Blogging is one of the most effective inbound marketing tactics a company can utilize. It is particularly huge in the film and video production industry because there are so many aspects of it to cover. Technology, storytelling, creative arts, fashion, music, philosophy, cultural insight and critique, and entertainment all intersect in film and video production. Therefore, video production topics for your blog will be key this year.
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The List
Knowing what to write about is the beginning of any effective, results-oriented blog strategy. Below is my recommended list of the top 21 topics your blog should be covering if your blog services the film and video production industry. (Note: I am purposefully admitting equipment and software reviews and news. That is a given. These topics below are ones you might not otherwise consider.)
Remote production
COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc on the land and despite new vaccines coming soon, millions of people are still required to stay put. But that doesn’t mean productions cannot continue. Companies like Wistia and OWC have shared ways in which video productions can still offer high-quality service working remotely (full disclosure: both are clients of mine). Video collaboration services like Vimeo, Frame.io, and Wipster are no-brainers. And Bebop Technology offers cutting edges tech that allows you to store and edit video securely from the cloud.
Sandwich Video shows how they are excelling at the ability to create video at the highest quality, all from the comfort of home.
COVID-19
Speaking of COVID-19, another video production topic related to it you absolutely need to be blogging about in 2021 is COVID-19 production guidelines. Many film and TV productions have started up again, but are doing so under very strict guidelines. As this American Film Market guide shows, they vary for each country. COVID-19 compliance on productions is so important, there is now a formal role to handle it—COVID Compliance Supervisor. As this role becomes more important, and as productions looks to start up again, understanding this role will be key. Your blog could be the one that comes up in search engines if you have thorough and useful content. My recommendation is to add this to your editorial calendar sooner rather than later—if for no other reason than to prevent another verbal lashing by high-powered actors and producers on set.
Apple M1
I know I said equipment reviews and the like would be excluded from this list. But for a company like Apple, whose hardware and software is so prevalent in the industry, to finally create its own chip after years of using third party companies like Motorola and Intel, this is HUGE. Huge enough that writing about it should be high on your editorial calendar list.
Mobile production
One of the clients we get to serve is LumaTouch, makers of the top-rated mobile editing application LumaFusion. The research and writing we’ve done for them have absolutely convinced me this is an area that will continue to expand. The huge popularity of mini-lights like Lume Cube is a testament to the increased interest. Also, the video quality of the newest slate of iPhones, combined with apps like FiLMiC Pro and any number of smartphone rigs, make shooting on iPhones and other smartphones a growing preference among filmmakers on-the-go (e.g. YouTubers, Travel bloggers, mobile journalists, etc.)
Running iOS in Mac OS
Since we’re on the subject of mobile filmmaking and video production, and since I’ve already broached the topic of Apple’s video production ecosystem, I would be remiss not to mention the ability of the new MacOS and M1 chips to run iOS apps. I hope you’re planning to cover how that might affect video post-production.
YouTube
Those who have worked with me for any number of years know that one of my biggest soapboxes is NOT using YouTube as your sole video distribution platform. Putting videos on YouTube does not equal good video SEO. That being said, it would be unwise not to have a strategy to properly implement YouTube into your video strategy. The optimum word there is PROPERLY. Start writing in-depth guides and blogs on how to set up YouTube channels and effectively use them in a comprehensive video SEO strategy, and your blog post will go places!
TikTok (and Instagram Reels)
Yeah, yeah. I know. I can hear your eyes rolling from here. But the attitude many of you have about TikTok, is very similar to the attitude people had about Twitter and even blogging in their respective early days. But facts are facts (unless you’re into “alternative facts”), and numbers don’t lie. The download numbers and use of TikTok are off the charts (800 million in 2020). It borders on content marketing malpractice if you provide a film and video blog and do not write about TikTok. Likewise, you should also be writing about Instagram’s hopes for de-throning TikTok, IG reels.
Social media
There is a lot more to video production and social media than just creating viral videos on short-form platforms. Video content creators also need to understand proper aspect ratio, composition, workflows, native distribution (e.g. posting directly to Facebook vs. pasting a YouTube link). Blog about it and not only will you be providing valuable content, you’ll help boost your own SEO numbers.
Video SEO
Everyone knows that SEO is “search engine optimization.” Video SEO is optimizing the search results of your video pages. Bottomline: unless earning revenue on YouTube is your primary business model, the goal of any competent video SEO strategy should be to drive people to YOUR website, not YouTube. That means people who do searches on Google or some other search engine should ideally end up on your websites video page; and those who find your videos on YouTube would be lead to your website too. Write about how to do it well.
Zoom
The video conferencing platform Zoom is no doubt the biggest business winner of 2020. What started out as a leading video conferencing platform in businesses, due to the pandemic, became even more ubiquitous than personal platforms like Skype and FaceTime. So much so, that the term “Zoom” (as a verb) has become to video conferencing what “Kleenex” is to tissues paper and “Xerox” is to making paper copies. There is still some mystery to all the ways in which a company can effectively use the platform. So teach them on your blog.
Live streaming
Whether it’s via a social media site like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube, or on a companies custom platform, or on the popular gaming platform Twitch, live streaming has grown by leaps and bounds, largely due to the pandemic. You’re missing out on content marketing gold if you’re not including live streaming articles on your blog in 2021.
AR, VR, HDR (all the R’s)
Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality had huge surges in use in 2020. Yet there is still so much more for video content creators and B2C companies to learn about the video formats. Don’t just blog about the technology behind them, or the cool ways major studios and entertainment conglomerates are using them. Show how small to mid-sized companies can use the technology to boost sales. And with the ability for smartphones to now shoot in HDR, expect to see more chatter about that tech too.
Digital Asset Management
The increase of remote video production will come with an increased need to securely store, track, tag, and wrangle large amounts of media online. From clients who’ll need to share large catalogs of media with video production vendors, to post-production teams working in disparate locations. Using services like Dropbox Business, Brandfolder, Canto, Bynder, and even Google Drive for remote video production will continue to grow in 2021. An easy win would be an in-depth comparison series on the various services.
Streaming wars
It may seem like all that can be said about the OTT and streaming industry has. But, au contraire mon frère. There is still so much to cover. It seems like there’s a new streaming service announced every other week (I’m pretty sure my 15-year-old son is going to be launching one any day now. 😂). AMC Plus and Peacock are two of the newest ones. How will these platforms compete and compare with Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime? So many juicy and delectable keywords to add to your SEO tool box!
Distribution
In the vein of streaming wars is the topic of self-distribution. Original content creators will begin taking advantage of the fact that more of us have to stay home instead of going to the movies. Services that allow creators to market, sell, and distribute their own content will continue to grow in popularity. Make sure your blog is one of the ones helping those creators do it successfully.
Disney, et. al.
From their slate of ten Star Wars shows and movies recently announced, to the new Phase 4 era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, plus everything else they own (e.g. 20th Century Fox, Discover Channel, and a little animation studio called Pixar), if Disney so much as sneezes, the industry moves. Your blog should be there with the metaphorical handkerchief.
Warner Bros.
There are two reasons I listed Warner Bros as a separate topic. First, they will most certainly attempt to re-boot, in some form or fashion, their own cinematic universe. Whether it’s based on the new slate of Batman films coming out, or falling back on the still successful Aquaman and Wonder Woman franchises (the god-awful storytelling of WW 1984 notwithstanding). Secondly, their decision to release all of their 2021 film theatrically and streaming on HBO Max, will have a profound impact on the industry. You would be well-advised to write about it.
Diversity and Inclusion
Diversity & Inclusion (aka D&I) will continue to be a hot button topic in 2021. Especially if this year’s Oscar announcements follow suit like previous years and have little to no women or people of color in the major director, writing, acting, or cinematography categories. Also, more studios are launching special projects (like CBS’s partnership with the NAACP to develop diverse content) and/or are hiring new roles whose purpose will be to reach and appeal to more diverse audiences. At the end of the day, the most important color to Hollywood is still green. Creating content that represents more diverse groups equals, say it with me now… “Mo’ money! Mo’ money! Mo’ money!”
Podcasting
Yes, even video content creators should be thinking about podcasting. So much so that Wistia has implemented an entirely new podcasting service into their core product.
Media Literacy
If all the craziness of 2020 taught us anything it was that people are horrible at knowing how and when to understand the various types of media strategies used and their power to affect change and mindsets. From political propaganda, to the use of deep fakes, there’s an opportunity to help video creators do better at using various forms of media, as well as help media consumers do better and being able to cut through all the proverbial b.s. We need to find the signal in all the noise.
Audio
Every self-respecting filmmaker and video producer will tell you that while there are many ways to fix or deal with bad video, there is little to nothing that can be done to fix bad audio. Create content that helps content creators not create crappy audio.
Getting Started
Feeling a little overwhelmed? I get it. There’s a lot there. And no one blog can (or should) necessarily cover everything on this list. But the more you can, the better. If only there was a talented, experienced, knowledgeable, and dare I say, charming group of writers and content marketers who are already steeped in the knowledge of all this stuff to get you started. Oh, wait. There is. Give us a shout out if you’re looking for a results-oriented, inbound marketing strategy.
And if you are a fellow content creator or marketer, I hope this list helps you and your clients crush it in 2021. There is plenty of business and knowledge to go around for everyone.
Ron Dawson is the founder, executive managing editor, and lead content strategist for Blade Ronner Media. After twenty-five years of marketing, business, and content creation experience, he has opinions.
Feature image is a screenshot from Sandwich Video’s BTS about creating the Slack WFH promo.
