. Raw Upload

By using the term ‘raw upload’, I am referring to the video staying in its original format and being easily uploaded onto a platform of your choice. This is a casual style video and involves showcasing the raw version of you doing your thing on a single video file.

If you have Instagram you may be familiar with ‘Instagram Stories’. ‘Instagram Stories’ can be used to record snippet videos that will remain on your profile for 24 hours. The format of videos on ‘Instagram Stories’ is very simple and just requires you to upload your video (add a filter and a text overlay if you like) and hit post. There is no need to use high end video production editing or plan what you are going to record days in advance. This format is more of an in-the-moment style and provides your community with insight into your day-to-day life and thoughts. Whilst these videos only remain on your Instagram profile for 24 hours, if you believe your video can add value for longer than that time, you can add the video to a ‘Highlight’ on your profile, which can be categorised into different topics. I won’t explore Instagram ‘Highlights’ in great detail as that could be a blog in itself. I recommend you utilise trusty Google and find a tutorial video or blog that can provide you with extra information if you are interested. I have included the ‘Highlights’ on the Belvista Studios Instagram as an example below.

Highlights on the Belvista Studios Instagram page. 

This format of video is also useful for LinkedIn. LinkedIn have a video option for posting where you can record yourself and upload the raw file straight onto the platform. Another example is an industry friend of mine who has been commenting (responding to posts) in video format on Twitter. Rather than the usual text comment, this is an out-of-the-box and authentic way to connect with your online connections and is a great way to draw attention to your point of view.

I am seeing more and more companies share their journey and reach out to their audience via this casual format. It’s quick, easy and allows you to connect with your clients and industry peers on a whole other level.

2. Edited Upload

Rather than grabbing the camera in a moment throughout your day and recording on-the-go thoughts, this format of video is more structured and planned.

We film videos in this format with the intent to explore a different learning and development topic each week (such as social learning, mobile learning or gamification).

For these types of videos, I will dedicate more effort to planning what my main points are prior to recording. I will often break up the information I am delivering into different sections and film each point in a separate video file. Once I have recorded all of my separate videos, I edit each of the files together into one larger file.

At Belvista Studio we use Adobe Premier Pro as it has great features that enable us to improve the look and feel of our videos. You can also use other movie editing programs such as ‘Windows Movie Maker’ or find an app on your phone that can edit multiple video files together.

Once you have your completed video file you can upload to any of your social media accounts or on YouTube. We use YouTube so that we have a go-to platform for our videos. We then share the YouTube link on our social media platforms.


Belvista Studios YouTube Channel.

That’s it for this blog on recording yourself on video to discuss your craft. Are you going to have a go at uploading some quick casual videos to your social media accounts? Will you start a YouTube Channel and create informative videos, sharing your experiences and knowledge? There are so many ways that you can deliver your message to your audience, it’s about being clear on your intent and choosing the best format to achieve it. Happy recording!