Video Marketing: How Are You Showing Up?

Mar 29 / Kerstin Oleta, CEO and Founder of The Business Leadership Excellence Institute
How are you showing up to expand your business?

That conversation has become so much more important right now in our new virtual business environment. There are all sorts of stats about how using video marketing can bump up how much clientele you can get, the level of business that you do, and help you to expand the reach of your brand.

82% of industries are still not using video marketing. Putting out one video for your business means you are in the top 18 percent of marketing statistics for business. However, most people are afraid still of getting in front of a camera to make videos. However, I would say that is one big blessing that has happened in the pandemic experience because we were finally forced to get in front of cameras.

The question to you that I want ringing in your head is what are you going to do with that?

The biggest hurdle before the pandemic was trying to get someone on a virtual meeting because they had to get on a camera. You have had experience in front of the camera now. Are you taking advantage of that to make videos?

How are you going to make the most of that and let that create success for your business? I want you to write down that question and start giving permission for this to happen.

What we want to start with is the idea of understanding what are the different things to address when you make videos. People who start playing with video marketing tend to splash out one video, just talk through it without a plan, and hope for the best. This is going to create disappointing results. Video marketing is about creating a relationship with your audience. The best approach is to make sure you're targeting the right people and let them know who you are, what you have to offer, and what the experience is of working with you. These are the three key areas you need to address in every single video you make.

Let's focus on the first area: Who are you? When you say your name, do say your company name and services with the same ease?

I can't begin to tell you how many videos I see put out on social media or through email marketing where a person says, “I'm so excited to share this information with you” going on and on about the product…and they never introduce themselves. I have no idea who they are. Which means it’s going to be harder for me to figure out how to contact them to get tangible information about that product. If you are asking your audience to do the work, they are more likely to move on.

We like to do business with people we like and seem easy to connect with. That's the number one reason for who we choose to do business with.  You are your number one business tool because you are the tangible representation of your business. If you're not doing anything to create a personal pull towards you, you are not efficiently marketing your business.

This thought rips at people’s comfort zone of people being able to hide behind to the product or service.  The fear factor is you don't want to be in the limelight which supports the idea that you don't want on camera. Many say to themselves, “I want to throw my logo up on everything because this isn't about me.” You're right. But you are a key part of the equation because you are the person who is representing your business.The best kind of business is referrals. If another person cannot recite who you are, they are going to be a weak link as a referral for you. You want to make every single person you know your own personal billboard for your business. That’s free marketing! If you're not making it clear how they can do that for you in how you introduce yourself, you are missing the train.

Let me give you an example of how this works. I use training videos in the Body Language Strategy Academy for the curriculum of our work together. At the beginning of each video, I introduce myself saying, “Hello, this is Kerstin Oleta, the Nation's leading Body language Strategist for executive presence and business performance. In this video, we're going to be covering blah, blah, blah… I start ALL my training videos this way. After he had gone through most of the training videos, he started teasing me at the beginning of our weekly sessions saying, “Hello Kerstin Oleta, the Nation's Leading Body Language Strategist for executive presence and business performance. How are you doing today?” He would say this with a big smile on his face and we would giggle.  I could tell he was quite proud of himself for nailing the same vocal cadence I use in my training videos when he said it.

Yes, he was doing it to tease me. However, now that he can do that, he can easily explain to someone else who I am using my correct title when referring my services to some else. I just made myself and my information very shareable the way I want it to be shared and he is the one doing the work, not me.

It’s FREE marketing when HE says it. And the best part is I didn’t have to take the time to train him how to say it, the videos did that. If others can easily recite your information just as easily as you can, you are winning in the referral game.

Go ahead and repeat who you are with your title and with your company name in your videos at nauseum. It's not about you. It's about making it clear what they need to know about you to the people you want to serve. Always introduce yourself in every single video to make yourself available, visible, and approachable.

Lastly, when you say your name, I want you to say your company and your personal title looking into people’s eyes or into the camera and SMILE!  If you don’t own your space and look like you enjoy what you do, how can you ask others to take your services or products seriously? You would think this is a no brainer, but many people don’t do this. The majority of people look down when they say their own name and very few people smile or have a pleasant look on their face when saying their own business title. You have earned that title…claim it!

Show you have purpose, and more importantly, that YOU feel the purpose of what you do. The deep human tribal condition causes us to be pulled to others that look like they enjoy what they are doing.  This triggers on the human FOMO aspect (Fear Of Missing Out) and peaks our interest of how we can get involved too.

A smile goes a long way, both in person and virtually. Making your smile a consistent part of business engagements will open more doors than you realize.  

If you are interested in learning about how you can create better video to gain more business and uplevel your leadership skills, click on the link below to view more information and check out our trainings available at The Business Leadership Excellence Institute. 

https://www.bleinstitute.com/blei-membership