You’re hearing everywhere that your local business needs video to stay current. If you don’t have a smart phone with good recording skills or the technical obstacles of making a film appear onerous, you may feel behind.
We’ll eliminate that discomfort today! If you operate in local SEO, you probably have clients who fulfil this description, and getting video from them requires a magic wand.
Thank you to my esteemed colleague Darren Shaw for tweeting that you can use Canva to make a slideshow, download it as an MP4 file, then post it to your Google Business Profile.
This took me on an adventure. I’ve made many videos this way. I may not get a red carpet in Hollywood, but I’m fascinated by the idea that anyone can put together a few slides and make a movie they can distribute on all the platforms above! Your Google listing, social profiles, and website will improve! You can produce your first Canva video if your business has photographs, and I’ll show you every step.
How to make a Canva slideshow video.
This exercise will involve promoting a Marin County, California service area firm that delivers vegan meals.
The film should include all the necessary information about our firm in one minute.
This is a fictitious business, so I’m utilising stock photos. Please use your own! You want your Google Business Profile to stand out, not look generic.
To begin:
- Take or create six good photos that summarise your business. Save them to a computer folder. Also save your business logo there so you can find and submit it simply.
- Sign up for Canva. Free account for this project.
- After signing in, click “Create a design” in the top right of Canva’s home page:
4. Enter “slideshow video” into the search box and select it from the options.
Click here for the Canva dashboard.
The right display is your workstation. You may add unlimited slides with the “+” button. Most of your tools are on the left display.
5. Click “uploads” in the left menu.
A large “upload your files” button will appear.
6. Click that button and upload six photographs. This is how they appear below:
7. Drag photos onto slides in any order to tell your local business’s narrative. You can enlarge or shrink the image size to fit the slide by dragging it over the dots at each corner.
Right-clicking a shot removes it to a trash bin so you can upload anything new to that slide.
8. Add my uploaded logo. I drag it to where I want it:
9. Add my company’s USP to the first slide. Click “Text” in the menu and drag “body” to where you want to type. You can choose different fonts and size your text.
I inserted the USP here:
10. Make the remaining slides. Shorten it, though. Google’s video length limits have been unclear, as Darren Shaw explains in this helpful video. Videos should have these specs, per guidelines:
Duration: 30 seconds max.
Max file size: 75 MB
720p or higher
The local search industry thought films had to be 30 seconds and no more than 75 MB, but Google seems to be happy with longer movies as long as they’re 75 MB or less. Use VEED, a free video compression programme, for files greater than this. We’re good with our 7.3-MB video.
Canva lets you choose slide lengths while creating a slideshow. Each of mine is 6.5 seconds so viewers can read the content. Your video should end with a powerful call to action (CTA) that explains what you want viewers to do.
11. Add slide transitions.
On the left, click the little arrow under the plus sign to smooth slide transitions with a variety of effects. I prefer “dissolve”. Very elegant. You can choose an effect and click “apply to all” to avoid manually adding it between slides.
For a smoother start, I fade in my videos’ first slide. Simply click on your first slide and then the “animate” button at the top of your dashboard:
on your first slide and then clicking on the “animate” button at the top of your dashboard:
I like the “fade” motion, therefore I picked “on enter” to fade in the image.
12. Add audio to videos.
This is where the slideshow becomes a wonderful video. Sound boosts audience engagement. Canva’s free edition offers many audio files, while the subscription version has more. Go to “Elements” on your left menu and scroll down to “Audio”:
I added the free “Happy Whistling Ukulele” track to this video to portray a positive vibe about this business. Drag the track under your slide lineup:
I can also utilise the top-of-screen “Audio Effects” option to fade my audio in and out without being abrupt:
The small speaker sign above controls audio volume.
I also want to add a doorbell sound to a delivery slide and a “hooray” sound to another slide. I find these effects in the audio files and move them below the slides.
Canva is great since you can upload several audio tracks!
You can add your own voice-over to the video, since I am not. My laptop microphone sounds bad when I tried this. If you have a better microphone, click “record yourself” on the Uploads tab to add voice:
*This will send you to a recording dashboard, however Canva has never responded to my UX issue here.
I keep trying to record an audio track, but the programme always records a video. Choose to edit the video and extract the soundtrack to extract the audio track. This is overly difficult, and I hope Canva fixes it. Voiceovers may work for your business.
12. Name your file. Do this in the upper right where “VEGAN” appears in my screenshot.
So save it to a folder on the left in Canva via the “file” tab:
After checking for errors and ensuring your slide presentation is satisfactory, click the download link above and save it as an MP4.
End of story. Created and downloaded your video!
What should we do with this local business video we just made?
Your computer’s URL bar should have a downloads arrow icon like this. Clicking on your file should open your newly generated video in your video player. Check it once to avoid repeating errors. Here’s our creation:
While it may not win Oscars, we made it for free and it will make the difference between our business having relevant video content to distribute and not having any!
Search for your business + city on Google to reach the New Merchant Experience Dashboard while signed into the account that manages the appropriate Google Business Profile:
Click “Photo” in this window after clicking “Add Photo” above:
Finally, you learn you can upload films and photos:
Click “Select photos or videos” and submit your MP4:
You’ll receive this upload processing message:
Prepare for this Google error message:
Since 2023, Google’s system bug has not rejected videos. Check your profile three days after publishing to see your video.
While you wait, you may publish your MP4-based video to Instagram and build a YouTube channel for your local business with your first video. You can post YouTube videos to Twitter and Facebook. Embed it on your website! Google Updates (previously Google posts) allow videos.
Sharing a video numerous times offers a lot of value for a few minutes.
Last Canva and videomaking tips
Canva won’t help you if you have issues or queries about using the programme. Their contact form promises a response within 24 hours, but I’ve never heard back. Too awful. I give the product an A+, however even on paid accounts, the customer service is failing. If you want to learn how to do something with Canva, I recommend a) searching YouTube for a video demoing a procedure and b) exploring in the dashboard until you figure it out.
If tech scares you, tell yourself that Canva is error-free. Your work remains private until you’re satisfied. You can proofread, replace photos, and choose music at your leisure. Your creative process is private until you share it!
If a local business customer is slow to provide content, you can certainly make a first video without them. You can probably make a slideshow from their website’s photographs and USP. I bet they’ll help you make the next video with more strategic visuals after seeing it on their profile.
Any business can make dozens of videos. Consider using this medium to promote your premises, staff, inventory, FAQs, guarantees, special events, bargains, before-and-after projects, service area clarification, etc. Few of your local competitors likely invest in GBP films. You can make your profile the best in town with little effort!
