Video bloggers stop failing!
According to one source, YouTube has 4 billion daily views, and over 88.6m people watch it on an average day. Whilst this sounds great, the harsh reality is that for the majority of businesses investing in video, they're simply wasting their time. The videos they're producing are disengaging and aren't even being seen.
They are, for want of a better word, creating failures! And, they might as well be burning their hard earned cash!
What’s sad about this, is that in this group of people, I’m betting there’s someone just like you….
Someone who believed that by video blogging they'd be generating the leads and sales needed to build a sustainable business. Someone who believed that Google would be noticing their hard work, ranking them more highly and offering them rewards such as an endless supply of traffic that converted.
Wake up call alert!!!
That isn't going to happen! Well, not unless you get your act together!
Having a video or a professionally shot video is useless unless you address the 4 points I'm going to share with you. But, before I do that, I'm going to tell you why video bloggers fail.
Why do video bloggers (and the videos they create) fail?
I’m going to be frank with you (it's in my name) and therefore I'm going to tell you how I see it. I know you'll appreciate this and expect nothing less.
Most people who start video blogging are egotistical. They see it as their chance to shine in front of the camera – their moment of glory – their chance at Hollywood fame!
I know you're not like most people though. I know you're quite the contrary. I know that the only reason you're contemplating video blogging is to increase your subscriber list and to be of benefit to those you serve. You're a heart centred business who's willing to work hard and expand your comfort zones to get there.
Am I right?
How do some video bloggers beat the odds?
Why do some video bloggers beat the odds? Well it turns out they do several things right.
And guess what? It's your lucky day. I'm going to share them with you here.
1. Know your audience
I know it sounds obvious but don’t forget who your audience is. What’s the purpose of the video, were will it be played, and to what age group? An online video is usually short, snappy and succinct, while an online program can occupy hours. If the aim is to generate interest in a product, your story must be sculpted to generate the need, desire and want. If the goal is to educate, build an emotional connection between the audience and the story.
2. Make the length of your video appropriate
Everyone’s competing for our time now so as a rule of thumb I’d always encourage you to make your videos short and to the point -the shorter the better in fact. The sweat spot for effective promotional videos tends to be 3-5 minutes, although with the new changes some will tell you it's even shorter, for example 1 minute. Either way, with the right production-quality, that’s enough time to grab attention and perk the interest of your audience.
3. Have a great script
Scripting for video is very different than writing ads or PR. As it’s a key element, be prepared to spend a great deal of energy refining your story and reading your script. Sometimes it’s even worth practicing and reading it out loud to others to gauge reactions. Is your message flowing and authentic? Or is it clunky, stiff and contrived? If this is an area you struggle in, find a professional writer for video. And avoid a teleprompter as these make you sound stiff, unreal and BORING!
4. Share and use social media to help
Share your video message everywhere. Embed a copy on your website to show off your work, have a promotional video in your office waiting room (if you have one), share it on social media platforms like Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Linkedin and of course YouTube. Use video for your email communication, for your internal communication or for technical support or training. The opportunities are endless.
To get more tips on video blogging, visit this post I did earlier on how to video blog like expert video bloggers.
Now I want to hear from you.
Tell me video bloggers, are your videos being viewed? Are they converting into sales? Spill all in the comments below.
Finally, thank you, as always for reading and contributing here. And, if you found this post useful, sign up for weekly updates (it's free) and please share it with your friends!
With love and gratitude – as always,
