Tell Your Story Through Video
Whether you are a business, freelancer, organisation or charity…
Tell your story through video You’ll find this line on my website’s landing page. I’m always encouraging people to jump on board and create their own profile video!
Video works wonders for your business – it’s great for SEO, Google loves it and statistics show that more people are likely to watch a video than read text.
I frequently have conversations with business owners and the suggestion of creating a video can make some go pale. “Oh, I don’t want to get in front of the camera – what will I say? I’m not interesting or entertaining!” Stop worrying – YOU ARE AMAZING and YOUR BUSINESS IS AMAZING! Believe me, I’ve been freelancing since 2010 and I’ve met so many lovely and interesting people with such inspiring stories. It’s time to start telling your story to let potential customers and collaborators know about YOU! Business has changed, customers have changed – they aren’t interested in sell, sell, sell! They rightly demand more, so capture them and build an emotional connection with YOUR story! People LOVE stories.
Storytelling stays with us from our childhood, and we go through life loving hearing other people’s stories, and of course reading books and taking trips to the cinema and theatre. A story allows people to digest and retain information much more easily as it taps into our emotions. Even big brands are telling small stories nowadays. If people enjoy your story they’ll invest time in you. They can put a face to your business and you can start building a relationship and trust.
What is your story? • How did you start your business? • What are you passionate about? • What gets you out of bed in the morning? • How has your product or service enriched the life of your customer? • Why do you do what you do? Narrative is much more exciting than simply stating facts about your business. Wear your heart on your sleeve and, most importantly, BE HONEST.
Keep it simple: tell the truth, including the ups and downs. You are only human after all, and people will connect with that. The truth is much more interesting, so be yourself and don’t try and be someone else or copy another brand. Consumers can detect poppycock a mile off and it’s unlikely they’ll want to connect with you. The wrong way to do it: I’ve excelled all my life, I’ve dreamt up this business idea and from the word go it’s been a success. I make a six-figure salary as my product is so fabulous and my clients always come back for more! A bit exaggerated, but you get the idea.
So, the story...
Keep it short: it’s rare that someone will invest 20 minutes watching your profile video.
You are more likely to hold people’s attention if your story contains a beginning, middle and end. Stories appeal to our senses, so make sure you are descriptive and create an atmosphere to hook people in! You may feel your story isn’t very interesting, but YOU ARE – everyone has a different story about their life and the route to their business. People want to know your personality, the person behind the business.
• What do you believe in?
• What value are you bringing?
• What are your principles?
• What do you care about?
• Did you solve a problem?
All these are valuable insights for you and your brand and will flesh out your story.
“Surely I can just write a story? Feature it as a blog on my site?”
Yes, you can – indeed there are many ways you can tell your story and it’s important that you do. Video, however, is a POWERFUL platform to tell your story.
Be yourself in front of the camera. Just you telling your story to the world, so people can see you, sense your emotion, your body language, your expression. You can be completely open and create a mood and atmosphere, and connect. Humanise your business and gain trust with your customer.
Show pictures of your work, behind the scenes, other staff members, customers enjoying your services and products. All of these will add emphasis and interest to you story – you can entertain and inform and SHOWCASE YOUR WORK!
Always end on a positive:
• How you enjoy your work
• Your future plans
• How much you enjoy connecting with your customers
Once you’ve connected with your audience through a great profile video, you can always follow it up with more detailed videos showcasing particular aspects of your products and services, sharing tips and advice, highlighting your expertise, customer testimonials, your next steps with your business – there are numerous possibilities. Give insight and information, but don’t sell.
There are many easy ways to create video nowadays – with just a smartphone you can film and use simple video editing apps. However, if you ever want someone else to help, please get in touch:
I will feel very lucky and privileged to help you tell your story.
A couple of examples of profile videos, please check out my website for more: www.karencann.co.uk
