Take small steps to get comfortable with making online video
You’ve been told again and again that you need to start producing video for your business. You’ve finally got over your anxiety about it, now you just have to start. What do you do first?
Video is, without doubt, the most powerful medium of communication. From television in the 50s to early 2000s to YouTube in the naughties and now short format video from TikTok, Instagram Reels and even live video on Facebook, there are a tonne of places to start. Which should you start with?
Live Video on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
You can go live from mobile apps and desktop tools to Facebook, Instagram and YouTube these days. Depending on where you audience is more active, going live on these channels can be a great way to build familiarity with who you are by potential clients.
We’ve all seen the abundance of talking head videos from professional coaches and influencers who have something to say and either tuned in or ignored it. But you can’t ignore the fact that it works. And not because there’s huge audiences watching. It’s because you don’t need a huge audience to make a big impact using Live Video. All you have to do is be relevant, relatable and regular. You may start off with no one watching at all, but if you keep doing it, you’ll eventually build a small audience who will make you a regular part of their day. Especially if you are bringing some great educational or inspirational content and ideas for them to consume.
It’s easy, quick and available on so many platforms right now. Not sure whether it will work for your target audience? Try it and see. Even if you do it for a month and no one watches or comments, it’s ok, you now have a month of video content living on your profile for people to watch later. Especially on YouTube where content tends to stick around and be seen long after it was originally posted.
Short format Stories video
Want something a little shorter and sweeter that goes away faster? Shorter format videos using channels like Instagram Stories, YouTube Shorts, LinkedIn Stories, TikToks and Facebook Stories might be for you. They only last a limited amount of time, in most cases, 24 hours, so even if it’s not your best work, it goes away so there’s a minimum of embarrassment if you’re not completely happy with what you posted.
Being short format, you get your video over and done with in no time. By short, I’m talking 15 to 60 seconds. You literally get in, get your point across and get out. And these platforms have lots of creative tools like stickers, music, filters and text that you can add a whole lot more personality to your video, even when you feel like you don’t have much personality to offer in the video yourself.
You may not be able to polish a flat personality, but you can roll it in glitter after all!
What you choose to run your short format video on isn’t as important as simply giving it a go. So jump in, make some glorious mistakes and laugh at yourself, after all, it’s usually gone in 24 hours, so the red face won’t last long.
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Dante St James is the founder of Clickstarter Australia, a Lead Trainer with Facebook Australia & New Zealand and a digital advisor with a number of Australian Government Small Business support initiatives.
