I have a friend who decided to participate in the Living Nicaragua International Contest. After going back and forth about whether or not to enter the contest, he finally decided to do so. For those of you unfamiliar with IL Contests, it is a contest where at least once a year this company called International Living offers to send the winner of the contest all expenses paid to a foreign country for a stay of a month. To participate in the contest you must make and upload a video explaining why you hope to win so that you can go on a trip to the chosen country.

This year, my friend decided to enter. After he told me about the contest and his participation, I decided to watch his video on YouTube and this is what I thought about his video. By the way, I forgot to tell you that after making the three minute video, I guess you should upload it to YouTube for everyone to see and at the same time give the company exposure. (Smart move for the company)

As I was watching your video, I started to think, how could this be improved? You definitely need opinions from others. So here we go. Things you can do to improve your YouTube videos.

1. Always make sure that the sounds are at an appropriate level. That is, they are loud enough for anyone to hear. Many times, the sounds are horrible. Fortunately, my friend’s sound is adequate in portions.
2. Have someone else hold the camera or use a tripod. This way the camera will not shake and you will have a clear image if the camera is focused correctly.
3. Dress for success. What does this mean? Wear something appropriate that complements your complexion. If you like the meaning of colors, you know what I’m talking about. Here use a color that goes well with your complexion and signifies what you are trying to say. Like, “I’m happy.” or “I’m serious” for just a couple of examples. You might ask, “What color would I wear to show me happy?” You can use yellows or another bright color to complement your complexion. For business, we all know that a dark conservative color works.
4. Smile. Sometimes we get used to appearing stern because of our jobs or positions in life. We think we have to look so serious without realizing that that look stays with us. That stern look becomes our natural. Have you ever gone to the grocery store without really thinking anything negative and someone walks past you and says, “Smile, things can’t be that bad!” and you look up and start to smile while at the same time thinking that you must have had an evil or sad look on your face.
5. Comb your hair. Even if you just took off your hat, take your hand and brush your locks as best you can.
6. Have fun or show that you are having fun. People tend to watch videos of people doing something crazy or stupid. So even if your video is about why you want to do something; have fun showing it on video don’t make it look like a chore. So go ahead and have fun doing it.
7. Try to record somewhere without background noise. Unless that’s what you want. Let’s say you want the roar of the sea or people playing volleyball in the background. You don’t want voice competition in your background.
8. Set up your video so that people are willing to give you feedback on your project.
9. Make sure you read all the rules and title your video correctly according to the contest rules, if it’s a contest you’re entering.
10. Use a video editor that you are familiar with and know how to use. My friend’s video is only three minutes long, yet the time on YouTube came out to read nine minutes and forty seconds. This will definitely affect the number of views or visits. You realized. Can’t.

As I understand it, the rules say: “A three minute video…”, maybe it counts as nine minutes and forty seconds. Who knows?

I’m sure there are other ways to improve the videos, please give suggestions on the site.