You know it’s crucial. You know it’ll be great for your business. You’ve even been planning to add content for a while now… but still your YouTube Channel is empty. Why is that? Whether you’re having trouble finding your voice or simply can’t come up with any fresh content ideas, we often have a psychological block when it comes to producing video. Here’s how to break through those mental barriers and start getting yourself on-camera.
1. Try a #VideoChallenge
A couple of our team members recently finished a 30-day video challenge. Their goal was to create a new video every day for a month and upload it to their various social media channels. The content didn’t have to focus on business, either – it could cover whatever they felt like talking about that day. Making videos every day made those team members more comfortable with opening up in front of the camera and has even helped them more consistently come up with creative content ideas. Plus, the challenge has its own element of virality; seeing our staff successfully completing the challenge made people outside the office want to start doing it as well.
You, too, can create your own video challenge. Just make sure to post publicly about doing it – that way, other people will hold you accountable. It’s a way to put yourself out there and learn by doing. Remember, you can talk about anything, including:
- Your cat
- Your favorite software/Google extension
- How you conquered your fear of spiders
- Profound thoughts on life, the universe, and everything (hint: the answer is 42)
- Really, anything
No matter the details of what you produce, simply going through a video challenge and getting used to the process will help you get into the habit of creating compelling videos.
2. Start Small
It’s important to remember that you don’t have to create epic, 5-10-minute videos with amazing production value. Start small by just giving one tip, one little insight into anything you’d like. The main idea here is simply to get comfortable with video blogging and finding your voice. These initial videos can be as short as you’d like, but we suggest starting with something that’s 30 to 60 seconds long.
3. Capture vs. Create
Many people think that when they’re starting a video blog everything has to be, “I’m coming up with my five tips for this,” or “I’m answering this really important question,” but that’s not the case. You can relieve some of the pressure of making something new simply by documenting things that have to do with your business.
For instance, if you just got out of a great client meeting, your video might start with, “Hey, just got out of an awesome client meeting. I am so excited to work with these guys. I love doing this because…” Or say your team is out at a get-together, so you shoot a short video of your team around the dinner table and say, “Hey, how’s everyone doin’? We love taking breaks and going out as a team.” By showing this kind of content, you make your brand personable, relatable, and most importantly, human.
Simply put, documenting or capturing your business journey (i.e. things that are already happening behind the scenes) keeps your content fresh, avoids the need to always come up with original material, and humanizes your brand to your audience.
4. Do Interviews
If you feel uncomfortable being the face of your business or if you’re one of those people who is always asking questions, you could start your video blog by doing interviews. In an interview format, you pose questions to an expert rather than simply speaking to the camera yourself. Not only does this take some of the pressure off of you as a speaker, it allows you to generate meaningful conversation back-and-forth with your interviewee and makes for more dynamic exploration of your topic.
5. Leave Perfection Behind
Finally, a huge step toward getting your video blog off the ground (as well as becoming less camera-shy) is to not expect perfection when it comes to the final video and/or your appearance. You could do 10, 20, even 100 takes for a 60-second video and still find imperfections if you look hard enough. Realizing that no video you make will ever be completely flawless is an important step to becoming comfortable with video blogging. It also means you’ll spend less time obsessing over frivolous details and more time producing meaningful content your viewers will love. Plus, if you’re really having some trouble, including an outtake or blooper reel at the end of your videos might add an extra element of humor that will resonate with your audience.
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Would you like help developing video for your blog or elsewhere? At Golden Arm Media, our content inspires higher customer conversions with value-driven videos that storytell your brand.
