A Beginner's Guide on How to Use Video for Business
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Want To Increase Your Sales? Do Video For Business!
I normally don't make things ever sound that simple...
Because, truth be told, it's usually not.
But I've watched so many businesses literally EXPLODE once they started doing video.
I've seen Chiropractors, like my good buddy, Dr. Brett Jones, absolutely blow up his YouTube channel to nearly 30k subscribers in less than nine months.
My wife's multi-six figure business...largely attributed to her YouTube channel (30k Subscribers).
And to be clear, YouTube is NOT the only source of distribution.
But it got my attention, loud and clear.
So much so that we launched a massive initiative this year to also include video.
And that seemed like such a tall order considering just how much we're already doing with audio content for the podcast.
But the results and the power of video content just can't be ignored.
Studies show that consumers would rather watch video than read at a 4:1 ratio and we process that information 60,000 times faster than text.
76% of users on social media say they would share a company video if it was captivating and/or entertaining.
98% of internet users say they've watched an entire explainer video on a product or service.
So, like, basically everyone...
And that's all TREMENDOUS news for you if you're trying to reach more people, make a bigger impact and make more sales.
In my view, video just connects with people.
It allows them to see you and all of your uniqueness.
To feel like they can understand your journey, your life, your cause for what you do, your passion, etc.
It's just so hard to replicate that in non-video formats.
And yet there are so many business people and entrepreneurs I meet that are NOT unlocking this massive potential.
The reason?
There's quite a few, actually.
Many fear the infamous trolls or even the thought of trolls.
They fear sounding or looking silly on camera.
Maybe it just seems like too much work or they don't have the budget.
Whatever the reason, we need to get you over it and over it fast.
And my guess is that if you're here it's because you're ready to take the plunge.
So, that said, let's talk about five quick and easy steps to get your video game off the ground!
1. Have a Clear Distribution Strategy
I've referenced YouTube already but that's not the only source to publish your video efforts.
Do I think it would be wise to use YouTube?
1,000,000%.
YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world.
One of my biggest gripes with many entrepreneurs is they are focusing most, if not all, of their efforts on non-searchable content.
What is non-searchable content, you ask?
Content that doesn't readily populate based on key search terms.
Instagram Stories disappear after 24 hours unless you save and highlight them.
The life cycle of a tweet is something like 20 seconds.
So it's unlikely after those periods of time that anyone is ever going to discover that piece of content you might have put so much time and effort into.
Truth be told, this Instagram madness is driving me crazy for that reason.
Notice how much your engagement goes down after the initial few hours of a post?
With truly searchable content like a blog or a video on YouTube, it's likely your content is going to actually pick up more steam over time!
I love that prospect.
I've had businesses in the past that still have people inquire about our services years later.
No idea how they discover us but they do.
And it's because of content rich, searchable content.
YouTube is powerful.
And if you really take time to understand what people are searching for it can absolutely serve major dividends.
I experience this with my podcast.
People don't search for how-to's and then find my pod.
The awareness or introductory point to me begins elsewhere and then they decide to click and check out my show.
I have to be very active on Social to bridge those gaps.
But it's just not likely they are going to pull up Apple Podcasts, search a topic and find my show.
That's really just not how the platform was designed.
But YouTube WAS designed that way and it's a beautiful, democratized landscape of just pure opportunity for you as an entrepreneur.
I dogged on Instagram so let me just qualify that for a second.
I LOVE re-purposed video content on Instagram.
Recording a video for a webinar you're running?
Why not create a condensed version of it or pull snippets from your materials to give a sneak peak to your audience on Instagram.
Have a keynote you gave somewhere and want to break that down to entice people to watch the entire speech?
Again, perfect.
And that doesn't preclude you from actually creating native content for the Instagram platform but many people feel overwhelmed having to create multiple pieces of content for every social platform.
It's crazy! I get it...
One of the things my team and I will be doing is taking our YouTube videos that are constructed around a long-form blog post and then breaking them down even further for Instagram Stories or Instagram TV.
In other words, we'll have one podcast episode with a blog around the same piece of content, just like you're reading here.
The YouTube video will be a summarized version of both and then my team will chop that down to share on Instagram and video for Facebook or even Facebook Ads if it ties into a program we're selling.
One central piece of content but reconstructed for multiple platforms.
Speaking of Facebook, let's go there.
Many people are building reputable brands around the LIVE feature.
Look at some of these folks like Lewis Howes or political pundit, Ben Shapiro.
They are literally treating Facebook like streaming television.
And that's not to say you can't post your pre-recorded videos to Facebook just like you would YouTube.
I'm just mentioning LIVE and Shows because they are all the rave and Facebook is really giving them priority on the platform.
I don't get notifications about hardly anything else on Facebook but when Lewis publishes a new show, pops up every time.
Depends on the structure of your business but this is a cool way to use video in my view.
At the end of the day, there's probably someone in your space that's utilizing video in a powerful way.
I love grabbing inspo from others and then uniquely crafting my own plan.
I'd recommend doing the same.
And, if nothing else, video on your website and sales pages works like gangbusters.
2. People Will Forgive Bad Quality Video But Not Audio
As an audio-first guy, maybe I'm biased here.
But more often than not, people are going to click away from a podcast or a video if the audio is bad.
They can tolerate less-than-stellar video but audio is just agonizingly painful to listen to if it's poorly done.
Now, don't take that as me saying not to worry at all about video.
Ideally, you would do both and well.
But I also don't want you to overwhelm yourself while you're just getting started.
I also don't want to see you go out and buy thousands of dollars worth of equipment.
I've met several entrepreneurs lately that asked me if they should raise outside money for their podcast!
I told them the same thing I'll tell you...
If you NEED money to start a podcast, a YouTube channel or even to just shoot video for sales pages, you're overthinking it.
And truth be told, you've ALREADY made the investment in your equipment, you just didn't know it.
Check your pocket or purse real quick and tell me what time it is on the Apple or Android device.
Now tell me what that else that thing can do...
Odds are you're going to tell me take pictures and video within the first five functions you rattle off.
And that's exactly what I want you to do.
The resolution on these devices is MORE than enough to shoot high quality video.
And that's even more true if it shoots in 4K.
So, before you scoff at that notion, let me just tell you I personally have not met a single person that has successfully done video for business that didn't start on their iPhone, Android or some form of smart phone.
I'm not saying they don't exist, I just haven't personally met one.
And I meet entrepreneurs and business owners every single day.
Not to mention the questions that flood my inbox through the pod.
It's normal, it works well, it gets the job done...
Once you advance and start seeing tangible results then you can always double down on the investment.
On that note, I would also look into a Rode smartLav+.
It's a lavaliere mic that works amazingly well and is designed to work on your iPhone (You will need a dongle, thanks Apple) or smart phone.
I personally LOVE, love Rode products.
My microphone for the pod is a Rode product and we use several Rode products for video.
It's just tremendous quality for the price.
You're going to spend a tad more than some of the basic options but the difference more than makes it way worth it.
It's a sound investment, you have my word.
If you don't like dealing with the wire and fastening a lavaliere to your clothing, you can also look into a really solid shotgun microphone.
The one I recommend and use is called the BOYA BY-MM1 (Again, Dongle...thanks, Apple).
They are really cool and a great option.
Depending on how far away you plan to sit from your phone, the audio quality should be somewhat similar.
I would give the edge to the Rode but it also has it's challenges.
Most notably if you happen to brush up again the mic while it's attached to your clothing.
That, or your clothes brush up against the mic.
It takes some getting used to but I've had to re-shoot several (LONG) videos because of this.
It sucks but it's part of the game.
Side by side comparison in terms of cost may help you in the decision making process.
The Rode is just north of $63 while the BOYA comes in right around $37.
3. Don't Over-Complicate Editing
For me, editing can be pretty overwhelming.
We have these grandiose visions from what we've seen other folks on YouTube do and/or the shows we watch on TV.
But truth be told, with a simple tool like Filmora and mastering a few basics, you can do some pretty powerful stuff.
Remember back in the day when you added animations to a PowerPoint and felt super cool?
t's not unlike that at all to a certain degree, just a bit more complex and dynamic.
But don't let the software overwhelm you.
There's a million features but you really just need the basics to get started.
You can learn like 5-10 basic editing practices and be totally off to the races.
And if you're just not at all interested in learning even the basics, you do have resources out there to utilize.
I would recommend at least a macro-level understanding, as I do with everything else, but Fiverr has thousands of video editors.
That, or you can use OnlineJobs.ph, one of the sponsors of my podcast, to find a VA (Virtual Assistant) to do your editing duties.
To be candid, we have VA's that do all of our editing at this point.
This has freed up hours of my time, especially with the podcast.
3. Focus on Great Lighting
Natural lighting is king.
We now have upgraded to ring lights and some pretty nifty equipment.
Nothing extravagant but makes a big difference.
But again, we're talking about beginners here and that's totally unnecessary to get the ball rolling.
I would recommend positioning yourself close to a window with the light coming in on your face, not behind you.
That, or just going outside is also a great option.
You're obviously going to have some sound issues with outside noise but maybe you want to do some B-Roll
^^ This is an example of B-Roll.
With B-Roll you can add sound in over the recorded audio and so it doesn't matter about the outside noises.
Drone's are really popular for B-Roll now.
I'm sure a million examples just popped in your head when I referenced drones.
For a talking head video, one where you are explaining something, I like early morning and late afternoon/early evening for an outside video.
For an inside talking head video, you want as much natural light as possible coming in so I would say mid-day.
Everyone's setup is different so you'll have to play around with it and see what looks best.
4. Outline your videos
This is a tough one because you can totally sound robotic and scripted if you go too far one way and find yourself scrambling for words if you go the other.
So, here's what I like to do.
I build my videos and podcast episodes around ONE THING.
Today, we're talking about video for business.
Not just video, but video for business.
I also know exactly who I'm speaking to.
The hard working entrepreneur or business owner that has been a bit timid about video or knows they need to be doing it but for some reason just haven't due to time constraints, technical overwhelm or just not fully understanding the amazing power of video.
That clarity before I even craft my message makes things crystal clear for me.
I draw up an outline with what I want to cover.
I use bullet points to remember what I want to say and where.
I may throw in a reminder to tell a certain story at a particular point in my message.
Review what I wrote a few times, envision how I want it to flow...
And then I let myself own the message before I begin.
I want it to sound like I'm just telling a friend about something cool I know.
If it doesn't feel like that, I'm not ready.
In my view, nobody connects unless I'm being both authentic and captivating.
I captivate with my energy, my passion and desire to share this amazing thing I know.
I'm authentic because I've owned my message and I'm telling it from my heart, not my mind.
People can see memorization unless you're a trained actor.
I'm guessing you're not...
So, here we are.
Work on your outline, find something that works for you and tell it from a place that means something.
If you love what you do, that shouldn't be hard.
5. Shoot your damn video!
Quit bloody overthinking it and just hit record...
Seriously, you might suck at first.
My first podcast episode was hella embarrassing.
I didn't even hook my microphone up right.
I recorded the entire thing in my Apple headphones as I fixated on talking into my brand new (at the time) Blue Yeti.
I'm still here to tell you about it.
My show has trended Top 5 in the world on iTunes under Business, Health and Education.
We've had three (soon to be four) Sharks from Shark Tank, 30+ New York Times Best Selling Authors and Primetime TV hosts and pretty much every major face in entrepreneurship on the planet on our show.
Again, my first episode was a joke.
In my view, my first 20-30 were a joke.
iTunes disagreed and put us on their Top 5 for eight consecutive weeks regardless.
And that's my point.
We are the biggest critic we'll ever have.
We're going to see and notice things nobody else will.
And even if they do, who cares!?
You're going to get better, everyone starts somewhere.
I deliberately went back and checked other podcasters to see what their first reviews looked like.
I thought I could avoid the same mistakes.
And what I found was unreal.
People thrashed them over the coals.
I mean, some of it was brutal.
And they survived to have some of the most important voices in the world.
The longer you wait at this point the longer it's going to take you to get to a point you feel confident about what you're doing.
And, if you really want to know the truth, I've seen embarrassingly bad videos and sales pages.
What was crazy to me was to learn these were multiple six and seven figure businesses.
Good products/services, good markets and good people overcome all.
PERIOD...
Everything else is fixable and it will be fixed.
Looking forward to hearing of your amazing results.
And, as a BONUS for reading this far, I'd like to give you MY special promo code to one of our affiliate partners.
She has an entire training program on creating video for business...
She's also my wife and a rock star at what she does.
Don't forget to also listen to the pod!
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Keri Murphy, TV Host, Speaker and CEO of Inspired Living, drops by the pod to talk video for business and how you could be drastically increasing your sales and conversions.
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Resources:
To learn more about Keri, visit InspiredLiving.tv