What’s your reason to start blogging or making your own videos for your business?
And what is holding you back?
Because I started out as a wedding and portrait photographer, the videos I created were essentially portfolios to illustrate my photography skills in a fun and unique way, rather than just featuring a gallery of images on my website.
As people started seeing me on Facebook and Twitter, I realized I was getting more and more questions about how to do “this social media thing”. Since I had to market my photography business after we relocated from England to Canada in 2009, I’d begun to learn and understand the benefits of using social media. And eventually, that personal interest to promote my photography business grew into the cornerstone of Bright Spark Media today, with photography now a small but vital part of helping small business owners to create an irresistible online presence.
It wasn’t until I had to explain how to do something on the computer to a few different clients that I started to see the time-saving advantage of creating a tutorial once, and sharing the link whenever someone asked me how to do something.
{ Related article: 10 Easy Blog Post Ideas }
My first tutorial video – not perfect, but adequate.
I remember it well. It was December 2011 and Facebook’s Timeline was making waves and causing freak-outs by users who now had to adapt to the new format. I was sitting in my makeshift office at our kitchen table.
I was experimenting with new software (Camtasia) that would capture my screen as I spoke, trying to figure out the myriad of options on the fly (bah, who needs instructions anyway!). There were a dozen or so botched attempts at trying to sound like I knew what I was talking about, without using too many ums and ahhs. When I forgot my next point, I started to babble, until I realized I was getting totally off-topic. And at that time I didn’t realize how much difference a microphone would make to the quality of my video. Heck, I was thoroughly pleased that I had managed to put together an intro clip for something one would loosely call branding.
And yet, years on, this Facebook tutorial video has generated more than 65000 views on YouTube…not bad for a tutorial video (hey, education just can’t compete with cute kitten videos for views).
The video is far from perfect, but it does the job of illustrating how to do something that many people still search for instructions on.
Creating your own reusable content saves time and establishes you as a go-to expert in your industry.
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There’s nothing wrong with sharing other people’s blog post links, videos and photos on social media. In fact, it’s a good way to collaborate with others, and “curating” a collection of resources for your own community is useful.
But if you want to become known as a go-to person in your industry or a trusted expert in your niche, then it’s important to start creating content instead of just consuming it.
YOU can be the one whose videos get shared, or whose blog posts get tweeted out to larger audiences!
Try to get into the habit of creating your own content, at least some of the time. It takes practice to develop the skill, so get started now. Don’t worry, there’s something for everybody, even if you feel that you’re not a writer, or are scared to death of appearing on-camera in a video. {HINT: more on THAT in another post…you don’t actually have to be on-camera to make an effective video!}
So what kind of content could you create?
- write blog posts – personal opinion, “best of” lists, teach how to do something, review tools and resources in your industry
- make videos – instructional videos, behind-the-scenes, product reviews, answer your clients’ questions in a Q&A video, a welcome video for your website home page or LinkedIn profile
- start a podcast – interview guests to create a series of episodes on a specific topic or theme (TalkShoe is a free option)
- host your own online show with Facebook Lives or YouTube Live.
- webinars – do a Q&A session, teach how to do something, or share tips
- presentations – use Slidehsare, PowerPoint, Canva or Prezi (free) to create a slideshow presentation on how to do something
- create infographics, gifs, photo quotes, memes – visual content is highly shareable!
That’s just a handful of ideas to get you started.
What others ways could you create content in your industry?
Created content usually has a longer shelf-life.
Have you noticed something else when you compare created content such as blog posts and videos, to social media like Facebook posts, Twitter tweets, and LinkedIn status updates?
Blogs and videos have more longevity. Their “shelf-life” is weeks, months or even years (remember that first tutorial video I created about Facebook Timeline cover photos that still generates views today?) compared to posting on social networks where status updates can disappear in hours on Facebook timeline, or Instagram Stories, or minutes on Twitter.
There are many reasons why creating content is better in the long-run than just relying on social networks to boost your biz.
- You can reuse or “repurpose” it – share links to your blog posts on your social networks, or embed a video on your website or LinkedIn profile…even break it up into smaller parts, or bundle together into larger ones.
- As a general rule, the longer it takes to create content, the longer it keeps it’s long-term value…so you aren’t constantly needing to make more.
- If you’ve created “evergreen” or perpetually relevant content, you can keep using it indefinitely.
- It’s shareable and valuable to others.
Evergreen content should be at least 20% of what you create for your business.
Evergreen content has lasting value and is relevant indefinitely. Content with long-term value will probably not be churned out in 20 minutes. It often takes knowledge and research to produce. And it’s usually a strategy, rather than a tactic.
Tactics tend to be short-lived, relating to some specific action at a certain point in time. For instance teaching how to create a Facebook Page or upload a video to YouTube is only useful as long as those social networks exist. And you’ve probably noticed that some networks that were once popular, are now virtually a ghost town. (Ahem. I’m talking about you MySpace.)
A strategy is a broader view, and might involve several tactics to achieve a goal. For instance a local restaurant might develop an online marketing plan to increase revenue within 6 months (strategy). This might involve the following tactics: holding a contest on Instagram, using Facebook ads to drive traffic to the company website, and offering a special discount to newsletter subscribers.
This blog post is also an example of evergreen content.
{ Related article: 10 Easy Blog Post Ideas }
Are you starting to see how creating your own content with blogging and videos is a valuable asset for marketing your business?
Don’t sweat it. Just get started with your skills and tools that you have available right now. Practice. You’ll get better at writing blog posts and creating videos over time.
And keep in mind that the message you’re sharing with the world is more important than the fear you have in putting yourself out there.
So tell me in the comments below, what are you going to do this week to start using blogs and videos in your business?
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