The cat’s out of the bag: consumers love video content.
Forty-nine percent of people watch more than five videos per day and 86 percent of consumers want to see more videos from businesses in 2020.
This is great news because you’re confident in your ability to script and shoot educational videos for your followers. But you’re not a professional video editor, so you need video editing software that can help you maximize your ROI without requiring a huge time investment.
Good news: There are plenty of video editing programs out there suitable for beginners and those with experience that won’t cost an arm and a leg, to boot.
Even better news: We’re covering seven of them today, starting with one of the most beginner-friendly options.
Let’s dive in.
Tool #1: Descript
The future of marketing is video, and Descript can help you take your first steps toward that future. Descript is a no-frills, affordable video marketing tool video editor that beginners can master in minutes.
What makes Descript unique is that marketers can edit transcripts of their videos instead of the video footage itself. Considering that marketers spend a mean of 17 hours to create one piece of short-form content, this feature can dramatically cut down on your video turnaround time and increase your content output.
Descript also supports multi-user editing so you and your team can collaborate on each video. You can also use the native timeline editor to clean up your video and audio with fades and volume editing or dress up your video with music and sound effects. You can then export your edited video to Final Cut Pro or Premiere to add additional visual effects.
Descript is a simple video editing program that’s great for beginners, but it may be a little too simple for some marketing teams. Our second video editing program is also a good fit for beginners but comes with a few additional elements and features.
Tool #2: Camtasia
Webinars, demos, and explainer videos are among the most popular video types across channels, and you can create and edit each of them with Camtasia.
(Image Source: Vidyard)
Marketers can record their screens and edit recordings with Camtasia easily. You can also add text, transitions, annotations, pre-made animations, sound effects, and quizzes, among other elements, to make your videos more effective and engaging.
Specifically, if you sell online courses, Camtasia can make it easier to distribute your course content. Besides uploading your videos to Screencast, Vimeo, and YouTube, you can upload videos to your video courses, as well.
Even better, Camtasia is available for a one-time fee of $249. Not bad, right? Next up, let’s look at a general video editor that doesn’t skimp on elements and features: WeVideo.
Tool #3: WeVideo
Want a value-packed video editor that gives you the most bang for your buck? Look no further than WeVideo. Marketers can access over 1 million royalty-free elements like images and music tracks, use a green screen feature, and edit their videos any time, anywhere.
Looking to build an empire with social media marketing? WeVideo can help you on your mission. Marketers can produce videos using multiple formats with WeVideo and then upload these videos to Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, among other channels.
WeVideo is a fine option for marketers looking for a novice-friendly program with a wide assortment of features. Though if you’re looking for more advanced features without sacrificing an intuitive dashboard, you may enjoy using our fourth editing tool more.
Tool #4: Wondershare FilmoraPro
Marketing videos can help your business attract new leads and increase sales. Sixty-three percent of marketers said sharing a video on Facebook in the past 12 months led to a new client. Seventy-nine percent of businesses have earned new clients from Instagram, with 73 percent of marketers saying they earned a new client from Instagram Stories (which can be images or videos).
Over 40 percent of consumers worldwide have purchased products they discovered on YouTube, too.
But to see higher ROIs from your video marketing efforts, you’ll need to make them as polished as possible, so there won’t be any quirks or blips to detract from your marketing message — and that’s where Wondershare FilmoraPro comes in.
Wondershare Filmora Pro comes with automatic stabilization to fix shaky footage and noise reduction and audio compression for smoother audio. For more visual flair, brands can add customizable animations, use preset or custom shapes to hide parts of their video, color wheels and auto-correction, and lights and flares, to name just a few features.
Of course, Wondershare FilmoraPro isn’t the only editing program out there overflowing with features — our next editing program is, too.
Tool #5: Movavi
Movavi is a media editing triple threat that can help brands edit video, audio, and photo content and then convert that media into over 180 formats. Marketers can record their screens with Movavi, as well.
Movavi’s video editing features don’t disappoint. Creatives can add titles, fades, stickers, transitions, and copyright-free effects and media. Movavi also offers a library of video and photo editing courses so marketers can make fabulous videos regardless of their skill level.
Movavi’s features should be fine for most brands looking to improve their marketing videos’ quality and appearance. But if you’re looking for a more cinema-grade video editor, you’ll love our next tool.
Tool #6: Final Cut Pro
Are you an Apple user with some video editing knowledge? Then allow us to introduce you to Final Cut Pro. Marketers can edit and move clips within Final Cut Pro, and even combine separate video and audio files into one bundle.
You can use color grading to tinker with your videos’ color and saturation, sync up to 64 video angles, and reduce unwanted noise.
Final Cut Pro is definitely a more feature-rich but technically complex video editing tool, so it’s best for marketers who have some video editing know-how and who are looking for TV- or cinema-grade videos. Even if you’re a video editing greenhorn, it could be worthwhile to spend a few hours each week mastering Final Cut Pro.
Millennials and members of Gen Z spend 20 to 25 minutes, respectively, of every hour of digital time watching videos. Investing in more highly produced videos could help your brand be among the lucky few videos these groups — and others — view.
If you’re a non-Apple user looking for a program as rich as Final Cut Pro, look no further than our final video editing tool.
Tool #7: Adobe Premiere Pro
Like Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro is a must-have video editing program if you have some background experience in video editing and are looking to make jaw-droppingly stunning videos.
Basically, if you want it, Premiere Pro has you covered. Want to create and release VR videos? Then you’ll want to check out Premiere Pro (and this article on why VR is one of the digital marketing trends BenchmarkONE is looking forward to in 2020).
Looking to mix your video’s audio, reformat videos, and altering videos’ color grading? Premiere Pro can help you out there, too. And if there’s something you want to add to your videos that Premiere Pro doesn’t offer, you can use one of Adobe’s related services like After Effects or Adobe Stock.
Take Your Videos From Just Okay to Exceptional
Whether you’re a video editing novice or old hat, these video editing programs take a lot of the guesswork out of creating visually compelling videos.
And if you want to use your videos in your inbound marketing strategy, sign up for BenchmarkONE’s free trial. You can use BenchmarkONE’s software to create beautiful landing pages to house your videos, as well as include them in your personalized email marketing campaigns.
Listen, you and your team are bursting with creativity, but you only have so much time to put those ideas into action. But if you try some of the tools we’ve outlined today, we’re certain you’ll be able to execute more of your ideas without breaking your schedule — or your sanity. And that’s a beautiful thing.
Author Bio
Taylor Barbieri is a content marketer for Podia, an all-in-one platform where online courses, digital downloads, and membership websites — alongside their creators — thrive. Check out our free 12,000+ word guide to creating profitable online courses, even if you’ve never done it before.