There’s something you need to know about me

There’s something you need to know about me

There’s something you need to know about video…

When you come to make a video with me, there’s a few different things you need to consider that you may not have thought about before. 

1. Why are you doing it? 

Tell my why you’re making videos in the first place? Is it to grow your existing audience? Is it to show you off as the expert? It’s obviously got something to do with generating new customers, but how does that fit in with your business? After I know this, I can let you know whether or not I can actually help. 

2. Who’s it for?

You’ve got to have a good idea of your audience before you come to me, if you haven’t got a clue who you’re targeting we’ve got a lot of work to do to refine your audience, their viewing habits and what kind of content they’ll actually watch. 

3. What platform?

This point is down to me to advise on what platform you should concentrate your upload efforts on. And it links into your audience’s viewing habits. If you get the platform right you’ll save yourself a hell of a lot of time. 

4. What are you going to say?

It does vary with the type of video you’re making, but having an idea of what you want to get across in your video will save us a lot of time in the planning stage. Of course we will refine your script and your delivery before shooting, but having an idea of the content before hand will be very useful. 

5. What are you going to wear?

This is something that a lot of people don’t consider in their videos. They sometimes turn up in clothes that aren’t suitable for video (such as chequered shirts which create a horrific strobing effect). I’d recommend you dress for your audience, think about what they’d expect to see you dressed in and wear that. 

6. Where are we filming?

This seems to answer itself pretty quickly, but consider your options. You can come to my studio here in Andover, I can come to you, or we can shoot at multiple locations if needed. If we need to shoot at  multiple locations there will of course be a bit more planning, but the time think about it is before we even get started. 

7. Who’s involved?

Who will be in the video? Is it just you? Do you have staff or customers lined up to give testimonials? All this is worth considering before we get started, and it’s something I need to know before we get started. 

 

I hope this has given you an idea into what I need to know before making a video, so if you’re thinking of getting started with video, get these questions answered (at least in part) before we start our planning stage. If you have any questions, leave a comment below or send me an email to.

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I’ve run out of ideas

I’ve run out of ideas

I’ve run out of ideas!

After 269 episodes of #TheVideoShow you can bet that I’ve struggled for ideas now and again. Over the past few years I’ve literally answered hundreds of questions about video. 

In this episode of the show, I’ve come up with a few ideas on how to generate content for years and years…

1. Answer questions – I’m glad this is something I learnt early on in my career. Write down EVERY SINGLE QUESTION you ever get asked, whether it’s on your phone or in a notepad, have somewhere you can write down interesting questions that you can answer in your future videos. I can’t stress how much this has helped me over the past few years. 

2. What problems are you having? – What things have you struggled with in the past? What problems do your customers have? If you or somebody else is having a continuing problem with something, the chances are that there’s someone else who’s having the same issue. 

3. Myths – What myths and misconceptions are there about your business? What do people believe to be true, but aren’t at all? Write them down and then set about dispelling them once and for all in your videos. 

4. Conversations – Having a chat with someone sometimes brings up interesting topics for videos. Maybe they have a differing opinion to your own, or they made you remember something interesting. But by having lots of conversations with people, and writing down a few notes on what you spoke about, it’s a great way to generate new video content ideas. 

5. What’s new? – What’s changed in the last 6/12 months in your industry? How does that impact your audience? By looking at the things that have changed in your industry you’ll be keeping your viewers up to date with what’s going on. 

If you have any ideas on how to come up with new content ideas, I’d love to hear them, I’m always looking for ways to generate more videos, and after 269 episodes it does get harder!

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Every month I send out all the episodes you may have missed.

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How video will change in 2020

How video will change in 2020

What to expect from video in 2020…

 

Video is an ever changing medium, since I started Red Book Productions in 2011, I’ve upgraded cameras multiple times, been using different equipment and have invested in some equipment I’ve barely used. 

But lots of things have changed behind the scenes as well, the way we watched video has changed almost incomprehensibly in the last decade. Back in 2011 I’d be expected to supply a video on YouTube for somebody’s website. Some people would even ask for the video to be supplied on a DVD as well. Now I’m uploading videos edited for specific platforms for specific audiences who watch videos at specific times of the day. 

I only expect video to keep changing and evolving in the years ahead, but for this video lets concentrate on the next 12 months…

The biggest thing I expect to see is the continued rise in episodic content, and the way people watch a business’ videos online. I expect every marketing agency to become a studio of sorts, to create not only their own video content, but also for their customers. Viewers want to binge watch well made content and well told stories. And if your business can get that right in the next 12-18 months you’re going to be ahead of the curve for the next few years. 

How can your business create binge worthy content that will keep viewers involved, get people sharing and create new opportunities?

Well here are a few of my ideas: 

1. Invest in people – Whether it’s one person or a team of people, invest in creative people who have the ideas to make things happen. By creating quality regular content you’ll stand out from the crowd. Anybody can make content on their phone, but if you were making regular ‘shows’ what would that say about you?

2. It will take time – It’s not going to happen overnight, don’t expect a deluge of customers off the back of one video. But if you’re doing things right you’ll build up a loyal following of fans who will share your message for you. 

3. Have a clear vision – Know WHY you’re making this content, WHO it’s for and WHAT kind of things they want to know. Let that be the foundation to build your content on. 

If you want to make sure you never miss an episode of #TheVideoShow tell me a few things about you: 

 

 

How to be remembered

How to be remembered

When I meet somebody, whether it be online or at a real life event, there’s a few aspects that lead to me remembering them.

The main one is the amount I see of them after originally meeting them, so this can again be in person, or it can be online in the form of content.

There are far more people that I’ve totally forgotten after I’ve met them because I’ve never heard from them again. So what am I trying to say?

If you want to be remembered after originally meeting somebody, the best way to do that is to create regular and engaging content. This doesn’t have to be consumed all the time, it may only be glanced at on the off chance. But by creating this regular content (such as videos, blogs, podcasts) you’re nudging your acquaintance, and creating somebody who feels like they know you. Even if you don’t see them again for months or years.

One day, they might buy from you, they might recommend you. But they won’t remember you if you don’t make the effort to create quality content.

Does your personal brand matter?

Does your personal brand matter?

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!

Planning 260 Episodes

Planning 260 Episodes

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:

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