Whenever I chat with local business owners and entrepreneurs about adding video content to their marketing, I hear pretty much the same response, “I don’t want to be one of those kinds of people that take videos of themselves all the time.”
While I do understand that response (sort of), there’s an obvious misconception of what video marketing is. Becoming a semi-self-absorbed person that spends too much time with their phone pointed at themselves isn’t the same as being a local business owner who wants to share the fantastic parts of their business with their community.
As much as I’d love to toss you into the deep end (and I really should), let’s start slow. Let’s shoot one relatively short video to get you started.
Here’s the plan. I’ll put it in bullets to make it step-by-step easy.
- Pull out your phone
- Tap the camera icon
- Hand the camera to someone on your team. They’re going to be your camera person
- Now, I want to think of your favorite kind of client (yes, the one with a pocket full of money but ALSO the one that you’ve been dying to serve because you have exactly what they need to make their life better – THAT one)
- While you’re thinking, tell your camera person to clean the lens with their shirt (that’s a HUGE tip)
- Now, ask them to point the camera at you (see the little diagram below how to frame the shot) and hold the camera so their eyes peek out just over the camera
- Take a deep breath and tell them to hit record
Here’s the easy part. Talk directly to the person holding the camera and tell them exactly what you would tell your favorite customer. Don’t be stiff and formal, just talk to them. Introduce yourself, introduce your business and tell them how you can make their life better. Try it a couple of times. Remember, you’re talking to the person holding the camera.
Later, you have a little homework. I want you to watch and critique that video. Ask someone else what they think if your ego can handle it. Here’s what you want to ask yourself, “Is it believable? Would someone care about what I just said?” If you’re probably like most of us, you sucked on that first take. But I’ll bet you got better when you did it again, didn’t you? That’s all it takes to get started.
Don’t even worry about posting this one. You can do it again, and again and again. Do it until it’s natural.
Don’t forget, you’re not talking to the camera, you’re talking to the person holding the camera, and they’re holding it so the lens is right by their eyes, so it looks like you’re talking to the camera. That’s an art form all by itself, so don’t bite off too much here. Keep it simple.
Once you have a pretty decent version of this short 10-15 second intro clip, pop that video onto your FB page or Instagram.
That’s it. You’ve overcome the hardest part, STARTING. Who knows, you may even enjoy yourself!
We’ll talk more about some different types of videos you can make and some of the finer points of video marketing to boost your business, but I think I’ve tortured you enough for now.
You can really do this! And your business will thank you for it!
Good luck, My Friend. Please shoot me a link to your video. I’d love to see it
