Video for Business – Yeah But…

“Hey, you ought to do a video or Facebook Live for your business!”

That’s quite an ask isn’t it? How does it make you feel?

From what I’ve encountered over the past two years it usually is followed by “That’s a great idea but…” Maybe you’ve said or thought this to yourself? And it’s totally alright if you have! In this blog I’m going to share with you the most common “yeah but” responses that either I’ve heard myself or have overheard in other settings.

Before we get into those, a quick bit about me so you know who I am and where I’m coming from. It’s only polite that I introduce myself to you.

I’m Luke Magnay and I run a videography business called Clout Media based in Witham, Essex. I’ve been a videographer for about 10 years, first as a hobbyist but then starting up in business in May 2016. It’s funny how Clout came about – well I think so anyway. I was running a Multi Level Marketing business along side my IT job at the time, and I was looking at ways I could speed up “the cycle” that was the process we were trained to follow. I discovered the concept of video marketing, became more excited about that than the MLM and started Clout up instead!

So that’s me! But this isn’t about me, its about you, your colleagues or maybe a connection or two of yours who’ve been stopped in their video-for-business tracks by a “yeah but” moment – often before they’ve even begun, which I think is a great shame. Creating a video for business can be so much fun and really rewarding from a business point of view.

There are a load of technical ROI, Facebook & YouTube algorithms that I could (but wont) go into to explain why video carries so much Clout (pun shamelessly intended as that’s where the name came from), because frankly at this point it’s not something that needs to be looked into – so if you are thinking ‘yeah but I don’t know about Youtube’ that’s that objection crushed!

Let’s look at some more of the more common “yeah buts” and how we can first acknowledge them and then address to work with them. It’s worth noting that these principles can be applied to both normal pre-recorded video as well as Live videos such as on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube and so on.

Yeah but… I don’t have all the gear, and it’s too expensive

Depending on how you’re reading this blog you may have everything you need to get started in your hand right now. Your smartphone will have at least one HD quality camera on it. Usually two. (Some even have three now, greedy much?) So that’s your camera ticked off already.

As for lighting – this can be done for free provided it’s a sunny day and you can get to a window. Sunlight is the best natural light source going.

The only other things I’d suggest you get on eBay or Amazon for are a “smartphone microphone” – one of those clip-on tie type ones for best sound – and a tripod with a smartphone holder. These mini-tripods and their universal smartphone holders will do the job just fine and you can get them for as little as £1 if your budget is tight.

While you can easily spend hundreds if not thousands of pounds on gear, remember that we are just starting out here, so let’s not do that and instead work with what you’ve already got. You can get a decent start-up kit for under £20.

You can also use a laptop and a webcam but please set it up so the camera isn’t pointing up your nose!

Pro-tip: Have your camera at eye-level whenever possible and talk to the camera, not the screen (i.e. your own image). It’s all about eye-contact. So yes, you have the gear and no it doesn’t have to be expensive.

Yeah but… I don’t have the time to do one weekly

Then binge film! Depending on your content there may not be the need to do something as often as weekly. In very fast-moving industries (fashion and gaming for example) something is needed really frequently, and it has to be done close to real time to keep up. But, for most of us, things move more slowly.

What I recommend to clients who want to create a video for their business is to create a series of videos. Link them if possible, as in, “in my next video I’ll show you how to ….” as there are techie YouTube reasons to do this.

Then setup the camera and film 3, 4, 5 or more videos in a session, changing clothes between them (backstage secret right there) and then you’ve got a batch of videos ready to be released over time. Typically I suggest you film as many as 6 videos in a session. If you release them fortnightly you’ve got 3 months’ worth and you can then film the next 6 videos whilst they’re rolling out. Its about being smart with your time isn’t it?

Yeah but… who’d want to watch me or what I have to say?

With the power of YouTube and Google people are constantly searching for stuff that’s of interest to them. Therefore if people are looking for what you do or provide, they will actively seek you out. It’s not like running a TV ad campaign to hundreds of thousands of people and “hoping something sticks” because people are looking for what you’re talking about. This is why there are so many “How To” videos on YouTube ranging from shaving, to fixing a door, to cooking a classic Indian Jalfrezi.

Also, if you already have a marketing list these are your potential audience, so consider sending a mailshot asking them what they’d like to know more about? That in itself could result is some ideas for content. Speaking of which…

Yeah but… what would I talk about?

What you do! When you’re networking you have a 60-second pitch, or there are typical conversations you have with a prospective client talking about how you can help them to do something they can’t or, more often than not, don’t want to do. Talk about that. You’re in your field of expertise so video is a great way of showcasing this.

Pro Tip: If you’re giving public presentations about what you do to a room, think about having this filmed. Whilst its great to share your wisdom with a room of say 30 people, if you film it you’ve got a potentially MASSIVE audience who’ll get to hear it as well.

It pays to plan – but don’t go too heavily into a script. Bullet points are better so you’ve got an idea of what each video will be about. Stick to one thing per video. Which handily enough leads me onto my last point.

Yeah but… how long should a video be?

Exactly as long as it needs to be and not ten seconds longer!

Have you seen a video where the main points have been relayed and you’re about done, only for the presenter to then say, “so like I was saying earlier” and then start to labour the point? Or go off on a tangent for 5-minutes about something that’s not really that related? That can be really annoying, and people switch off at that.

We’re so time-conscious that we want to get in, get info, get out. For social media you want to keep your videos to under 90-seconds, two minutes maximum. By all means you can say “this is the short version and there’s loads more to this so please click through below to find out more”, and put a longer more detailed video on your website.

Those are a few of the more common “yeah but” objections that stop video before it begins, so it’s my sincere wish you’ll now be able to brush these aside and get started in your video for business journey.

Many thanks to Luke for this guest blog. If you want to find out more about the work of Clout Media or get in touch with Luke, go to https://www.clout.media/ for more information.