Is hair and make-up that important?

To be honest I’ve never given the subject that much thought. I have regular conversations with Evelyne Brink who is an expert of presenting on camera, she’s an advocate of hair and make-up but done in the right way.

In our conversation, Evelyne told me that if you’re a woman and you wear no make-up, you’re likely to appear tired and messy. Contrast that with too much make-up and you look like you’re going out to party! So the key is to fall a little bit in the middle, so you look smart.

For men, it’s a bit different, Evelyne gave me a few tips, for example, my own brand is being quite casual, so it wouldn’t make sense for me to appear on #TheVideoShow in a suit, but maybe I could put a little wax in my hair to tidy it up, and put a bit of concealer over the bags under my eyes.

Watch the next few episodes to see if I take her advice!

How do you plan The Video Show

I was having a conversation with a customer last week about how I plan each episode of #TheVideoShow, she asked if I script each and every episode and write each word out, or if I make it up on the spot.

To be honest, it’s somewhere in between.

I tend to have a few ideas already written down, typically my ideas come from:

– Being asked a question by a viewer or somebody I meet.
– Something happening in the news (remember the banned Philadelphia Advert?)
– Something comes up in conversation.
– A problem that I, or somebody else is having.

I then take the title of the video and break it down into 3-5 points. For example, for this week’s video I wrote:

– Ways I come up with ideas.
– How I break down the script.
– How that differs with customers.

Then I shoot the video, if I need to look at the points I can glance at my giant whiteboard next to the sofa where I sit. For me, it’s important not to over-script these videos because otherwise I’ll be reading not presenting. And that’s not a good look.

The way this differs with my customers, is that I have a 1 hour video call with them the week before the shoot, and we go through the 6-8 videos we’ll be filming. Go through the points we want to cover, and then they have a week to plan and practice. When I show up on the day, we go through the plan again and then… shoot!

You can watch the video I made about making videos right here:

And if you want to make sure you never miss a video, fill in the form on the video and and you’ll receive a monthly round up of #TheVideoShow sent straight to your email inbox.

The Rise of Original Content

Recently, companies like Mailchimp and Wistia have started to produce their own ‘Original Content’ by setting up in house studios where they create films, series and podcasts aimed for their audiences.

But where does this ‘Original Content’ differ from normal ‘content’?

The main difference that I’ve noticed is in the budget, there is a lot more time and money spent in creating these productions, they’re a lot more polished, they tend to be longer than your average 2-3 minute video and aim to attract an audience at a different time of day.

Mailchimp’s ‘Mailchimp Presents’ aims to compete with Neflix and Amazon Prime by creating content for business owners and entrepreneurs to watch when they’re not at work, by creating content about their audience. There are series such as ‘Second Act’ which follows 5 people who choose to go on a new path in their career, as well as ‘Taking Stock’ a series about stock photographers.

It’s content like this and Wistia’s own ‘Brandwagon’ (a talk show for marketers) and ‘One Ten One Hundred’ a series about how different budgets afford different levels of creativity, that really help build brand recognition. (I personally am hooked on Brandwagon, watching each episode as it’s released, and then listening to the podcast version when it comes out a few days later.)

But how can smaller businesses create content like this?

Firstly I think you need to invest in the right creative people, whether it’s a videographer who can spend a few hours a week with you creating new content, or somebody editing your podcast for you, it’s worthwhile spending the time to find the right people to help you create the best possible content you can. Gone are the days when you can stand out by creating a video from the front seat of your car, because everybody is doing it.

Do what you can with what you’ve got, and try to create something outstanding.

One of the first things I notice when I’m watching any video is what’s in the background. Especially if there’s something messy, distracting or out of place. A great example would be cables coming out of a TV, a pile of paperwork or any general mess.

You may have recently noticed that I’ve put some effort into making the background in The Video Show constant. I’ve had the Chesterfield for a while, but a few posters and wooden boxes in the background and it looks a whole lot better than a random background or white paper background. 

In this episode of The Video Show I discuss the importance of the background of a video, how you can make yours look amazing and how Evelyne Brink creates great backgrounds for her clients. 

Do you have a set background in your videos? If so, how do you arrange it? Is it always set up in your office? Or do you re-build it every time?

The full interview with Evelyne is below.

It can be hard to find the time in your schedule to make regular videos. In this episode of #TheVideoShow I talk to video coach Evelyne Brink about how she finds the time to make videos regularly, and I give my ideas too.

In my opinion, a lot of the problem is people don’t have fun making videos. It should be something that’s enjoyed and looked forward to.

If you’re not getting this feeling on your own, why not work alongside a colleague (or if you’re working alone, someone who also runs their own business). That way you’re accountable to each other, and can have a laugh a long the way.

There’s loads of other tips in this video, so take a look and let me know how you create regular content!