Watermarks are something that you can come across quite often on the Internet since they are commonly used for the protection of digital files. Nevertheless, some people still refrain from making good use of them. It might be due to them being skeptical about their efficacy or not fully understanding what they are for. Let’s take a look at what a watermark is and how adding it to your video content can benefit you.
- The Definition of a Watermark
What is a watermark on a video? It is a logo, some text, or a symbol in the center, one of the corners, or any other place within the frame that you see fit. A watermark can be of any design: colorful or black and white; opaque, translucent, or somewhere in between; it can have a shadow or glass effect. It can be shown throughout the entire video or just during the first and last few seconds. Even a string of simple, plain, white text on a video is considered to be a watermark. The main point of it is to show who the video belongs to and thus, protect the content against theft.
- Why it’s Important to Watermark Videos
Now that we figured out what a watermark is, let’s touch upon a more important topic. Why should you consider adding a logo or text to your videos?
- Protection
Watermarks have the power to scare away thieves from ripping off your work. They were brought into the digital world to protect various types of content – be it documents, images, or videos. The Internet made both sharing and stealing files incredibly easy – in most cases, you don’t need to be a genius or have some special, highly advanced software to pull it off.
Producing a single video tends to involve a lot of resources like money and time, so it’s unsurprising that some people are eager to cheat and steal someone else’s content to get the likes and views or even some financial profit. Sadly, it’s a rather common phenomenon on social media.
A whopping number of accounts that only re-post other people’s videos have been created during the past couple of years. And every now and then, they accidentally “forget” to include a link to the original post. Therefore, to avoid any risks, it might be better to add your brand name or logo to your videos, so if anyone re-shares them, people will know who the visual content really belongs to.
- Promotion
Watermarks can also serve as a great promotion tool. After all, pretty much anything you buy these days has a logo on it. Even a to-go cappuccino comes in a paper cup with the coffeeshop’s logo on it. Brands tend to put their logos everywhere – not just on the products themselves, but also on the packaging, cards, and other promotional materials. Why? Because it helps with brand recognition.
The more people see the brand’s logo or name, the better they’ll remember it. For example, if you’ve seen the iconic Nike’s logo a hundred times during the past month, chances are their brand will be the first one to pop into your head when you need a pair of sneakers. Human brains love to take shortcuts when it comes to making purchase decisions. Therefore, if you watermark your video content, your brand’s name or logo will leave a more prominent imprint in the memory of your potential customers.
Besides, as it has already been mentioned, when you post your visual content on the Internet, you never know where it might end up – what account might repost it and whether they will give you credit. By adding a watermark to your videos, you will give people the opportunity to find you with difficulty. This will help you get more followers, more recognition, and, what’s more important, more new customers. It’s crucial to take advantage of all the promotional tools that are available to you. And watermarks are one of the most effective, yet less costly ones.
- Watermarking Videos
How to add a watermark to a video? It’s much easier than you might think. All you need is simple-to use software that even a child can master within minutes. With its all-around toolkit and intuitive interface, Visual Watermark is exactly like that. Let’s take a look at how you can watermark your videos using this app.
1. Upload videos
You can drag not just one, but several files directly from a folder or click on the “Select video” button, then choose whether you want to upload videos from your computer or one of the popular cloud storages.
If you realized that you need to upload an additional file, click on “Add video”.
The “Clear” button allows you to remove all the imported videos. But if you need to get rid of just one of the uploaded files, you have to hover over it with your cursor and then click on the Basket icon that will show up.
2. Design your watermark
Visual Watermark has three options: “Add text”, “Add logo” and “Add Group”. The latter is a combination of both text and logo.
The set of editing tools is the same for all three options. If your logo has a monochrome background that you would like to remove, Visual Watermark will help you achieve that. Just click on the “Remove Background” button that will show up after you import your logo file, and the background will disappear. If you don’t have a logo yet, you can use one of the 60 icons from the Gallery.
With the Visual Watermark’s toolkit, you can:
- Drag your watermark to any place within the frame.
- Choose the level of opacity from 0% to 100%.
- Pick one of over 900 various fonts.
- Select any color on the color wheel or enter the HEX code to get the exact shade and hue you want.
- Toggle the orange slider to change the size of your watermark.
- Rotate your watermark from 0 to 360 degrees.
- Fill up your video with repeated watermarks that are positioned parallel or checker-wise.
- Apply one of 300 assorted effects such as solid backgrounds, gradients, shadow or glass effects, etc.
- Use the animation feature to make your watermark appear and disappear throughout the video.
3. Export videos
The Export Settings in Visual Watermark are far from being complicated. They have the following options:
- Pick the output folder to save your videos to.
- Choose video format. It is possible to keep the original video format or pick a different one.
- Select the bitrate.
- Change the size of your video.
- Rename the file.
What’s also great about this software is that your original videos will remain unchanged. Watermarks will be applied only to copies.
If you import a batch of files, you will design your watermark only on the first video. However, in the Export Settings, you will find the option to view your watermark on other videos. This can be done in the Preview section. Here, it is also possible to edit your watermark’s position, size, and opacity.
Once you are done with the settings, you need to click on “Watermark Videos” to initiate the process.
And you’re done! Wasn’t that easy?
Watermarking videos doesn’t take long but makes a world of a difference. It can protect your visual content from being ripped off while also making sure that your brand is imprinted into the minds of people, and they will always think of you. Adding a logo or some text can free you from worrying about all the bad things that might happen to your videos that are posted on social media or websites.