I recently wrote a blog about human creativity being the only thing that people truly buy (read it here). I want now to elaborate on the suggestions I gave then for displaying your creativity. I also want to talk about displaying you in your marketing videos and why they need more “you”.
Many business people would be horrified at the prospect of appearing in a marketing video, and many would not. I think the important point for you as a business owner to consider is that you founded your business. Your personality informed and created your business style. You are the reason your business survived and grew and you are the driving force behind it’s continued success. That means that if you don’t appear in one of your videos you are missing out the chief creative force in your business.
[bctt tweet=”If you don’t appear in your videos you’re missing out the creative force in your business”]
Why Your Video Needs More “You”
Good marketing is about genuine human contact. If you are introspective by nature or shy or embarrassed you may feel that you don’t want to appear in your video, but a good producer will know how to create that feeling of contact with your customer and make you feel comfortable with the result. You need to be honest with your producer about how you feel and any film producer worth their salt will know what is needed to best display your business and you in your video. Then they get to display their creativity by involving you in a way that works for you and your business.
One of the advantages that video has over every other form of communication is the ability to form a connection with your audience. The other week I was walking through the town where I live and I saw someone familiar coming towards me, but I couldn’t place their face, so I smiled and and said “Hi” in a familiar way but not in such a way as to encourage them to stop and chat. I didn’t want to be embarrassed by not being able to remember their name and where I knew them from. About two minutes later I realised that I had just walked past Bill Nighy. You know, Bill Nighy the famous actor and movie star. I do not know him. I have never met him before. He probably gets this kind of thing all of the time and thinks I’m an idiot. My point is though, I was so familiar with his face from seeing him on the telly and in movies that I assumed a relationship existed. The moving picture gives you the power to build relationships with people you have never met and will never meet. Use that power by showing “you” in your marketing videos.
How Will Showing More “You” Help You Connect With Customers?
Okay, now that I’ve basically told you not to worry about appearing in your video let’s have a look at ways in which displaying yourself will help you connect with your customers.
- Potential customers like to see the people they’re dealing with. When a customer sees you they get to take a decision about whether they like you, whether they want to deal with you, whether they will call your company. Is this a good thing? If you are nervous when you appear on camera you can look shifty. If you are a stern looking person that can be very off-putting. This is where good planning and honest discussion with your video producer can save the day. I always recommend that business owners appear in videos in an interview situation where they are seen answering questions. Imagine an interview you may see on the news where the subject is shown in a slightly side on view and you hear their answers without necessarily hearing the questions,. In documentary film the answers may be edited together for coherence, so what you get is a view into a conversation where you hear a statement from the subject that is clear, concise and where they don’t appear nervous. Your customer sees you as confident, honest and in control. Excellent.
- Your business is succeeding because you are driven to make it succeed. Your business is succeeding because you are determined to provide a good service or product. Your business is succeeding because you are imbuing it with your creativity. You need to show these things in your video. That means displaying yourself as the source of these things. In between shots of you being interviewed, and while your voice can still be heard, your video can be showing you dealing with customers, talking a project through with your team, problem solving, getting involved with the work, meeting happy customers in the midst of a successfully completed project. Here you are displaying yourself to show your creativity and the creativity of your team. You are showing that you care. Also excellent.
- Showing more “You” gives your viewers the chance to become familiar with your face which allows them to build up a relationship with their image of you as portrayed in your video. This is the clever bit because you and your film maker get to control the image that you portray BUT I need to say that honesty is always best. We’ve all heard people refer to actors by character names and even talk about them as if they are their characters but they are professional actors. Don’t try and be someone else in your videos, be yourself and let your film maker show you in your best light. This will give you the best results.
As always the success of your marketing is dependent on engaging with your customers and there is no better way than video and there is no better resource for your video than showing them more “you”.
