Every business wants to expand their appeal and customer base. And over and over, marketing gurus preach about creating Facebook pages (and ads) as well as opening a Twitter account. These are all great ideas, and it’s important to create a strong presence in social media. But you also have to stand out from the crowd.

So how do you position yourself differently? One way is to create a video and upload it to your site as well as other social media outlets. But many business owners have never held a video camera, much less produced their own video. Here are some tips for beginners who desire to get started with using video on their own business’s website.

1. Use the right equipment. Once you’ve planned out what type of video you want to make, find the right equipment to shoot it with. If you want an authentic look that has a classic home video appeal, a simple Flip camera should suffice. But if you truly want to upgrade your audience’s viewing experience, you should use a tripod, or hire someone with very steady hands.

2. Pay attention to sound & audio! Of particular importance is background noise. If cars are whizzing by or if you can hear wind blowing into the microphone, the extra background noise will ruin a good video. If your camera has a headphone jack, plug it in and run some sound checks. Make sure your audio is clear.

3. Review what you’ve filmed and make sure your lighting doesn’t overshadow your subject. Don’t shoot with a window in the background, and watch for shadows. Lighting is certainly important, and though it doesn’t have to be perfect, it helps to review what you’ve shot to make sure your video can be seen.

4. Edit, edit, edit. People have short attention spans, so keep it simple, and short. People will often skip from video to video on sites like YouTube until they find something interesting. Rarely will someone watch a 5 minutes plus video all the way through if they don’t know what it’s about. Keep your video short and engage your audience so they understand the point right away.

5. Upload and distribute to social networks. But don’t forget your website! Once you’re happy with your video, export it and upload onto YouTube, Vimeo and other social networks. Tweet the link to all your Twitter followers, post it on your Facebook business page, and email it out to your customers.