Avoiding the onslaught of 2012 posts in the last week of 2011 is almost as impressive as avoiding them in the first week of 2012. Now that I accomplished that, I have started the year of in a way that will define my success and that of my marketing clients.
Video
People have been video blogging for a while, to great effect, so this isn’t some new idea. What sets it apart is the scale, the professionalism, and the focus of the video. I am not going to sit here and give you some bullshit list of the equipment you need, or start sitting in front of my web cam talking to you like a preacher, nor am I going to share 15 second cell phone video clips.
Video has the ability to humanize you, to make people comfortable with you, to bring out your personality, to convey the inflection in your voice, and the smirk on your face. Video can squeeze an hour of reading into minutes, and gives your audience the ability to identify with you like never before.
If you sell homes for a living, you are asking somebody you barely know to entrust you with their most valuable possession. To listen to your advice on how much that possession is worth, and to accept when you suggest they take less than that to make a deal. If you are marketing yourself by mailing out 5×7 cards with your four year old headshot on them, by sending out packets that include fifteen award certificates from your parent realty company to everyone who lists their home for sale by owner, and lastly by taking out an ad in the local paper that gets recycled the same day it is distributed… your chances of excelling in the future gets slimmer by the day.
Truth be told you actually might make more money by stopping all marketing and just living off of walk ins at your office, phone calls to your office, and your network of friends and past customers. That is not what marketing is for, and believe me whatever industry you are in, if you are doing all the same impersonal marketing techniques as everyone else it is not money well spent.
How Does Video Apply?
Well for one, it allows your prospective clients to see you, hear you, and get to know you. You know what the best part is? Getting to know you will sort out the best clients for you, and that means it will turn some in other directions. That is a good thing, believe it or not because those that it doesn’t turn away are more likely to believe in you more than they would if you played it safe by hiding behind certificates and old photos. More likely to believe the real you with your confidence in yourself to go in front of the lens, to pull back the curtain, and to share you with them, is the right person for their need.
Those people call more often, sign up more often, and drive your business to a place it has not been before. Everyone won’t love you, but more people will than did before.
I put my money where my mouth is, and started a video series:
One that chronicles days in my life, it is a broad series without a specific work focus unlike what a client would have. It is daily, and personal, and it has people viewing it I never thought would. Here is one:
Now my video series is a bit wild for most business people, I try my best and fail often to control my language (mostly for my niece) and the editing is done on the fly so it isn’t as polished as what I would do for a client. But one thing is for sure, you see the real me, and you decide if I could be someone you could work with. You get to know my beautiful fiance and my friends, I am me. Like it or not, its true and you would figure it out sooner or later so I shoot for sooner.
2012 Will See Me Roll Out Multiple Creative Video Series for Clients
Clients that either get it, or are willing to do something different with genuine hope and belief that it will be a good idea. I am pitching and working on these campaigns as we speak and I can’t wait to get them live so I can share them, and the norm busting business people who are going for something bigger this year. These videos will help them find their fans, future customers, and their place in the market. A place I intend on making the top.
Are you ready for people to get to know you yet? Well planned video, made with style and originality, and delivered via websites, blogs, and social media, is a choice that few will make. That is why it is powerful.
I am doing it today.
@spirocks on Twitter is where I do my thing, say Hi.