5 Steps for Better Video

Every year I attend Social Media Examiner’s conference Social Media Marketing World in San Diego, CA. It’s 120+ sessions of content on all the areas a social media marketer might want to learn about. To say it’s intense is an understatement. Video is my main focus this year and I learned a 5 step process for successful videos from Justin Brown of Primal Video and I think it’s so important, I wanted to share it. (Thanks Justin for an excellent session!)

Also check out my Video Shoot Checklist for a more efficient use of your time.

Hook ‘Em Quickly

What’s the most important topic to your audience? I didn’t hear your answer but it was probably wrong (I still love you!) The first and most important subject for each of us is ourselves. Every online search is driven by our problems, our needs, our discomfort. Your audience is seeking out your content because you’re solving some sort of problem for them. We’re not just service providers, first and foremost, we’re problem solvers. Never forget that.

That said, the attention span of your audience is mere seconds. You’ll have to hook them immediately or you’ve lost them. So don’t waste time with a prolonged greeting, your background, or “subscribe to my channel” type intro. Tell them what they’ll be getting from you and do it fast. Example – “Hi, this is Kerry and I want share with you two ways to maximize Facebook Groups.”

Intro

You successfully kept their attention past the first 10 seconds by telling them what value they’re going to get from the video. Now you can spend a little time expanding on who you are and qualifying yourself as an authority. Don’t be too exhaustive on the topic but this may be the first time your viewers have seen your face or brand so they’ll need to understand why your words are worth their time.

The last part of your introduction should include one more element – the bonus. Tell them to stick around to the end of the video for an extra piece of value. Another way to do this is to simply surprise them, “To thank you for making it to the end of the video, I have an extra something for you.” More on this in the Bonus section below (see what I did there?)

Content

Here’s the kicker, you made a promise. You said you were going to give them something. You better deliver or they’ll be upset with you. For real. Their trust in your brand rides on this (and they’ll tell their friends.) Don’t waffle about, don’t pull a bait and switch. Just give ’em the goods.

As a speaker, I’m uber aware of the title of my presentation and that the description must be true to the content. Otherwise, the audience will be disappointed, they might call me on it right there in the room, and they’re mad to be walking away close to empty handed. When another marketer does this to me, I get angry because the presenter or content creator knows better and they made a choice to do something other than deliver on their promise.

Make sure your title, thumbnail, and description are accurate or they’ll tell people you tricked them or didn’t actually provide any value.

Bonus

I bet you struggle to get your audience to the end of the video – we all do. If you include a promise of a bonus item, they’ll stick around. You’ve heard the phrase “Under Promise – Over Deliver”and this is the time to use it.

If you are promising 5 tips for better videos, you may want to give them 6. Another option is to offer a white paper, download, ebook, prize to those that are still watching and it’s a reward for their attention. Everyone loves getting more than they “paid” for.

Call-To-Action

Last but not least, make sure you’ve got a call-to-action at the end. What makes the most sense? Some options: subscribe to your channel(s), sign up for an email list, visit a location (physical or digital), ask questions in the comments, etc. What is it you want them to do?

Now You’ve Got Better Video!

You know you need to create more video, we all do, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Anything we can learn or do to simplify the process means that we can create more value for our audience, clients, and customers. Now more video isn’t necessarily better video. Much of it is noise. Don’t contribute to the noise. Focus on the value you are providing, use this format, and there’s no stopping you!

Bonus Bonus

I love these 5 steps (again I learned them from Justin Brown at Primal Video) and immediately I “saw” them as a list I wanted to print to have with me everywhere that I shoot video. And because you made it to the end of this blog (I’m already putting the Bonus item into practice) I’m offering you the image below as a jpeg or a pdf. Download 5StepsBetterVideo and keep for yourself.

3 Times the Bonus!

I’ve also created a Video Checklist for you to download to help you prepare for your next shoot. It’s gonna be great!