This week I was trying to figure out something new to do for a marketing campaign that I was creating. In the past I have created still ads: PowerPoint presentations, posters, pictures, graphics, etc. This time around I wanted something a bit different. I have also made ‘promo’ videos with Promo.com, but the feel of the ads in my opinion is too clear cut. There is not much room for creativity. You choose the stock videos that fit your theme, add a caption from a list of animations, and add the music that best fits your product. It is a very easy process that takes a lot of the effort out of creating the videos, but it also lacks personalization.
I searched around for free services that would allow me the flexibility to create a short video in a style of my choosing but I ran into a few roadblocks. The first issue was that there are very few free services for doing something like this. I completely understand the want/need to monetize a program. It takes lots of time and money to develop these services and in doing so, I know there must be something to make it worth the time and money developers spend on creation. My second issue was that the free programs lacked flexibility. Sure, I could add a few images and text and make them appear and disappear, but that was really it. I needed something that I could create an entire ‘how-to’ video within, not a program that would create one part just to drag and drop it into another program to continue editing.
PowerPoint to the Rescue!
During my time in school, I learned that I could create PowerPoints and save them as an .mp4 file that I could use for timed presentations. I thought I would give this a go as I knew there were a lot of the functions that I needed, and boy was I surprised just how it turned out. I also chose to utilize PowerPoint because it is a program that I already have access to and is ‘free’ to me. Below, I created a video using PowerPoint about how to create a video using PowerPoint. Although it is a short informational video, it gives you a rough idea of its capabilities. I thought it would be fun to make something like this as it breaks the fourth wall of video creation.
If this is something that you would like to see more of, please reach out and I will definitely make a part 2! If you are interested in learning deeper about the capabilities of PowerPoint, Finchloom offers a Office 365 training program to show your employees how to use the full suite of Microsoft Products to their full potential. Schedule a free consultation at Finchloom.com!