Video tips that get women active: now and post-coronavirus

09/06/2020

Video tips that get women active: now and post-coronavirus

We’ve already shared tips about moving to online classes, but now that re-opening your doors is in sight, we wanted to share why videos will remain relevant.

Here are two good reasons why creating online videos about your sport or activity will continue to get women active post-coronavirus:

  1. They’re always in demand. Home exercise has been the most visited activity on our website since our campaign launched in 2018, meaning it is a popular option at any time. We knew this when we launched our Get Active @ Home page this year.
  2. Supporting women to get active in your club or activity starts before they get to you. First impressions are often online, and making a video is a great way to introduce women to your club or activity. It also allows them to learn some of the moves and techniques at home, before they’re ready to sign-up.

Remember: our research tells us that more than half of Victorian women worry they’ll be judged on their appearance, ability or priorities when they get active. So being able to give something a go by following along to a video at home may be the bridge that gets women to sign-up.

If you’re going to make a video to get more women active in your program or activity, the below tips can help ensure it’s as welcoming and inspiring as possible.

Top five tips to make videos that will get more women active

Tip one: Make your video look and feel welcoming

Why: Our research tells us that women are more likely to get active when they see people who look like them, and they feel included.

How:

  • Introduce yourself at the beginning of the video, explain what you’ll be doing, and be encouraging in a way that will support beginners.
  • Never retouch or airbrush any women – they are who they are and they’re proud of it! Read our #FITSPO antidote news post for more information.
  • Try and show women of all shapes, sizes and ethnicities in the video.
  • Capture what you love AND hate doing – we understand that training and workouts aren’t always fun. Show yourself/the instructor getting red in the face and think about including bloopers.
  • Wear comfortable everyday clothing to make yourself relatable. A workout should not feel like a fashion shoot. If wearing active wear, try to avoid any prominent branding.

Tip two: make it accessible

Why: Remember our research tells us that women worry they’ll be judged on their ability or because they don’t have the right clothes or equipment to give an activity a shot. If you want to support more women to get active, make sure you are actively trying to include women who are feeling unsure or just starting out.

How:

  • Make more women feel like they have the ability to give your video a go by keeping it beginner-friendly. Always include modified steps/positions for women to try. If there are parts that could be tricky for some people, make sure you acknowledge this (and be encouraging/reassuring for women following along who are still learning).
  • Think about equipment women may already have at hand. Suggest household items that can be used in place of specialised workout equipment to make it easier for women to do the workout right away, without the hurdle of getting the ‘right’ gear beforehand.
  • Add subtitles/closed captions (refer to tip five below) so more women in various circumstances can engage with your video. That includes women who live with deafness, or women who want to watch with the sound off so their family/housemate/sleeping baby doesn’t have to hear it too.

Tip three: Make it clear what the video is about and find good lighting

Why: If it’s easy to find and easy to watch, it is likely to make a good impression.

How:

  • Let women know what you’re doing in the video before they click to watch it, otherwise it might not be clear what to expect (e.g. Boxing? Put this in the video title and show a glove in the preview image. No equipment needed? That’s a headline too!).
  • Find bright natural light or a purpose-built location for filming (and remember to follow physical distancing practices).
  • Before you film, check your background to make sure there is nothing distracting happening behind you.

Tip four: plan your video structure, just as you would plan a face-to-face session

Why: Good structure helps women follow along without having to do too much pausing or rewinding.

How: Consider what sequence and structure will work best by asking yourself questions such as:

  • How long will women need to complete the video? If it is a longer video, add some breaks for water/catching your breath.
  • Is it a video that demonstrates moves and techniques? Think about adding signposts (text on the screen) for sections within the video so it’s easy to watch, practise and re-watch.

See our at home circuit workout video below as an example of good structure.

Tip five: get across the basic ‘tech specs’

Why: Getting the key technical specifications right makes your video more professional and appealing to watch.

How:

  • Eliminate loud background noise and increase the volume of the person speaking. If relevant, include an appropriate soundtrack played softly in the background, but only if you have permission (you can get music from various cheap, royalty-free music sites, like this one).
  • Make sure your camera is stable, in focus and doesn’t shake when you begin jumping around.
  • Avoid using the zoom-in function, flash, and filters. These are best left to professional video editors.
  • Avoid shooting vertical videos – these are great for Instagram Stories, but not for wider distribution.
  • You can cut out mistakes and unsuitable footage using the video editor on your phone or a free online application such as Ezgif.
  • For best results, record ‘4k’ resolution (this means 4,000 pixels and it’s the standard resolution setting for filming) and select the setting for ‘60 fps’ (this means you record 60 frames per second).
  • Use subtitles/closed captions to make your video more accessible (refer to tip two above). Captions should be easy to read: use white writing on a solid background, size 12 font or above, and sentence case (avoid using upper case because it looks like you’re shouting at viewers!).

Videos can support women to get active at any time and following the tips above will help to ensure your videos are welcoming, easy to watch and easy to engage with. For more good examples see our Get Active @ Home page.

For more evidence-based tips on how to get women active, register or login as a Campaign Supporter for access to our step-by-step guide: Getting women to sign up for physical activity.