Does being a successful vlogger sound like a farfetched dream to grow your business? Well… one of our fellow Austinites did it! Meet Matt Risinger. His company, Risinger Homes builds custom homes here in Austin. Inspired by David Meerman Scoot’s speech and his book, “The New Rules of Marketing and PR”, Matt started his blog and YouTube channel in 2008 as a way to market himself and his company.
Matt’s YouTube channel shares principles of building science, fine craftsmanship, and construction tips. Over eight years of continued vlogging, Matt reached over 20K followers on his YouTube channel and also writes articles for Fine Homebuilding and The Journal of Light Construction. Recently he was interviewed by TV stations and served as guest speaker for the Dallas Remodeler Expo.
Gauging the rationales behind Matt’s YouTube channel, we discovered that running a video channel actually creates benefits and helps to grow businesses. Matt’s successful story is worth learning for small business owners and young entrepreneurs.
First, how-to-do and do-it-yourself videos provide useful tips for viewers to work on their home projects. The videos became trustworthy resources, which in terms increasing Matt’s authority in local renovation industry.
Second, Matt leverages the videos to advertise his personal brand image. Instead of buying local ads to brag his craftsmanship on house renovation, Matt chose to demonstrate his skill set directly to his potential clients. The real-life clips advertise the Matt’s personal brand in a modest way and create more brand awareness without spending tons of money. The feedbacks under the videos also work as client endorsements, which lent more credibility to Matt’s business.
Third, the YouTube channel serves as talking points when meeting potential clients. Imagine you were at a meeting with potential client whom you know nothing about and no shared topics you can talk to. What if you happen to have a video channel, which includes useful tips and portfolio of your company, that can open a conversation. The personal channel can give potential clients a chance to know you better and increase favorability before meeting you in person.
Lastly, the YouTube channel drives traffic. When a potential client search online to find a qualified renovation contractor, he runs across Matt’s video and he decides to watch it. As the time of views gradually grow, Google search engine considers the video or the video channel as a trustworthy source, therefore Google ranked the content top in the search engine. Next time, another person search online, she will see the video listed top three on Google. The process repeats in terms bringing in more traffic and potential business opportunities.
If we trace back Matt’s success, we found several keen insights.
- The improvement of technology devices and video shooting skills
Take a look at Matt’s early videos, the quality of audio and angle of views are unsatisfactory. Viewers can tell at the beginning that the video is an amateur-made. After eight years of practice, Matt has invested more in the production quality and content. As a result, his videos compare favorably with TV programs.
- Use of banners and opening music
To differentiate himself from other builders’ videos, Matt puts personalized banners and music at the beginning of his videos. These elements also help him to establish his own brand.
- Variety of shooting angles
To better explain the method he used in his remodel project, Matt use crosscutting between a close shot and a long shot to demonstrate the trick viewers need to know while doing their own renovation.
- Length of video
Matt’s early videos are less than 30 seconds, which look like random video clips uploaded by unknown YouTube users. Nonetheless, the latest videos keep the duration within two minutes, the perfect length to explain the key concept while not too long to bore viewers.
- Exclusive content
In addition to the regular renovation tip videos, Matt also brings the event he attended in front of his audience. Recently, he went to the International Builder Show, he self-made a series of clips that share the new product he saw, the professionals he met, and also some recaps of the event. This series has literally been a professional in-depth news coverage. The exclusive contents help him to attract more followers and establish his authority within the renovation industry.
Impressed by Matt’s persistence and the effort he devoted to his vlog? You might want to read his analytical article as well. You’ll be surprised how much you can learn from managing your own channel.
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