by Dana Rivera | Dec 18, 2014
I was a freshman in college when YouTube’s popularity exploded. I remember being so nervous trying to meet new people and make new friends. We had all just gotten our very own laptops and my roommate and I were sitting on our beds trying to get ready for the first day of classes. That’s when someone burst through our door: “You’ve got to see this video!”
3 hours later and we were still watching videos. Why? Because of that addictive “watch this next” feature. We just couldn’t resist.
You need to do this for your business. You need to have your customers still watching your videos 3 hours later. And then when they run out of videos (and even before), you need to lead them through your sales funnel or to wherever you need them to be.
With these 3 simple additions to your videos you’ll hook your viewers and lead them:
1. Add a graphic banner with links to your website and social media.
No matter how many times you say your banner or social media handles during your video if your audience is anything like me they just won’t remember. It gets back to the point of multimedia: everyone learns differently. I respond better to visuals and you might respond better to audio and someone else may need both to really understand. Your audience will appreciate your effort to teach them in ways that are not just convenient to you but extremely beneficial to them.
It also squashes any chance that the viewer gets the spelling of your links wrong. Not to mention that branded graphics add to the quality of your videos and work to connect your videos with the rest of your marketing materials.
Tools:
- Adobe Photoshop
- Pic Monkey
Tip: make those links clickable! I’ll explain more in #3 below.
2. Look at the analytics for all of your videos. Find the most popular ones and add your banners and links in your descriptions to your site and social media.
Since you’ve already created videos and have some that have done pretty well (if you do say so yourself) you need to not neglect them. Even if that awful haircut makes you wince every time you see it. People love that content and you have to embrace it.
It’s probably safe to say that you are using YouTube or wistia to post your videos and both have analytics. Look at your views AND viewer duration. This is really important. Think of it this way. Views means you got somebody to click on your video. Viewer duration means you got them to stick around. And who is more likely to learn more about you and become your client? thats right! The ones that stuck around and found value in what you had to say.
You can do this two ways:
- Add the banners you created
- Add your links in the description and with annotations or mid roll links
The biggest difference between these two options is that with the first one you have to re edit the video file. This might be worth it you if you like editing, but it may seem too overwhelming. My suggestion is to add a banner to the 2 or 3 most popular and use the second option for the rest.
You don’t want to lose the momentum that the videos have gained so don’t delete the old video. On YouTube, redirect the old video to the new video using annotations. On Wistia, there is a Replace Video feature so you can maintain the seo and analytics.
You can eventually add your links to all of your videos but pick the top 2 or three to get you started. As entrepreneurs we are SO busy so don’t overwhelm yourself with updating 20 videos.
3. Add a call to action button
As important as a website banner is the one other graphic that may be an even bigger game changer is your call to action button. You’ve probably heard this a million times but your videos need a call to action, whether you are creating weekly episodes or a story based promotional video. You need to inspire your viewer to take action. And making it super simple for them to carry out your action gets you even closer to convincing that doubter to act. Putting a clickable button on screen that says “donate” “sign up” or “watch this video next” not only tells them what to do but with a click takes them where they need to go. All you have to do is design a button and edit it into your video. You can use the same tools from #1 above.
Tip: making clickable links is really easy. You can use YouTube or Wistia. On YouTube they are called annotations and on Wistia they are called mid roll links. With annotations you can draw the outline of a square or rectangle around your button image, put the link you want it to direct to in the link field, set how long it should stay on screen and voila! With mid-roll links you can type in the text of your button and the link and you don’t even have to design your own button.
I want you to get started on making these changes today so I created a free template for a call to action button that you can download by entering your email below. You’ll get a link straight to your inbox. By signing up you’ll also get exclusive Tips, Tricks, How-to’s and my personal insights about Online Videomaking that I only share in email.
If you liked this post please comment and share. I’d love to hear from you.
by Dana Rivera | Nov 20, 2014
As an entrepreneur you have clients. Yes, your clients want to know how you can help them, but if you can make them care about what you care about and like you for who you are, you will have clients for life. Believe me your story is important, your story is human.
Today I want to talk about discovering what story you should tell.
There is one thing that I do when I lose sight of my big why and it always brings me back to the same story:
- Find a quiet place without a computer or somebody to distract you. Somewhere where you feel completely comfortable.
- Bring a journal or notebook
- Ask yourself “why am I doing this?” Then just write. and when you hit a stopping point ask yourself why again and again and keep writing. Yup, just like that annoying thing that kids do. You need to do this to understand the root of your story, what it all comes back to on a very human level.
Go back to that moment when you were 15 years old and you organized a school event for homelessness awareness. When after visiting the activity where you experience how homeless people have to survive an 8 year old boy, with tears in his eyes, looked up at you and asked you to give his jacket to a little boy who needs it. And what started as an assignment turned into a passion for coordinating fundraising events. Or when you showed your first client their senior portraits and she was speechless, not believing that she could look so beautiful. And for the first time in years she let her mom hang up a picture of her in the entryway to their home. That’s when you decided you had to show young women how beautiful and confident they can be.
For me, it was when I created a documentary film for class about my grandmother’s immigration from Cuba. On the second day of filming she sat in a big blue recliner chair and told me about the day her neighbor’s son was taken by the authorities, never to be seen again. She kept repeating the word never and when she finally stopped, she looked off to the side in the direction of the window. It was the first time I had seen my grandmother at a loss for words, but her eyes said it all. That’s when I knew I had to tell people’s core stories. It’s my family and furthering my grandmother’s dream of giving her family a future full of opportunities that inspired me to start my own business. I want to be of service to others and make my family proud.
So to discover your story it’s going to take courage and pushing yourself until you’re exhausted. Until you have ONE, very, very specific moment that you seem to come back to time and time again no matter how many times you do this exercise.
If you want more tips to creating online video, download your guide to the Top 5 Video Tools that will help you make beautiful online videos for your business by clicking the button below. By signing up you’ll also get exclusive Tips, Tricks, How-to’s and my personal insights about Online Videomaking that I only share in email. If you liked this post please comment and share. I’d love to hear from you.
by Dana Rivera | Nov 6, 2014
Today, I want to talk about the 3 best ways to incorporate video into your business. Of course, the possibilities are endless, but how do you wrap your mind around a video content strategy of your own when there are just too many options on the menu. So, I’m going to give you just three and even just choosing one will be HUGE for your business.
To Introduce:
Think trailer for your business, product, or service. This is the video that goes on your landing page to describe who you are, what your message is and how you work. This is important because your audience can see you and what you do in motion. They can connect with you past your photos, copy and blog posts and onto an even deeper level. And if you are the face of your business this is essential.
To Educate:
For entrepreneurs this usually takes the form of a weekly blog show or video training course. Education is really important. People want and need to learn. And you’re an expert in your field. It would be a disservice to your target audience if you didn’t share the value that you can provide with them. You can use this to fill in the gaps in your audience’s knowledge that are keeping them from becoming clients. Not to mention if you are giving great value week after week in the form of courses or blog shows your potential clients will be so grateful and hungry for more of your knowledge that they will be dying to buy over and over again.
Tip: If you already have a blog, look at your analytics and comments, find the most popular and turn that content into a video.
To Sell or Gain:
Whether you want to gain clients, email subscribers, or sales, this is the video that you use as an opt in offer, as part of your launch, or/and to advertise your product or service. It’s also the video that goes on your sales page to introduce your new course, service package, or interview series. These are extremely effective because it gives your audience a taste of what it’s like to work with you or use your product. These videos are also very shareable via social media or email and engage your audience on a level that copy just can’t engage on.
If you don’t already use video in one of these three ways, choose one now and make that your focus. Challenge yourself to start brainstorming ideas and planning the videos you’d like to create.
If you want more tips to creating online video, download your guide to the Top 5 Video Tools that will help you make beautiful online videos for your business by clicking the button below. By signing up you’ll also get exclusive Tips, Tricks, How-to’s and my personal insights about Online Videomaking that I only share in email.
If you liked this post please comment and share. I’d love to hear from you.
by Dana Rivera | Oct 23, 2014
Sitting at the flea market with my family, I realized that walking down the entrepreneurial path is not something that I discovered on my own. It never occurred to me that the days spent helping Dad pack electronics into postal service boxes or setting up the tables filled with car speakers, phone cases, and headphones was part of being an entrepreneur. My Dad has had his own electronics wholesale business for as long as I can remember, but I had never thought of him as an entrepreneur. I dont know if it’s because he still has a full time job or because I just never thought about the word.
I guess I never tell people that its always been in my blood, like some who have had family members that are business owners, because this hasn’t always been my dream. It started as a necessity.
I graduated from college with $50,000 in debt and the excitement of getting my first job wore off pretty quickly. I became so obsessed with checking my loan balances that I felt the walls building up around me and before I knew it I was looking up from the bottom of the pit not able to see the way out. I spent hours googling “how to pay off loans fast”, doing online surveys, and searching through my closet for things I could sell on ebay. I looked and sounded like a crazy person.
Then I came across blogs about personal finance, freelancing, and Odesk. The thought of freelance video production always seemed so intimidating to me, but this didn’t seem so bad: I could apply for a job online, Odesk takes care of the contract, I can do the work it quickly in my spare time and get some extra money for my monthly payment.
So I dove in and when I finally remembered to look at my loans again 1 year later I had brought down the total to less than $30,000 and built up my savings. I was ecstatic!
Not just because I had paid off so much, but because I was having so much fun. It was so exciting that it made my full time job seem like a trap. I had read so much about the freedom of online businesses and listened to podcasts on my hour and a half commute each way. At that point there was no turning back.
But I was conflicted. I work full time as a Video Production Manager at a nonprofit that provides legal aid to people in poverty. I always knew my purpose and there is nothing like working with people that care so much. In school, I always dreamt of using video to help others and how lucky am I to have found a job where I was doing that right off the bat. But I also want to travel, and live in a city, and take time off at the spur of the moment. I spent so long feeling guilty and not sure how to build my own business while helping those that are marginalized.
I sort of fell into the answer: Video editing and consulting for entrepreneurs and small business owners that were driven by a cause or a mission centered around helping others.
I’ve been on the path towards my own full time business ever since and i’ve never been happier. I started blogging, being active in online communities filled with such supportive and talented people, and putting myself out there more than I ever had before.
I stumbled upon the CBCG Festival when I was hanging out in NYC a couple weekends ago. The first thing I saw was this incredibly colorful food truck. I thought it was so cool!
When I got closer I couldn’t believe what it was: an Art truck that was sharing art with the public and had tables setup for people to paint right in the heart of the city, all for FREE!
How incredible is that?! When people share art and their time just for the sake of community. How cool would it be if it was normal to stop on the way home from work and paint in the park?
I want my little piece of the web to be just like that: a home for entrepreneurs that are extremely passionate, have a story to tell, want to educate others above all else, and want to learn how do it using video.
I want you to know that video doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does take time, just like anything that’s worth creating. Video can inspire change and action, move others to support the cause you are passionate about and grow your profits and business along the way. But, I also believe that when we put service and story above profits, marketing, and social media followers, we’ll build meaningful communities and lives. Profits and growth will follow.
So if you get anything from my blog and my story, I hope it’s that YOU can influence someone else’s dreams. You can be the reason that the college graduate having trouble finding a job decides to build their own business or why the young high school student living in poverty was able to attend the college of their dreams. The bloggers I read when I first started freelancing changed my life and inspired me to take action. I hope to do that and I know you can do that too.
I know this post is a little more motivational than actionable, but I was inspired by a great group called #fireworkpeople to dig deep and share who I am, what my dream is and what I believe you can do. The community is filled with “creatives, dreamers and entrepreneurs who want to change the world”. Be sure to check out the rest of the tour! You can also follow along on my Instagram.
PS. I finally launched my new free video training course: Amp Up Your Online Video Presence! I’m so excited to get it to you. It’s the best video training I’ve released so far, so don’t wait to check it out. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it.
Happy Videomaking!
by Dana Rivera | Sep 4, 2014
When I was searching for jobs after I graduated like many other anxious college grads, I resorted to applying to every video related job I could find. I knew that I wanted to make documentaries and that I wanted to contribute to a community and support what I cared about; youth, education, and poverty. I knew that I couldn’t get a film job where I’d be involved in these issues right out the gate. But a non-profit found me. A non-profit that helps people in poverty by educating them about the legal system and providing them with legal aid: Legal Services of New Jersey. And they recognized the significance of video in fundraising, promoting and educating. They really are making strides; with films featured in national legal publications and in courtroom lobbies.
But what’s really unfortunate is that with such great results for video in the non-profit world it often isn’t so easy for non-profits to pay for professionally produced video. So I thought I’d compile a list of grants, foundations, contests, and alternative routes to funding your video or multimedia campaign.
1. AWARDS
Do Gooder awards
See3 Communications run The Do Gooder Awards every year to honor non-profit videomakers and reward them with thousands of dollars in prizes, promotions, and products. Not only could you win products to better your video productions, but your videos would be publicized in their online space and those of their partners. They also published a detailed PDF guide on non-profit filmmaking, called Into Focus, that you can download by signing up for their list. And don’t forget to support your fellow non-profits by signing up for the Daily Do Gooder and getting the video of the day, created by non-profits like yours.
2. GRANTS
Big Deal Media
Big Deal Media puts out newsletters filled with links to grants for introducing technology into education.
National Endowment for the Humanities
“NEH’s Division of Public Programs supports activities that engage millions of Americans in understanding significant humanities works and ideas.” Their grants support television, film, and radio projects that engage the public in humanities topics.
3. CROWDFUNDING
Smallknot
A free and easy way to connect with your local communities and clients, while raising funds for your video projects or other business ventures.
You’ve probably heard of Indiegogo & Kickstarter who charge a percentage fee of your campaign. On Indiegogo you can become a “verified non-profit” and get a 25% discount on their platform fees.
Other crowdfunding sites specifically for non-profits and lower fees are Fundly, CauseVox, and Fundraise.com .
Of course, there are many more, but these are just to get you started. Your non-profit deserves to tell your stories visually and engage your community. If you found this list helpful, please share this post and sign up below for our storyteller’s list to get your free guide to making your first online video series.
