More businesses are realising the importance of video content for their marketing campaigns. As far as inbound marketing is concerned, you can’t go wrong with video! It has proved to be the most engaging form of content, and has the power to build relationships by adding real value to customers’ lives.
With the rise in willingness to shoot video content has come an influx of business owners putting themselves in front of the camera. Whilst this is exactly what they should be doing, many have little to no experience with shooting videos; being on camera can be daunting, and it can be hard to know exactly what you’re meant to do! We can’t put Oscar-winning performances in every time (even if that’s what I’m doing right now). So, I thought that, as my generation’s Sean Connery, I’d give you some tips for how you can be your best on camera – and maybe challenge me for next year’s Academy award.
You’re promoting your business, and you want to show you’re a good company to work with. So, be friendly, warm and welcoming. The point of our videos is to connect people with people, so show us you’re human and give the audience a grin.
Remember: smile at the beginning and end of your videos. This is the first and last thing the audience will see, so make a positive first and last impression.
Far too often promotional videos show stilted, awkward business-people reciting some script about a product, service or offer in a monotone voice. This won’t engage people! A good way to think about it is to imagine you’re speaking to an intelligent child. I know this may sound a bit weird, but it works! You don’t need to speak to the camera like the audience is stupid, but you do need to make it sound interesting enough to stop them getting distracted by something else. To keep people engaged for as long as possible you need to use your tone, body language and facial expressions to add to what you’re saying. You could have the best script in the world, but if people don’t like the way you’re saying things that won’t matter.
Like I said before, not everyone’s going to put in Oscar-winning performances every time, so don’t beat yourself up about little mistakes. It isn’t meant to be perfect; remember, the point of our videos is to connect you with people, so just go with the flow and don’t be afraid to make mistakes – these are what make us human after all.
This tip builds on what I said before: it doesn’t matter if your video is sub-par, just do it! Having a video to put out on your social media or website is more valuable than not having one, even if it’s not how you’d ideally like it to be. Videos do so well for engagement, and it’s better to have consistent content going out and keeping you on your clients’ minds than to post a world-class video once in a blue moon.
Last, but not least, remember the wise words of Dory; “just keep swimming”. I don’t mean this literally (unless you are actually swimming, in which case definitely keep going or you could drown, or get eaten by a shark). When speaking to camera, if you stop every time you make a mistake your video will look more and more unnatural, and will show less and less of the real you. That’s the exact opposite of what we want! Stopping each time there’s a mistake can make you more uptight and nervous, and it becomes a vicious cycle of errors. The more you practise talking for extended periods, the better you’ll get at it and the more natural you’ll become each time. When the cloud of jellyfish descends on you, just power on and shoot out the other side to where the turtles await your arrival!
So, now you have the tools you need to perform to your best in front of a camera. You’ll be strutting your stuff down the red carpet in no time!