Have you noticed how ubiquitous the use of video has become? It’s everywhere… from Facebook and Instagram to individual websites, your Google searches, even news sites and, naturally, YouTube.
The reason for this explosion of moving images is twofold:
1. Increased internet and mobile data speeds have made video more accessible…
2. People love stories, and they love watching video—especially easily-digestible, visual stories. And this trend is only going to continue.
The tourism industry is particularly interested in videos, because it sells intangible experiences.
Think about it: Gorgeous beaches, delicious food, exotic animals, colorful dresses, luxury hotel suites, and happy people having fun just look way more inviting and interesting if the images are moving and in rapid succession, with sound.
It just makes you dream about getting away, doesn’t it? The tourism industry knows that and tries to sell their destinations and packages that way—especially on social media.
This is great news for you, because the appetite for video is so insatiable that it can’t possibly be satisfied by professional videographers alone. For one, companies have neither the budget nor the time to produce sleek-looking, high-end videos. Secondly, most people want to see authentic, “user-generated” content, because it appears to be more believable and increases their trust in that company. That means there is tons of room for you—or anyone with a camera or a phone—to create videos that tourism companies need and want to buy.
However, there is a catch!
The way that markets work is that when there is a strong demand for a service or product, this demand will shortly be met. Right now, this is starting to happen as people discover they can make money shooting and editing videos for tourism companies (and any company trying to sell a product or service, for that matter).
However, it’s also becoming easier for the everyday person.
For example, your smartphone will edit videos for you. If you own a GoPro or a drone, the editing software that comes with it produces quick videos on the fly, and all you have to do is upload it.
At this time, these programs still need some human input—but soon companies will merely have to type in keywords for their destinations and services and add their logos and contact details, and an algorithm will produce a video for them using stock footage.
Luckily, for now at least, companies prefer to deal with humans. They can explain to you what they are looking for, and you can even interview them about how lovely their B&B is. If they don’t like the first draft, they can ask you to make changes instead of arguing with a software program.
In the meantime, you can take advantage of such automation by using the software on your smartphone to create stunning videos without having to learn the ins and outs of video editing.
Another reason why this is a good time to start is that you can also upload your videos into stock sites. That way, when automated services start creating videos using stock footage, there will be an even larger need for stock videos… and the ones you’ve uploaded can earn you money passively.
Either way you look at it, the demand for video is exponential, and we are just at the knee of the curve. Meaning that right now, even as a beginner, you can still get paying clients to sponsor your filming vacations, and you can build your stock video portfolio at the same time.
But you have to do it fast!
You can either jump onto this technological train that will double its speed every mile down the track, or be left behind and wish in a couple of years that you would have known you could be supplementing your retirement with passive income—starting right now.