The Ultimate Guide To Using Video For Your Business - Part 1

It seems like everybody is hanging out online these days and businesses need to have an effective online presence in order to capture and retain the attention of their ideal clients. One aspect of digital marketing is to use video.

Ahhhhh video!

What!?

Don’t look at me!?

If that is your reaction to using video marketing in your business, that's great because then I wrote this blog just for you.

I get it. I really do. When I first started using video in my business, I would go into full scale anxiety at the thought. My heart would race and my hands would shake, I would get all sweaty but you know what, I didn’t die and neither will you. Because it's not as scary as it seems. Not with all the tips and tricks, I am about to share with you. Read on you fearless video star you!

I have written this blog in two parts because there are lots of things I want to share with you to help kick your video phobia in the butt. In this first part, we will cover:

• The reasons you need to be using live video on your social media
• Tips for going live on social media

 Reasons why you need to be using live video on your social media

- You will get eyeballs and ears on what you are saying

Statistics show that 80% of people would rather watch a live video rather than read a blog post because it's easier. Why not turn some of your old blog posts into live videos?

- Feedback is instant

Live videos turn your content into a real-time conversation. Users are able to interact with you and get their questions answered as if they were having a real conversation with you building relationships and connection. Make notes on the common questions or comments people are leaving you as you can use this feedback to create content that speaks to your ideal client.

- You get to keep it simple

When you go live, people don’t expect you to have a professional film set, but this allows you to take the pressure off a bit. You don’t need to have everything perfect to get your point across.

- It builds authentic connections

Going live is a vulnerable thing to do and as Brene Brown says: “When you shut down vulnerability, you shut down opportunity.”

Show up authentically and be real in what you share. People want to do business with you, because of who you are and not who you pretend to be. Hair not perfect? Who cares! Don’t feel like wearing makeup today? Who cares! Don’t have a perfectly crafted script? Who cares! Have something important to say? Your ideal client cares!

Step up. Show up. Be authentic and create real connections. That is where the magic happens.

- The algorithm will love you

Social media does all this behind the scenes techy stuff that decides on who should see your content and how often. Live streams are prioritised by this algorithm over pre-recorded videos. Statistics show that a live video on Facebook is likely to get six times the interaction of a pre-recorded video. That’s huge!

 Tips for going live on social media

- Have a basic plan

If the thought of going live has you in an anxious puddle on the floor then planning out the basic structure for your video will be your secret weapon.

Before you go live, take the time to jot down some dot points about what you would like to cover.

- Give value

Don’t go live for the sake of going live to ramble about nothing in particular. This does more damage than good.

Always show up with the aim of providing as much value as possible and to be of service to your ideal client. This positions you as an expert in your field and shows them that you are someone worth listening to!

Before you press the Go Live button, take a deep breath, ground yourself, call your power back into your body, and set your intention for the video.

- Invite/imagine a friend

If you are feeling nervous and haven’t had much experience going live, then I encourage you to invite or imagine a friend on your live.

Ask a friend who you trust and can be authentic with to hop onto your live video and give you some moral support in the form of comments or heart emojis. You will feel heard and supported.

If a friend isn’t available to be live on your video with you, you can put a photo or a smiley face on a post-it note and stick it right next to the camera on your computer. When you go live, you will be talking into the camera and can see that smiley face looking back at you. Pretend you are talking to that favourite client or friend and that what you are saying is being warmly received.

- Tell a story

Human beings have been telling stories for centuries and it is one of our favourite ways to receive information. The story always has a beginning, a middle and an end, and is entertaining. This is the same when using video for your business.

Aim to share your content via storytelling that your ideal client can relate to. This might mean that you need to get a little vulnerable and share something of yourself like a past experience you had that is relevant to what you are saying.

Be real to you. Be vulnerable and be authentic. Tell amazing stories!

- Do a few practice runs

Still feeling wobbly? Why not try out a few practice runs with a friend? The more you practice the better you will become and you will realise that your whole business isn’t going to crash just because you said um in your video.

- Stay in the flow

I can’t even tell you how many times I have “stuffed up” on a live stream on social! I have been interrupted by my 4-year-old, my sound has stopped working, my face has frozen, I have lost track of what I was saying but you know what, I didn’t die and my business didn’t fail because of it.

The likelihood of some or all of these things happening during your live video career is high so learn to stay in the flow. Accept that you cannot control everything, trust that the Universe has your back and that you know exactly what you are doing because you do.

Your sound drops out? No problem, tell your people you are experiencing a technical difficulty, and you will be back soon to restart your video.

Your live video gets interrupted by your child or a really loud truck drives past? That’s real life! We aren’t here to be perfect. Laugh about it, shrug it off and continue.

Stay in the flow!

I feel like this is enough for you to take in at this point so I’m going to wind part 1 up here.

In part 2 of The Ultimate Guide to Using Video For Your Business, we will cover:

• How to go live on some of the more popular social media platforms.
• Share a guide for the different tech you might need if you want to get a bit fancy or are making videos to use inside your membership or course.
• Gift you a free meditation to use, prior to each live video, so it can help you come into your body, and set your intention to energetically connect with your ideal clients.

If you aren’t already on my email list, be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss part 2!