Podcast 14: Creating a Video for Your Holistic Business

content marketing ethical marketing marketing mindset podcast May 21, 2020

I admit video has never been my favourite way to market myself. You should have seen me a few years ago when I did my first video as a practitioner. I overthought it so much – I gave myself a nosebleed! My inner critic was running wild and to be honest, it did a great job of sabotaging me and put me off video for a while.

Fast forward a few years and I still don’t love video. I don’t watch that many personally, but I know that they are the preferred format for online marketing. So, I’ve learnt to step out of my comfort zone and do them anyway – and I’m getting used to it now, it’s no so bad.

This week, we’re looking at creating pre-recorded videos for your practice and the easiest way to do them. They are a great project for lockdown if you want to step up your marketing in an affordable way.

Why video

It’s estimated by 2022, 82% of internet traffic will be video (Cisco.com). YouTube is the second biggest search engine (and owned by Google), and having videos increases your chance of clients finding you online.

Video is the best way (other than in person) for people to get a sense of you and your style. A potential client will see and hear you and it helps them work out if you’re a good fit for them.

Movement in video catches people’s attention both on social media and on your website so it’s one of the best ways to stand out online. Videos uploaded to social media are distributed further than an image or copy and so your efforts will work harder for you.

Do you have a video on your website?

If you do – well done! You are in the minority when it comes to complementary practitioners. So many are missing out on not having video and potentially missing out on clients in the process.

I was tidying up my YouTube channel earlier this week – a long-overdue bit of housekeeping. I found an old information video for my clinical work from 6 years ago which had 1,300 views. The one for my about page from 2 years ago had 600 views.

Now, I may not be setting the world on fire with these numbers, but that’s nearly 2,000 prospective clients who have been getting to know me over the years. I’ve had past clients comment that they choose me because my video resonated with them. So even though I can be super critical about what I say, how I look and sound, they still worked!

Simple ways to embrace video

Technology has made video a cost-effective way of marketing our businesses, even with no budget and limited tech skills. As with everything, start with what you already have available, you’ll be able to create good enough marketing with little spend. Personally, I’d only start investing in equipment if you decide to make lots of videos.

Here are my favourites simple ways to create a video:

Your phone – the camera on a smartphone is a perfect way to start creating your videos. If you want to take them to the next level, there are courses to create incredibly polished and professional videos, but you don’t need these to get going. Even at the most basic level, you can record and trim your videos with the software you have on your phone.

Zoom – this is a great option to record videos using your webcam. You can start a meeting with just you and record yourself. You could even share your screen if you are presenting slides or walking someone through a process.

Zoom will also enable you to record a discussion with one or more people which you can then use in your marketing (as long as you have their permission). Skype also offers you an option to record calls, but I find the picture quality isn’t as good and it isn’t as robust.

Loom – This is a great free software for recording your screen and you can capture your face in a bubble at the corner of the screen. This great if you are creating explainer videos showing people what to do on your computer or for using a presentation and talking through it.

PowerPoint – did you know you can easily create videos using PowerPoint? I’ve been using these recently to create videos from written testimonials. I simply create a slide show with colourful photos and the words over them. I then export the finished presentation as a video. It’s such a simple way to add a few videos to your website and to use them on social media.

Building your confidence on camera

There is no easy way of saying this, but your first video will be rubbish. You’ll hate it – but you have to get past the early ones to get better. I still cringe at mine but done is better than perfect – you just have to just get started!

If you haven’t done a video yet, challenge yourself to record a 1-minute every day for a week. Give it a few days and you’ll start to relax and get used to watching yourself back. You don’t have to do anything with them – they are just a practice run and you can delete them. This exercise will help you get used to recording yourself and are great preparation for the ones you will actually be publishing.

Recording yourself

Here are a few tips for making the best of your own videos:

Use daylight – simply stand facing a window with the camera between you and the window. This will give you good quality, natural lightning.
Look at the camera lens – if you’re looking at yourself on the screen you won’t be looking at your viewer in the video. You’ll miss the chance of connecting with the person in the same way you would when looking them in the eye.
Wear something comfortable, that you feel good in and that represents you and your brand. So, don’t put on a suit if you’d never wear one for work – you want to be the real you that people will grow to like and trust. The happier and more comfortable you feel, the less you’ll fidget and find things to criticize.
Plan out what you’re talking about before you hit record. It’ll help you to talk more fluently about your topic. If you need reminders, put a few bullet points next to the camera. Avoid reading a script, you’ll look wooden and it’ll stop your personality from shining through.

Adding captions

Lots of people today watch videos with the sound turned off so you need to add captions. There is free software that will do this for you, including when uploading a video to Facebook or YouTube. Nothing beats having the captions embedded into the video so they are part of the video.

Rev – Rev offer a human transcription service for just over a pound a minute. Paying a few pounds for an accurate transcription service will save you hours in amending captions created by a robot. Well worth the investment in my book.

Kapwing – this software takes your captions from the SRT file (the captions provided by Rev) and adds them to the video. The captions are then part of the video, no matter where you upload it. If you’re only doing short videos, you can download them for free with no watermark by signing in through your Google account.

These tips will help you to get going with creating videos if you have no or limited budget. Don’t wait until you can afford a professional video and miss out on the power of creating your own.

If you struggle with creating videos and recording yourself, book a discovery call and find out how I can help you.