video

Video Playbook: A Practical Guide For Beginners

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Video marketing is one of the most effective ways to market your personal brand or business. However, it’s constantly developing and expanding to suit the preferences of consumers, so we need to meet them where they’re at. That means understanding the latest trends and best practices is essential for your success.

You’ve heard the experts talk about it, your colleagues rave about it, and know you need to record them, but how do you get started? You’re in the right place. I created this guide for you.

As a bonus, I added a short list of my favorite affordable tools at the end.

 

Write Your Video Script 

Collect your thoughts and write them down in advance to ensure a clear and concise message. Once you hit the record button, avoid sounding scripted or reading from your script. If bullet points help to keep you on track, then place them close to the camera lens on your device so it doesn’t look like you’re reading. The more you practice, the more natural and better you’ll sound when it’s time to record.

Personalize your video by speaking as you would to your ideal customer or a friend, reflecting empathy for the problem that you solve.

Setting Up Your Video Camera 

Place your camera on a tripod or steady surface at eye-level. Avoid angles where the camera lens is looking up or down on you. Shoot in landscape mode and position yourself in the center of the screen, allowing a few inches of space above your head and on either side for comfortable cropping to square or vertical versions.

If you’re standing, the bottom of your screen should be around your fourth shirt button or right above your belly button. If you’re seated, the bottom of the camera should end at your third shirt button or base of a half-zip sweater.

Choose a non-distracting background, avoid windows, showing other people, and posters/signs that viewers can read.

Wait 3-seconds before speaking once you hit record and leave 3-seconds at the end. Bonus tip: When you finish recording, pose in a few different ways so we can take screenshots from the video for a cover image.

If you’re having a hard time recording your video in one take, break it up into a few parts to be woven together later. 

Practice 

If you’re using a smartphone, set the phone in your tripod and record in selfie mode so you can position yourself in the frame correctly and get comfortable. Please note: unless you’re using an app like ProMovie or Filmic Pro, shoot the final video with the camera on the back of your phone as it shoots better quality footage than the front camera. 

Practice breathing deeply before you begin and smile at the intro and after certain points.

Remember, you’re providing valuable information that your audience wants to hear. Focus on the message and the people, not your appearance. They don’t care about your appearance as much as you do. Don’t curb your enthusiasm – If you talk with your hands, then do that in the video. Move around be the person they will meet in real life.

Lighting 

Find a location with plenty of natural light or non-fluorescent indoor lighting. Position yourself facing a window or set up your primary light sources facing you, not behind you. Avoid overhead lights unless you have an additional light source shining on your face.

Audio 

Use a lapel mic if you have a headphone jack or lightning port on your device. If you need a lightning port to headphone jack adaptor for iPhone, see the tool list below.

Clothing 

Wear solid colors that contrast with your surroundings. Avoid patterns, stripes, plaids, polka dots, and shiny garments.

Affordable Video Tools

– Vicseed 67” phone tripod

– Royal Voice Lavalier Lapel Mic

– Apple Lightning to Headphone Jack Adaptor

– ProMovie or Filmic Pro Video App

– Limo Light Studio 700W Output, LMS103

 

Real Estate Agents: How To Increase Your Chances Of Getting An Expired Listing

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Who wants to stand apart from the competition and increase their chances of getting a new listing?  You do.

More and more agents are going after expired listings every day.  Some call. Other’s mail. And then you have the doorknockers. The competition is swift.

If you are fortunate enough to get a listing appointment, you’re halfway there. Now you have to win the homeowner over and land the listing. The average seller interviews three agents before choosing who they want to hire, so you’re probably not the only one going in for an appointment.

Remember, they have already experienced an agent, so how you prepare for your appointment will make all the difference. This is your chance to go above and beyond and impress the heck out of them.

I will show you how to package their home prior to the listing appointment so they can see how you will present their property to the market rather than just hearing about it.

But first, aside from what their home is worth, what’s the one thing the seller wants to know?

What you will do to sell it in the shortest amount of time.

If you are dealing with an emotionally attached seller, they want to feel confident that their baby is in good hands.

Prior to your appointment, go into the MLS and analyze the previous listing.  Check out the quality of the photos, marketing remarks, and see if you can identify reasons the home didn’t sell.  Often it’s improper pricing or poor presentation.

Re-write the remarks as you would if you already got the listing.  How would you tell the home’s story? That’s the key here. Show the seller how you will showcase the benefits and functionality of their house.  If the previous listing remarks are great, then put your spin on them.

The marketing remarks are your opportunity to sell the lifestyle and benefits to your prospective buyer, not a ramble of features and fragment sentences.

I know it’s tricky to write remarks without a visual inspection of the property so piece the story together the best you can. Reference the previous agents remarks, photos, and do a Google search of the neighborhood.  Often you will find some interesting facts or history that will spice up your version.

In two recent cases, I discovered that the neighborhood surrounding a listing was developed by one builder of Macys Herald Square in NYC.  He wanted to create an enclave for the rich City folk to vacation during the summer. Leading with this information hooks the reader into your story.  It’s interesting and would make most people want to read more.

The second listing was in the 7th wealthiest zip code according to a recent Bloomberg study.  That will definitely get some people’s attention.

Now for the visuals.  If you break your listing appointment into two parts, snap some interior and exterior photos during your first meeting. Create a slide show with text overlay highlighting the functionality and benefits of the house.  

Animoto is a great tool for creating eye-catching home tours and you can export them in high definition.  For this to have maximum effect, the seller needs to see their house in the video.

The key is to show them what you will do rather than just hearing about it.

You may think this is a lot of work to do before you get a commitment.  You’re right. And your efforts will impress the seller. If you put this much thought and work into securing the listing, they’ll be interested to find out what you’ll do to keep it.

Even if you don’t get the listing, you’re practicing for the next.

3 Best Ways To Promote Your Business And Show Your Value As A Business Owner

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The online world moves fast, like a freight train barreling down the tracks! And, it’s pretty congested too.

How can you cut through the noise?

I will show you three of the best ways to maximize your reach and exposure. Then, you can repurpose these ideas across your various social media channels and website.

#3 – Check out HARO – That stands for Help A Reporter Out. It’s an online resource for journalists to get feedback and input from business owners like you. A little-known fact is it started out as a Facebook group in 2008 and quickly grew to a 100,000 person email list. Now it’s a tremendous opportunity for you to position yourself as an authority in your industry.

You can sign up for free or get a paid subscription, and up to three times per day you’ll receive an email digest of inquiries from journalists looking for your input on your preferred topics.

#2 – Interviews – They offer you an opportunity to tell your story, add credibility to your business, and help you develop a relationship with the interviewer.

Collaborate with other industry service providers. You can interview each other and then repurpose the interview to reach a broader audience online.

Bonus Tip: When you receive the audio file from the interview, add it to your website. Transcribe it for SEO purposes. Google crawls through text more efficiently than video or audio.

#1 – Public speaking – In the form of hosting a class or a workshop. There’s no better way to let people experience the person they are considering hiring than getting in front of them and showing your value.

Unlike social media, you won’t have to worry about who hears you because you’ll have an audience who made a conscious decision to come and hear you speak.

 

Create Better Videos For Your Business With This 7 Part Framework and Productivity Tip

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If you’re a business owner you probably already know by now that video is the essential tool for marketing your business but you might also be intimidated by the thought of putting yourself out for public display. You’re not alone.

 

When I began working with video a few years ago I had a fear of public speaking and I didn’t like the way I look at certain angles. The way I worked through my fear was pushing myself to record videos. 

 

I forfeited a chance to go on a family vacation and locked myself in the house for three days. I recorded about 20 videos but it took about 350 takes to get to the finished product.  I had poor lighting I didn’t have a microphone but I had a good message.

 

What I learned from this experience is the more I do this the more I push myself, the easier it becomes. I began to realize that it’s not about me it’s about you, the people who I’m trying to deliver a message to. What’s your take away?  The more I was able to put you first the easier it got for me. 

 

The top 3 reasons people tell me they don’t record videos are: 

#1 They don’t know what to say.  

#2 They hate their voice or the way that they look, and

#3 I’m not interesting.

We all just start somewhere but start we must!

The trick is to organize your thoughts before you hit record. Writing out a script will help you deliver a clear message but when you do hit record don’t sound scripted. 

Remember, take a deep breath and make it about your viewer the more you take yourself out of the equation the quicker your critical self will disappear. 

Here’s a 7-part framework that you can use to create better videos for your business.  

Part 1 –  The Opener, dive right into your topic from the beginning, in

the first five to ten seconds your viewer is going to decide whether they

want to keep watching your video or not. Plus it shows that you value and respect their time. 

Part 2 –  A branded bumper – this is a 5-15 second animation of your logo that you place after your opener. If you don’t have any creative skills or know any graphic designers you can go to fiverr.com and get one made for about 5 or 10 bucks.

Part 3 – Welcome your viewers. This helps build loyalty and everybody likes to feel special (Clapping)

Part 4 – Jump into your content. Let’s get into why we’re all here. 

Part 5 – Add a micro call-to-action (optional). A call-to-action is what you want your viewers to do and how you want them to do it. The reason we add one here is that we want viewers to make it to the end of the video. If they don’t get there they won’t be able to hear your final call-to-action. An example might be, at the end of the video I’m going to offer you a promo code or something special. 

Part 6 – The Closing. Wrap up and recap some of the important points from your video, and

Part 7 – Your final call-to-action. Remember, this is what you want your viewers to do and how you want them to take action. This could be subscribing to your channel, connecting with you on social media, or visiting your website.

If you’re struggling to find the time to record videos I get it. First, you have to record, then make edits and distribute your video across all your various social and other online channels. It’s a lot of work but the payoff is

well worth it if you’re consistent. I like to take a day of the week where I can commit 4-6 hours and batch record videos. If I can get 3 or 4 videos in that one session and I do that once a week, or even every other week, I will have anywhere from 8 to 16 videos in the bank for future use. You can also batch produce thumbnail images for your videos in that session as well.

 

Create a schedule and stick to it. Consistency is key. Your viewers are going to want to know when to expect your next video. By doing so you’re training them to come back to your content and that is what builds loyalty. If you have questions about video or you need some help with coaching you can send me an email at AandBMS@gmail.com.  I respond to everyone.

American Frozen Foods: A Client Story and Work Sample

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Just fourteen months ago, American Frozen Foods in Scarborough, Maine, was having a hard time putting together a successful digital marketing strategy.  They wanted to reach new customers while adding value and deepening relationships with their existing customers.

My work with them initially consisted of individual coaching sessions and grew to more of an in-house role.  I analyzed everything they were currently doing, researched their ideal customer, and asked lots of questions.  We determined that they were casting too wide a net and haphazardly posting on their social channels.

Some of these posts were cooking videos, and kitchen hacks from other companies.   I thought we should create our own videos and keep attention on American Frozen Foods instead of sharing posts that drive our customers away from our channels.

Since their Marketing Director, Theo Shaughnessy has 15 years of experience in the foodservice industry, I suggested we turn him into the American Frozen Foods resident Chef.   Kitchen Inspirations with Chef Theo was born, and four months later, we wrapped up our eighth episode (watch it below).  Theo was a little camera shy at first but with plenty of practice, he fully embraces his role and looks forward to it each month.

We support the recorded videos with Live appearances form Chef Theo for Q&A’s and various contests.

The response from their customers is overwhelmingly positive and providing the added value we all hoped for. They are engaging with us more and sharing the Chef Theo videos with their friends and family.  As of this month, we have gained 200 Facebook fans and Our videos have over 20,000 organic views!

More importantly, their customers are receiving the added value we hoped for and a little inspiration for preparing the products they purchase from American Frozen Foods.

About Me / The One Video Every Small Business Business Owner Needs

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A compelling “about me” video could be all a potential customer needs to determine whether your product or service is right for them.

In this 60-second video, I will demonstrate how to incorporate the key elements listed below.

* Who you are.
* What you do.
* Who you help.
* How you do it.
* What makes you different from others.
* Call to action – add one mid-roll and at the end.

The optimal length is 30-60 seconds.

I recommend writing a script to organize your key points. Your finished product will serve as your elevator pitch as well. If you are clear others will be clear when they talk about your business, especially at networking events.

The next time someone asks “what do you do?”, you will have a compelling response!

How To Build Meaningful Relationships On Instagram

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How to grow your instagram following organically

Building a significant following on Instagram takes time and work. If you use it for business, you are going to have to commit to a strategy to build trust with your audience.

Just like Facebook and all the other social platforms, we are in the attention business. Once we get our target audiences attention, we have to keep it.

Gaining followers is the easy part. Attracting the RIGHT ones and keeping them takes work. There are followers, and there are the RIGHT followers. You want the latter.  

The following tips are proven to work, but you have to be consistent. Don’t give up!

 

 

Here are my tips to build meaningful relationships on Instagram:

1. Create a compelling bio that depicts who you are as a person or business. Complete every detail and be creative.  How do you want to be remembered?

2. Think about how you want your feed to look and how your audience will feel when they view it. Your photos and videos should tell a story and be visually appealing. Instagram users will decide in seconds if they want to follow you or not.

3. Post quality images or video consistently. You will have to find your sweet spot. Some people recommend 1-3 times daily or 5 times per week. Only you know your audience, and they will let you how you are doing by their actions.

4. Follow people your product or service can help, related to your field and whom you have a genuine interest. I recommend 5–10 per day.

5. Follow hashtags. This is a newer feature that many people do not even know about or use yet. You will see content from these tags in your feed and can meet people you might have interest in following.

6. Research hashtags carefully.  The most popular ones tend to attract bots and your competitors.  Make a list of tags that are relevant to your business and think about tags YOUR audience might search for.  Use a variety of niche, industry, community, and branded tags.

7. Send direct messages to people. If someone follows you, message them and say thanks. Look at their profile for commonalities. Ask questions. Show interest. Not everyone will respond, but we do not know unless we try.

8. Use the Stories feature. Stories have grown tremendously in users and capabilities over the past year. They are a great way to gain additional exposure and allow people to experience you differently.  Be careful not to over do it.  If your stories aren’t entertaining you won’t get repeat viewers.  Posting cool stories less often will probably get your more views.

9. Add thoughtful or helpful comments on posts from users you follow and others you find on the platform. I cannot tell you how many of my relationships began in the comments.  Keep the conversation going!

10. Tag people when relevant. Add geotags to your posts.

11. Pay attention to your insights. This information will help shape your future decisions.

 

Experiment with the above suggestions. You have to be comfortable with whatever strategy you choose. What works for some may not work for others.

I feel it is more important to have meaningful connections rather than tons of people I do not engage. By growing your following organically, you will have users that choose to follow. That shows interest. The process may take more time but well worth it in the end.

The takeaway: Be active. Be consistent. Be Human.

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