Video content

Video content

by | Nov 2, 2021 | Canva, Facebook™, Instagram™, Marketing, Mindset, Podcast, Productivity, Social Media, Strategy, Video, Video & YouTube, Website

Video is a great way for people to get to know you while you do other things like laze on the beach or make dinner for your kids or even sleep.

But maybe you don’t feel like getting dressed up, doing your face and getting yourself onto video. Can you still use video for your business? 

I don’t want to spend ages convincing you a video is a good idea. 

If you are here you clearly want to start making videos for the marketing of your business. 

If you do not want to show your face don’t stop reading now because it is entirely possible for you to create videos in lots of different ways.

There is no denying how good it is if you can bring yourself to do videos of your own face especially if you are service-based. But if you can’t do that for whatever reason I do not want you to navigate away and not make a video for your business because it seems too hard.

There are loads of ways to get around not showing your face and all the ways of creating video give you some benefits.

I know that people always like to hear what I do personally so I will start with that and then I will also share a couple of other ways that I think you can create video if you want.

My current 2 favourite video processes are:

60-second (or less)

10-minute or so videos

I like to create short videos and publish them on Instagram. I try to make these 60 seconds long or less.

I create these on my phone and record them directly so they go onto my camera roll. Then I pop onto Instagram and share them in my feed with a small caption.

I love this method because I can experiment with ideas without investing too much energy in the process. I also find that people like to see me and they like to hear from me. These feel light yet intimate.

They are the quickest and easiest way for me to create video and they also feed into my entire content creation strategy. I have another blog post about that which you can check out over here.

Basically I test the water with new ideas in my 60 second videos so if they are well received they may get turned into a longer blog or video. I usually don’t overthink these and I get important feedback from my people when they do well.

The other way I love to make videos is using Zoom. I begin a Zoom meeting with myself, click record then I just chat away to the screen in my own meeting with myself.

When I click “end meeting”, the recording gets downloaded onto my computer. I am then able to share it directly to YouTube which I also embed onto my blog.

The fun thing about these Zoom videos is that I can often use the audio download to create a podcast as well. I just love it when one piece of content can be used in lots of different places.

I also like to use this video on IGTV (if it is not a how-to demonstration style vid).

One other cool thing about these podcast episodes is that I can create a video from the episode using Headliner App really easily. I have another post about how to use Headliner App over here.

If you don’t want your face in the video.

If you don’t want your face to be in the video for whatever reason you can still use the Zoom methods and just don’t worry about how you look on video.

You can then use the audio component of the zoom recording and turn it into a podcast.

The podcast episode can be turned into a video using Headliner app. This means that people can experience your energy through your voice without you having to even get out of bed.

Literally some of my podcast episodes I made late at night in bed or early in the morning in bed. That’s how easy it is to use Anchor. I then turn those podcasts  into a video without having to show my face at all.

If you don’t want to deal with a podcast and Headliner App you can also use Canva to create videos with an audio recording you have created.

These audio recordings can be created on the voice memo app on an iPhone or a similar voice recording app on an Android phone. You can then upload those to canva and add a couple of little animations and a nice stock image and then you have basically the same thing as the Headliner app video without having to create a podcast and without having to show your face.

There is a part of me that does want to kick in and start telling you how important video including your face is so I do just want to touch on that lightly.

A lot of people who come to me for a free 30 minute chat have already ”met me”  through watching my videos.

People often tell me how nice it is to finally meet me in person and that I am exactly like my videos and how comforting that is for them. Usually they watch my videos while I am on the beach, making dinner, sleeping or doing other things in my business.

I find this duplication of myself really great.

It means that people who are referring their clients or friends to work with me have somewhere they can send those people to figure out whether they want to work with me or not.

The other thing that is good about video is: if you’re posting them on social media the algorithm which decides who sees what content will slightly favour a video over other kinds of posts.

That is the end of my convincing you about why video is good.

There are just so many places and ways you can share video.

Here’s a hard and fast list:

    • YouTube video
    • YouTube short
    • YouTube live
    • Instagram Reel
    • Instagram feed video (60s max)
    • IGTV (15 minute max)
    • Instagram Story
    • Instagram live
    • Facebook live
    • Facebook feed Facebook Story
    • LinkedIn
    • On your blog
    • Twitter
    • Tik Tok
    • Slideshow with you talking over the top
    • Plus all the ways I mentioned in this blog

    I think if you are not doing video you are missing a really potent opportunity so if you’re not ready to get your face on I would recommend trying one of these other methods for creating video content for your business.

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    “I pay my respects and acknowledge the people of the Yuin Nation, traditional custodians of the land on which I live and work. I also pay respect to all Elders — past, present and future.”

    What is content? And how to make more

    What is content? And how to make more

    by | Jun 2, 2021 | Content, Facebook™, Instagram™, Marketing, Mindset, Productivity, Social Media, Strategy, Time saving, Video, Video & YouTube, Website

    I often hear people say that they are “Content Strategists” or the explain how to “Create Content”.

    And although I know what content is, it seems to me to be a weird and jargon-ey term that causes so much confusion.

    I was thinking that we could just rename it to: “Sharing your brilliance”

    Because that is all we really need to do. We all know so much and have so much brilliance to share. But to clarify: what is content? And how can you make more?

    Content comes in so many different forms. 

    It can be: 

    Image based

    Written

    Video

    Audio

    I am sure there are more categories too that I’ve glazed over.

    And then there’s the length. I’m calling them micro (or snippet), small and long.

    Examples: 

    A reel on Instagram = I would say that is a micro-video. 

    An Instagram image post with a caption = is a written and image small piece of content. 

    A Facebook text only post around 2000 words = a long, written piece of content. 

    That same Facebook post on your blog with images as well = is a long, image and written piece of content. 

    A podcast of the same article would be = a long, audio piece of content. 

    Using Headliner to turn that podcast into a video makes a snippet of video content. 

    Transcribing that podcast into a written blog with images = is a long, written and image piece of content

    But more important than the classifications and definitions is the purpose.

    For a long time I found it really hard to create content and I did not enjoy creating content.

    I spent a long time creating content with the idea in mind that I had to do it to reach clients and that content would help me sell my services. The only content I was able to make easily were “how-to” videos. I think these felt easy because they were of service to my clients with low expectations of reward. They were more of a selfless service. 

    In the yoga tradition I studied for many years, selfless service is called karma yoga. In karma yoga you work for others and try to release your expectations of reward. 

    Recently, I have been loving creating content. Short videos, long videos, short written posts, longer writing. All kinds. And I think what has changed is my frame for why I create content. 

    Now, I create content as a practice for myself. As more of an enquiry and creative expression. The things I think about it are more like: 

    “How can I say this in 60 seconds?”

    “I wonder if anyone agrees with this?”

    “How clearly and simply can I explain this in writing?”

    “Can I explain those instructions in writing?”

    “I wonder what my peeps think about this idea?”

    And now I never really think: 

    “I need to create this so I can sell my offer/service”

    If I want to offer my service I just do it. I create a separate post, or separate piece of writing that speaks directly to the offer. 

    Sometimes, while I’m developing offers, I do some research and get excited about that topic so I’ll naturally share about it, but since I separated my selling and my content, my content feels a lot cleaner and a lot free-er. I feel that I can experiment more and genuinely share with people who I care about. 

    This is my story around creating more content. 

    I wonder – what do you think about when you try to create content? Could those thoughts be hindering your ability to create content like mine were? 

    “I pay my respects and acknowledge the people of the Yuin Nation, traditional custodians of the land on which I live and work. I also pay respect to all Elders — past, present and future.”

    Learn more about Online Marketing and Business that doesn’t require you to sellout on your soul.

    Do you just want to talk to me about your business and website?

    I’d love to chat. You can book a free chat and we can discuss website set up and all of the other things I mentioned here. We can even set it all up of ryou and save you the headace. 

    Go ahead and book a free chat here: 

    BOOK HERE

    How to figure out what you should blog and write about

    How to figure out what you should blog and write about

    by | May 24, 2021 | Content, Email Marketing, Facebook™, Instagram™, Marketing, Mindset, Productivity, Social Media, Strategy, Time saving, Video, Video & YouTube, Website

    Great!

    You’ve decided that it’s time. You are ready to start writing and sharing your brilliance with your audience and the world. Your next thought now might be: What you should write about?”.

    In this blog I will share some ways to generate ideas for your writing so you can have a big list of inspiring topics to dip into whenever you sit down to write.

    This information also applies to “what should you make videos about” if you are into making videos.

    A couple of important things to consider are:

    What topic/s do you want to write about?

    and

    What do your ideal clients seek information about?

    1. Talk to your people

    Current Clients

    If you are doing sessions with your ideal clients, you are getting great ideas on tap. Every session can provide you with ideas for writing.
    What was the client’s challenge?
    What did you do to help them?

    I’m sure you’ve had days like me where you seem to say the same thing to about 5 people in the one week. THIS is great information to share as a written blog or video.

    Friends + Market research

    Current clients are a reliable source of ideas but you may not have many or any of those yet!
    Other people that are YOUR people are your trusted friends. You could also have market research conversations with people who would be perfect clients with no pressure for them to buy from you.

    The sole purpose of those conversations is to find out what they type in the Google search bar when they look for solutions or what questions and challenges they have around your topic of expertise.
    You can do this more informally by being a great listener at parties and gatherings.
    People are a great source of ideas.

    A side note about your own ideas

    You may not have a problem thinking up great ideas on your own.
    Yay! 

    Why are you reading this article?? LOL 🙂

    Your own ideas are great, however I would make one loving caution about your own ideas. 

    You may find that when you write from your own well of ideas that your writing doesn’t do as well as you had thought. As in: it doesn’t seem to get a response from your audience. 

    If this is happening, I would suggest that you may be writing at a level too far ahead of your current client’s level of growth or understanding. 

    Sometimes I write articles that I think are gold and no-one gives any hoot about them. And other times, I create something that I think is throwaway and that everyone already knows and people go mad over it. 

    So, if you are experiencing this, I encourage you to have some conversations with friends who are like your ideal clients. Have those client or market research conversations to make sure you are speaking the right language for where your people are right now. 

    2. Use the Google search 

    Bring to mind a topic you want to write about. I used this method for MailChimp. 

    (i) Type the idea into the Google search bar and don’t click search. 

    Have a look at the drop down. 

    Do you see a bunch of suggested search ideas?

    These are ideas for blog articles or videos. 

    (ii) Further down the page it might say “People also ask” with a bunch of questions and drop downs. The headings of these drop downs are also great titles for your blog. 

    These two options give you ideas that the Google robot has noticed people asking a lot. So even if you don’t have conversations with people because you are clear on your topic, this method can help tease out a lot of ideas that a lot of people have definitely searched for in Google.

    Creating articles that help you be found via Google search is a method of blogging that uses Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Google is a search engine, and you can focus on optimising your website and blogs to show up better in Google search.

    If you are interested in how to grow your business with a blog, I have a course about that. I delivered it with the brilliant Melanie White. I also have an SEO course with the ONLY person I recommend for SEO, Karen Phillips. This one is called “How to get the right website visitors”. Both of those courses can help you with your SEO if this is important to you and your business. 

    3. Use the YouTube search 

    Similar to the Google method above, you can type your topic or vague idea into YouTube and see what other content exists on the topic. Simply type your idea into the YouTube search bar and look at the ideas that drop down. 

    Once you have mined those ideas, click “Search” and have a look at the kind of content other people are creating and the other titles being used. You can write an article with the exact same title if you like!

    Now listen though: DON’T GET INTIMIDATED IN THIS STEP

    Even though other people may have already created content that you want to create, no-one is quite like you. You have a particular configuration and lens to see life through that is of unique value to the world.

    So PLEASE still go ahead and write that blog!

    4. Use Keywords Everywhere

    Keywords Everywhere is a free tool you can add to your Chrome browser. It enables you to see more when  you do a Google search, when you do a YouTube search and when you view YouTube videos. It actually does way more than I use it for. I am not a major ninja at it but this method of using it simply will definitely help you find writing ideas. 

    So, once you have installed Keywords Everywhere to your Chrome browser and you look at your results using the above Google and YouTube methods, you will see a bunch more info on the side:

    These are just more things to, hopefully, spark inspiration for you. The beauty of these methods is, Google is such a large database. Millions (or billions) of people are using this every day. And it’s free for you to mine for ideas. Yay! 

    Have these ideas been helpful for you? Let me know how you go and tag me in your social media post if you used this method 🙂

    “I pay my respects and acknowledge the people of the Yuin Nation, traditional custodians of the land on which I live and work. I also pay respect to all Elders — past, present and future.”

    Learn more about Online Marketing and Business that doesn’t require you to sellout on your soul.

    Do you just want to talk to me about your business and website?

    I’d love to chat. You can book a free chat and we can discuss website set up and all of the other things I mentioned here. We can even set it all up of ryou and save you the headace. 

    Go ahead and book a free chat here: 

    BOOK HERE
    YouTube success resources

    YouTube success resources

    by | Dec 7, 2020 | Marketing, Video, Video & YouTube

    Video marketing is SO GOOD for your business and YouTube is a great place to be since it’s the 2nd most used search engine after Google and the 2nd most downloaded app after Facebook.
    I have really grown to love video marekting once I rewired my neural pathways to stop screaming at me every time I tried to make a video.
    Nowdays, most of my clients have “met” me via my YouTube videos before they book a free chat or work with me so i highly recommend video for leverage in your marketing.
    I have a heap of blogs on this website about YouTube covering:
    with more to come.

    I love to answer your questions…

    So, if you have any YouTube questions, please email me or pop your question in the comments of this blog. 

    Learn more about Online Marketing and Business that doesn’t require you to sellout on your soul.

    Want more help with your online business presence?

    Do you need a hand with all the different ways your business can show up online? Video, Facebook, website, Instagram, Facebook ads, email marketing. The list can be overwhelming. 

    Book a complimentary chat with me and let’s see if I can help:

    book now

    How to upload videos to YouTube

    How to upload videos to YouTube

    by | Dec 7, 2020 | Marketing, Video & YouTube

    Have you overcome the first 2 YouTube hurdles:
    • Creating a video
    • Setting up your YouTube channel
    ???

    Congratulations!

    Now it’s time to upload videos to YouTube. Here’s how:

    A few things to consider…

    There are 3 options for your YouTube video:

    • Public
    • Unlisted
    • Private

    Public videos are available to everyone on YouTube via search and recommended videos. This is the best choice for your blogs, and general marketing content that you want everyone in the world to see.

    Unlisted videos are best for recordings of client sessions, content for online courses or exclusive content for you email subscribers. Basically, if you have given the link to someone they can click through and watch the video.

    Private videos are only visible to you and selected people. Personally, I never use this and most of the time when someone is having a problem, they have accidentally chosen “Private” – just don’t use it – that’s my recommendation 🙂

     Other stuff you get offered:

    In step 2 you get offered End Slides and Cards. Yes, these are cool features, but if you don’t know how to upload a video to YouTube, you aren’t ready for these features. Don’t get FOMO, you can graduate to these extras later.

    I have had 150,000 YouTube views WITHOUT cards and end slides so you can go without them for now too.

    If you’re looking for other YouTube resources on this blog, there’s also a post about your YouTube thumbnails on the YouTube channel you can view it here.

     

    The basic steps:

    1. Click on the little camera icon in the top right of your YouTube screen
    2. Select “Upload Video”
    3. Choose your video from your files, or drop and drag one over
    4. Give it a title and a description. 
    5. If you have a thumbnail ready, select it – you can always add it later. 
    6. Choose whether the video is for kids or not and click “next”
    7. Ignore all the bits here – these are advanced moves – see the info above “A few things to consider…” – click “next”
    8. Choose from Public or Unlisted – not sure which you shoudl choose? See “A few things to consider” above
    9. Click “Save”
    10. You are done!

    Refer to the video for more detailed instructions. 

    I hope this helps you today.

    Learn more about Online Marketing and Business that doesn’t require you to sellout on your soul.

    Want more help with your online business presence?

    Do you need a hand with all the different ways your business can show up online? Video, Facebook, website, Instagram, Facebook ads, email marketing. The list can be overwhelming. 

    Book a complimentary chat with me and let’s see if I can help:

    book now