5 Simple Tips To Double Your Business With Video Marketing
June 12th, 2013 by Diane Conklin under Guest Blogger. No Comments.
Video is the HOT new marketing medium and its popularity will continue to rise. People get to see you and connect with you on a deeper level than they do in print. It’s much easier for many people to build a relationship through video. Furthermore, video is a lot more FUN to create, than say…a sales letter. Oh, and did I mention that video marketing is FREE?!
5 Tips for How to Use Video- Simply- To Attract More Customers
Tip #1- Don’t spend a fortune on equipment. We are not talking about producing videos that will be submitted to the Sundance Film Festival or win you an academy award. They will be watched in a very simple format on the internet with a computer or IPod, not on the big screen in a theater.
Small “flip cameras” work very well for shooting internet videos. If you don’t already own one, they go for around $120. We prefer the Kodak Zi8 because it is the only one we know of on the market that has a built-in external microphone jack so you sound great (as opposed to sounding like you are shooting your video in an airplane hangar.
Tip #2- Shoot several videos at once. It takes time to set up each video, so do more than one video at a sitting. That will save you time and you “get into the groove” doing multiple videos. Here are few tips for the shooting:
- Change your clothes for the different videos, especially if they are part of a video series.
- Spend $40 and purchase a full size tripod. To get the camera at the right height, we used to build a tower with our ice-cream maker, a few coffee table books and some of our kids board game boxes. Not a pretty site and not too stable.
- Make sure you have good lighting. Natural lighting works best, but you can shoot inside if you have good lights. Side lighting on both sides is especially helpful indoors.
Tip #3- Be Prepared and have some fun! Don’t just wing it. Have a script or an outline that you rehearse in advance. You don’t need to memorize it as that can make it harder and seem too scripted and stiff, but you do need an outline of what you want to say. Some people like to put a big sheet behind the camera with bullet points to cover. Most importantly, have fun with it!
Tip #4- Practice progress over perfection. Let me reiterate, this is not a motion picture you are producing. Don’t get overly concerned with the cinematography. You want to get this shot and posted for your audience to view. The quicker you get your videos out, the more marketing you are doing, and the faster you will attract new customers. If you make a small mistake, keep rolling as you will seem more human to your viewers. As for editing, Macs have built in editing software with iMovie and there are other free or low-cost editing programs available so you can trim the front and end of the video for the finished product.
Tip #5- Post your videos in a variety of locations. In addition to posting on your blog (and directing your list to go to your blog), we recommend a YouTube account. They are currently the biggest player and it is simple, without a fee, to set up. You can also post your videos directly to your Facebook account- which will put the videos out on Facebook with a “Like” button attached. If someone likes your video and clicks the button, they are automatically signed up to follow your Facebook site.
In a nutshell, video marketing is simple, low-cost, and can be a goldmine for your business – attracting dozens, even hundreds, of visitors to your website every month.
~By Bria Simpson. For more information on how to streamline and systematize your business, sign up for Bria’s free report “Simple Steps to Quickly Transform Your Business into a Highly Efficient, Profitable, Well-Oiled Machine” at www.BriaSimpson.com
