I want either, or…
Or, I want everything of the following:
- Have a bald head and a Y chromosome
- A “make-up-done-for-you” filter in my edit software
- Or, an Avatar à la Gemini Man, who’s 25 years my junior and always camera-ready
Oh, and since we’re at it, I also want ALL of the following:
- Elon Musk’s brain, without the rest
- World peace
- A highly electable Democratic presidential candidate
If Santa were to bring any of the above, it’d be quite pleased.
Alright: To our topic.
Video marketing works, it really does, BUT, AND, you MUST be CONSISTENT with it.
It’s great, and a must, to have a few web-videos, a LinkedIn profile video, and your origin story video.
But, if you really want to make a difference with video, you have to put out video content at least once a week! Create a Vlog; a tip-series, share case studies, get client testimonials, etc.
And, if you’re a small business owner, and especially if you are a service provider, you will be in front of the camera.
Video is the single best tool selling YOU and your services while you are off doing important things, like take care of your existing clients.
And, for many small business owners, it’s a huge deal to be in front of the camera. I so totally get it!
I realize that I’m a stand-in for so many women of a certain age (and some men too), who are small business owners, not-so-small business owners, and solopreneurs who ALL need video, and are less than thrilled that they are in the second half of their sojourn on earth.
None of us are particularly thrilled to be there, fully exposed, for all to see.
So here’s the deal.
I get it:
- Who wants to have to be all made up for shooting once a week? I sure know I don’t. So, I try to always shoot in bulk – a month’s worth of content in one session. It’s so much more time-efficient. It also forces me to be focused on content planning ahead of time.
- I created a background in my office to make it look cool and get myself excited about shooting.
- I love having elegant and bold graphics over my video to enhance what I’m talking about.
- As I do more and more videos of myself, I learn to disassociate myself from “me” on the little screen and just see the person who’s talking and either making sense or not (cut!)
- You will see that people react to YOU and not your image and that they comment on what you shared, and what they learned, not on how you looked.
- As you get better at it, you also learn HOW to shoot yourself to look your best and what colors, what lighting set up and what background is best for you.
- Lastly: Just because you are a harsh critic and judgy about yourself (and maybe others’), doesn’t mean your audience is. They are happy you are sharing what you got to offer.
So, be kind to yourself, and get over it: “It” being you.
Give it a try and see how it goes and THEN hire a pro to show you how to improve! That’s my best advice.
And I promise before long you’ll get to this and actually think it’s funny: