400 hours of content is uploaded to YouTube every minute. Thus, it is almost a quest of sorts to create fresh, exciting and creative videos. There are ample opportunities to explore new ideas given that India is such a diverse country and has a distinctive cultural identity. When it comes to documenting food through digital video, there is no substitute for originality. Being authentic and original not only generates curiosity but also increases traffic on your channel.

Here are seven things to focus on while creating a food video:

Language is key

The World Wide Web has traditionally been mainly English centric, but videos are language agnostic. The luxury of consuming information in their preferred language is what drives people towards YouTube. In India, the demand for video recipes in Hindi has gone up, since it is a commonly spoken language. Simply put, if you aren’t putting out your recipe in Hindi, you will lose out on potential viewers.

Digital Landscape

You must remember that your video will mostly be consumed on mobile screens. So keep in mind that your food video has to be shot such that the viewing frame is only 3-5 inch.

Presentation matters

 The first five seconds of your food video are hallowed ground. Those help your audience decide if they should watch your video till the end. You have to keep the frame very tight and pace your video well to capture the viewers’ attention. Avoid using any repetitive shots in the video. Make sure there are supers or text-on-screen explaining the ingredients or cooking method. It makes the video seem more creative and lively and helps those who are watching it without sound.

Keep yourself updated

You have to capitalise on trending topics to attract more viewers. Google Trends can help you track the current hot topics. One of the widely viewed trends is food hacks. These are a bunch of short videos on how to boost your immunity, quick kitchen tips, etc. With its rich past and various health benefits, Ayurveda is an area worth exploring.

Widen the audience base

 Millennials make up a large percentage of YouTube viewers, so your videos must tap into their needs. Creating content for a younger audience will be very interesting since they are more curious about health and food combinations. There is currently an overlap between people who want to look fit and good, and who love eating great food as well. If you can create videos that combine both these points, they could be a big hit.

Think out of the box

 In 2017, there were more than two billion queries in the food and beverage segment in India. Out of these, 70 per cent was in food and 30 per cent in the beverage. These numbers signify the stiff competition in the space of making food videos. You have to create a distinctive identity to increase viewership of your recipes. A few ways of standing out from the crowd are: having a great name for your video, catchy thumbnails and titles, an innovative trailer for the video, and religiously responding to comments.

Expand your reach

It’s a good idea to have a celebrity associate with your YouTube channel in order to gain credibility. Since celebrities do a lot of personal branding and are also health enthusiasts, it will generate a lot of buzz around your video.