5 Steps to Get You Feeling Like a Rock Star in Your Video and Media Opportunities

What’s the number one reason people hesitate on moving forward in the use of video or other visual media in their business?  I’ve found it to be nearly always fear of some form.

Ranging from absolute paralyzing terror of the lens to negative self-talk and overall-fish out of water feeling, fear can cost you!

 Here are five easy rules to get over it!

1.  No winging it! Just like starting a new sport, prepare as best you can before you start shooting.  Is your next project a video for your business, or Facebook fan page? Are you looking to be a guest expert on TV and other media? Think big!  Maybe your own show? Now get clear on what you want to accomplish and understand what your visual brand needs to say about you!  Hey, hiring a coach for this is a great thing to consider. Bottom line:  A racehorse that stumbles out of the gate rarely wins…why not make sure your first steps are the right ones?

2.  Clear your focus: No matter where you are, or what you might be unhappy with, move your focus to what you want instead.  Don’t worry about the website that needs to be perfect (it will never be) or the 5 pounds you want to lose (we’ll never notice) or for your book to be published: build the momentum now and just say “yes” to starting onto the next level of your media goals.  Now is not the time to waste. Bottom line: If you have an online presence, and you want to keep your business you need video now.  Period.

3.  Register your value: Whether you are in front of  TV, radio or a live audience, magazine readers, or your personal clients, believe unwaveringly in your ability to bring value to others.  If you have trouble with the word “ unwaveringly” in that last sentence, then get yourself a coach and /or some cheerleaders, because you do have incredible value, and the world will be better if you share your knowledge and talent!  Bottom line: By keeping attention outward, it is impossible to focus on feel bad about yourself.

4.  Recognize what negative self-talk is holding you back:  If you hear yourself saying things like “but” or using  “should”, “always”, “not” or “never”, your self-criticism is probably at work.  Stop it before it stops you!  Allow some quiet time to listen to your verbiage that you use with yourself; how do you describe your talent.  Confidence, intelligence and body?  Replace all negative phrases and disclaimers with positive terms and powerful statements. It may seem awkward at first, that why step five is:     

5.  Go back to step one and repeat the series as often as necessary!

The ability to transcend fear and all negative thought is the key to accelerated change in your life, and in your performances… even if your performances are in your local networking groups, or meeting rooms!

Replace that fear with faith in the impact you were designed to make!

Why worry about your story? So often we tell the story of our business, but disregard the value of the ingredient of our personal story; it’s your experience , your struggles and your subsequent successes that can create a real emotional connection to your potential clients or customers.

It is the connection that helps them to see that you are like them… that you can understand where they are, and you are living proof that you have the solution to help them with their problem. Video and visual media can put you in the position to create rapport with your audience, your story can secure it, and move them closer to action (becoming a client, customer or even a sponsor).

Of course we have more than one story, and other stories can be used throughout your marketing, interviews and videos to create metaphors, highlight problems and solutions. The signature story though is one that can be used in visual media to create your following of enthusiastic fans (aka: clients and customers).

Three secrets to telling your story with success?

1.  Don’t disregard the best part; so often that thing that “no one will want to know” or that “ you couldn’t tell your customers” might be JUST the thing that helps your target market really trust you. Idea: journal your most important moments in the development of your business, or career and share them with a trusted advisor or coach. You might be surprised at what will resonate with others.

2.  Focus on the recovery, not the problem. It’s great to share your struggles and show where you’ve come from but keep the focus on your recovery and how it has helped you see clearly how to help others. Positivity is attractive and empowering.

3.  Be sure to have a few different versions.  Have a short version, 30 seconds to two minutes, for networking and introductory videos. Plus, have a longer version that you can share in a longer format, like on stage or on your ‘about us” page of your website. You may even do slight adjustments to emphasize different elements when you are speaking to a select niche audience.

Spend some time on your signature story. It may feel self indulgent to some, but the ability to help others and increase your business is directly related to rapport with your market, and your unique story is the best way to connect that you’ve got!

To Film or Not to Film?

Creation of your visual brand is a powerful marketing step.  That’s a given.  But what if you are trying to reach executives?  Don’t they prefer charts, figures, whitepaper and written statistics to video?

Truth is, executives are just like the rest of us.   A recent study by Forbes  (Forbes Insights) shows that while it is true that younger execs have a higher preference for video, even their senior counterparts are turning to visual medium more often.

75% of executives surveyed said they watch work-related videos on business-related websites at least weekly; and 52% watch work-related videos on YouTube at least weekly.

So they are watching, but are they reacting to video?  Yes; Overall, 65% have visited a vendor’s website after watching a video. Younger executives, however, may be more fully engaged with this type of media, and appear more likely to make a purchase, call a vendor, or respond to an ad.

Video has a social appeal that written word is lacking.  The same sense of connection that we get from a conversation with someone in the same room is duplicated when they are looking at us through a camera lens.  We have a sense of knowing that person, and being connected with them.  That’s why I say that nothing builds recognition and credibility faster than visual media.

Executives may love their facts and figures, but they react with the same primitive instincts that we all have when it comes to preferring a face and movement with a message as compare to written word.  Facts and figures can accompany your video pitch, or communication either embedded in the video or alongside.

It’s good to know that executives are among the masses that prefer more and more to have their information delivered in a visual format. Whether you are pitching an idea, product, charitable opportunity, or looking for investors, video formatting your message may be the most effective way to get your message across.

For more ideas on how you can utilize video or visual media in your business ventures contact Charisma on Camera for a consultation and a brainstorming session!  Our production team is always available.

Guidelines to Get What You Really Need 

Are you being swindled?  Are you handing your credit card to people marketing information to you that you already know? Or, worse yet, are you buying from people marketing information to you that you never actually get? Your immediate response is most likely, “not me!”   If that’s true, fantastic!  Now read on and consider which of your friends you may help… you might save them thousand of dollars.

First, I confess, I’m hopping onto the complaint train for just a quick trip here…it’s not typical of me, at all (in fact, “complaining “ is a dirty word as far as I am concerned), but if it keeps even one of you ( or your friend) from spending your valuable cash on a faux guru that it’s worth it.

What do I mean by “faux guru?”

I am referring to someone who positions themselves as a guru in business, mindset, marketing, spirituality, etc., but whose true skill is sales. (Ironically, I must respect the skill because many of them are very financially successful)  They sell you on the idea that you will learn something, and when you get to the event/ seminar/ webinar you are sold again on the idea that there is a BIGGER something that you need to pay to learn and so on and so on.   I have seen an incredible amount of this manipulation, and I am offended.  I am offended because I consider content to be of utmost importance when I “have the stage,” whether it is a literal stage or a webinar.   Lately, I have seen a few “gurus” deliver little, if any, value to their audience. (This is where any respect I had for their sales abilities is negated).

For me, if someone leaves without a at least a nugget of new and valuable information that they can take and use immediately, then I have failed.

I work with visionaries, and my responsibility to them is to provide them with the tools to enable them to make the difference they were designed to make in the world.  If I do not provide tools for them that they can take away and build with, my time with them is wasted.

That’s what it come down to … are you getting what you really need? How can you know?

Here are a few guidelines:

1. Will this “expert” give you something you can use immediately, and effectively, to change your current state for better?  Will you develop skills or clarity that will be able to be utilized and built upon in order to create the life that you want?
2. Will this “expert” provide a product for you that you can utilize immediately and effectively to change your current state for better? And: Is this product something you cannot create on your own?
3. Will this “expert” introduce you to people who can immediately and effectively change your current state for better?

If the answer to any of these is a very strong yes, then go for it!  Full speed ahead! Set course for your biggest goals and call me when you get there!

If you hesitated for a second in any of these answers, it might be because you already possess the knowledge to get yourself from your current state to the better!

What may not help you:

1. Learning how to sell, from being sold (seriously, look for it!).
2. Interpreting your dreams (you do this already).
3. Interpreting your true calling (you and God do this already… just listen).

My bottom line…trust in your brilliance, your talent and your dream.  Your “big picture” is drawn by YOU every day.

Surround yourself with a great support team that can make that big picture happen, but before you bring someone onto your team… run them through the guidelines above. Do they truly qualify to help you make the impact you are designed to make? Will they deliver?

The world is waiting for you to make your impact.  We are counting on you to do it effectively.  I have faith that you will!