It’s one thing to write and publish content that is authentic, but what better way to appear as your authentic self than a video message. Yes, I know what you’re thinking, it's cringy, it's awkward, you hate the sound of your voice, you don’t have good lighting… but let’s stop right there. We are always very critical of ourselves but trust me when I say that this is one thing you have to do! Just like sending video outreach messages to potential customers, this is a way in which you can differentiate yourself and be authentic. So if you are struggling to put words on paper, pick up your phone, sit in a place with good lighting and make a brief video. The great thing with video content is that it allows you to recycle and reuse content that you might have created in the past, but present it in a different way. It could be on the topics we mentioned in the previous lesson, ultimately, you’re coming on and delivering some sort of content to your audience.
Here is a fact that might surprise you, if we look at society today, the attention span of any individual is slightly shorter than that of a goldfish. Yes, you heard me right. a goldfish! We are selling in a world of an 8-second attention span. That is less than the 9-second attention span of your goldfish. What does that mean for all of us? Our content has to be engaging, filled with energy, and captivating from the minute someone hits play.
Here are the top 5 things when it comes to creating video content:
- Make eye contact with the camera
- Have good lighting in the room
- Keep it short and sweet
- As a sales professional, think of including a call to action in the video
- And smile
Videos on LinkedIn do very well and your chances of someone clicking into that video are quite high. One important note, the majority of videos, close to 97% of all videos on LinkedIn are watched on mute! This means that you need to have subtitles in your videos. There is a lot of free software available out there that allows you to transcribe your video and automatically add captions! Once you are ready, you can post your video on LinkedIn with a brief description, a catchy title or a few words around what your audience can expect!
Here is a brief idea to get you started: create and upload a video on a complicated industry subject that will help your audience understand it better. Perhaps you already wrote a blog article? Well, turn that into a video! You might even share other people’s videos, with a tag crediting them.
Videos allow visitors a well-rounded impression of who you are and what you bring to the table.
In the next lesson, Creating Career Opportunities, I will share with you why having a strong personal brand is key to opening yourself up to career opportunities.
