Mastering Video to Leverage yourself (Part 1)

If you are reading this then you already likely have some insight into the fact that I think all relationship professionals should be using video to help leverage every element of engaging and servicing clients.

Quite simply, you should be taking a video camera with you everywhere you go, because beyond a small initial outlay it really doesn't cost you anything to do so (except a little brain power and perhaps setting aside some of your reservations and fear).

First up I want you to watch a new short video that our team created out of what was old pieced together footage. Then I am going to give you a little post-mortem of what he has done and use it as an example of what you should also be doing.

Every time you talk to a happy client, present at a seminar or event, or just generally do something cool in your office, you should be capturing video even if you don't yet have a particular purpose in mind.

'Why?' I hear you say; because every time you do, you are creating for yourself a veritable treasure trove of content to help you tomorrow. The simple fact of the matter is this; if you don't film it then the moment is gone and so is your leverage for tomorrow.

This is about capturing your business story as you tell it.

If you make capturing video a habit, then you can always come up with hundreds of ways to remaster your collected material to help you take your passion and purpose to the world.

Forget 'marketing' and think; 'Authentically telling your story'.

In our first sample video, we took some footage that was shot at AdviserEdge 2013 (Our First Major Event) of the speakers on stage and the surrounds. Most of the footage was shot on fixed cameras and not at the best resolution. So the quandary was how do you retell the exciting, fast paced story and capture the sheer buzz in the room as part of the build-up to future events? Well, the answer was movement and music; we simply took the boring image and applied a Ken Burns style effect (i.e. we did a moving zoom in on the footage).

You can apply the same ideas to your own footage by mixing in still photos and zooming in to create movement or by applying it to some of your backlog of captured clips to create something that tells your story better than any lengthy and boring written piece ever could.

This is how I created holiday videos for my wealthy and retired clients in my former Advice business. I would simply tell them to bring in their 20-30 best photos and I would interview them in a relaxed environment about their holiday. We would then take the best parts of the interview and mix in the photos with a Ken Burns effect to give the feeling of video and at the end of the video, I would simply add a title slide saying: Video produced by People For Life (my former business name).

If you would like to learn more about this, then read through to the end and we will give you a link to an article I wrote about how I generated 26 referrals from just one such client video.

These effects and videos can be created by just about anyone using iMovie on Mac or Windows Movie Maker on PC. Of course, you might not make something as sexy as our example on your first go, but with a little practice, you will be getting great results. In fact, most of our clients are now busy creating ways to have dedicated resources available to help them with video in their businesses and trust me when I say the return on investment with a little guidance is significant.

So stay tuned for part two where we are going to focus on creating a multitude of content by learning to capture your client stories as the opportunities arise. Of course, if you liked our video example, then you are definitely going to want to book your tickets to AdviserEdge 2017 as we will be having sessions focused purely on mastering video and empowering you to learn how to replicate our results yourself!

In the meantime... get filming and don't waste any more opportunities!

Baz Gardner - Helping to scale human connection in an age of technology

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How can I get more information?

We have stacks of resources in our Members Only Social Hub to help you master video within relationship based business, both for growth and efficiency in service.