Online videos are interesting, grab attention, give a chance for you to show off the Steven Spielberg in you, and above all drives traffic. They are the best promotional tool for businesses. But how do you make them stand out from the herd?

We are not going to send you out shopping with a list of must-have equipments, or emphasize on how good content can help you top popularity charts. We list out five easy ways to create videos that will make people sit up and take notice, without spending hundreds of dollars.

Use kids

“Charlie bit my finger” became a phenomenal hit all over YouTube, and the mother of all home videos. Any video with a cute kid in it is going to put a smile on people’s faces. And as you know smiling people bode well for your business. Whatever your business or niche maybe, you could use your little nephew to get the attention you need.

You are mistaken if you think kids can plug baby powders and toys alone. Every third commercial on TV has a cute cherub in it and that in itself is a case in point of the selling powers of tiny tots.

A little bit of self deprecation helps

We are all tired of videos that go “We are the best”, or testimonials of heavily powdered people exclaiming how great xyz services are, and sound like they are reading out from a script. How about a video that is mildly deprecatory and on the small goof ups you make at work. But be careful not to go overboard.

Make compelling teasers

It is the age of aggressive self marketing. With so many online videos doing the rounds in cyberspace, an eye catching teaser, or series of teasers, about your video can provide a good launch-pad. Make them fun and also ensure your sizzle conveys the essence of your video.

Make people embed your videos

It pays! Search for wildly popular blogs in your domain and sweet talk your way into embedding your video. Some people actually pay professional and popular bloggers, to embed videos on their blogs. If it is too shocking or expensive for you, create a well written blog about your video in your site. It can ensure better footfall and also help with search engine optimization.

Custom designed captions

Talk at length with your captioning firm and come up with colorful captions, in different, pleasing, and immensely readable fonts.

That kind of completes our list. And one final tip to remember is to have fun while making your video, as what happens behind the camera has a magical way of spilling over into what happens in front of it.