This is a guest post by Lisa Corduff. Lisa spoke at ProBlogger Event this year and we were so impressed with the results she achieved with video we’re supporting her Keeping Video Real Course as an affiliate partner.
Us bloggers, we know what it’s like.
We can spend hours writing. Hours editing. We can hit PUBLISH and feel like the whole world will explode with excitement or emotion over the information we have shared. It’s powerful stuff, of course.
But then…. crickets. What happened? Why is no one resonating with the magic of our words? Hmm…. Give the post a little FB boost, but still nothing. DON’T THEY KNOW HOW GOOD THIS IS!?
There is nothing more heart-breaking than feeling our blog or business is getting no traction through social media. The blood, sweat and TEARS OF IT!! The struggle is real.
We all know that blogging is an awesome way to share valuable information, stories and our passion with a community of like-minded people. It has established many a successful business and brand. And the act of writing cannot be underestimated as an intrinsically useful tool for life.
That said, the times are changing. The audience is changing. The social media landscape is changing BIG TIME. And those that have recognised it are reaping the benefits – I’m talking about video. Online video. Video to sell programs, videos to engage your community, videos to build trust, videos to chat.
By far the quickest and easiest way to build momentum online is to SHOW YOURSELF! For a brand, blog or business, one of the most powerful ways to amplify their online presence is to appear on video for their community or customers. “I like this chick” – BANG “I never knew how to DO that” – BANG “I’ve always wondered what he looked like and I dig the moustache” – BANG and WINNING!
Whether it’s to teach, engage or sell – creating video online will help in spades. There’s usually just one problem – appearing on video scares the pants off most people. And doing it LIVE – WHAAAAAT?? It’s up there with presenting to a room full of people. That’s normal. But you’re going to need to find a way to move through the fear and take some action if you’d love to amplify your presence online.
Here’s the best part – it’s not particularly hard or technical and it costs nothing to create if you have a phone. Ever recorded a video on your phone of something interesting and sent it to your best mate or your mum? Well, you can record video online. Ever held a Skype meeting with a potential client? You can create video online. Ever sat on your couch with your bestie and a glass of wine and shared a story about your day? Yep, you guessed it, you can create video.
At the ProBlogger Training Event this year most experts were touting the power of online video for building your blog and business. You couldn’t walk away from that event without having it smashed into your head that video is the future of social media.
Brian Fanzo was bringing us up to speed with where Australia will be in the coming years. Americans have grabbed video and are running with it – using it powerfully and effectively to create authentic connection with their audience.
It’s not fancy stuff. It’s just real. And therefore engaging. It was inspiring to someone like me, who has built her business on the back of video. A humble wholefoods blog has turned into a successful online business because I showed up and connected with my community via video.
Here’s the truth – I’m under no illusions – wholefoods blogs are a dime a dozen. I love helping people go back to basics and feed their families real food. But so do many, many other bloggers! My point of difference?
- I held webinars
- I interviewed experts via Skype and put them online and into courses
- I use video for FB ads (which ALWAYS convert better than images)
- I show up on FB live
- I experiment with InstaStories
I give my community access to me and the ability to get to know me. That’s it. That’s the point of difference.
But I’ve been practicing for a few years now. A background in TV presenting and producing (BC – as in – Before Children) meant I had a really good understanding of the power of video and story telling and when I had the chance to do that online – I jumped at it. But my background didn’t save me from sucking! No way – I was awkward and messed up and got embarrassed about things I said – but I’ve been learning every. single. time. And you should too.
Jump onto Facebook right now and introduce yourself to your community (if you haven’t already). You’ll be shocked with the response! At the end of the day – we are social creatures and video is a powerful connector. The smart phone has made it so easy for us to connect in a bigger, more authentic way than writing ever could.
Not only that – you can jump online any time and ask your community a question and get immediate feedback. Ask them what they’d love to hear from you – what your next blog series should be about. Ask them what they had for dinner! Whatever you talk about, online video will elevate your presence and build trust and connection with your community.
Try it. I dare you.
Lisa Corduff is a wholefoods blogger with multiple online program cutting through the BS and helping real people eat more real food – in the real world! With a background in TV and Video Production she has been at the forefront of social media video marketing. Keeping Video Real launches on November 21, 2016. For $297 you’ll break through the procrastination, excuses and fear!
Hey Lisa,
Bloggers get frustrated when they don’t get the response. It’s natural. Every human being expect the results of his/her hard work.
But in this blogosphere, you have don’t have your social engagement then it won’t be possible to become a pro blogger.
Facebook groups can be helpful to build trust. There are many people who may be waiting for the content you provide.
Thanks for this informative article.
~Ravi
Yes, it’s so tough to not get the response you are after. FB groups are a brilliant marketing tool – especially because you can do LIVE videos straight to your group!!
Glad you found the article informative.
Hi,
Problogger.net is near ablout to post 8000 post to create blog. Who have a time to read 8000 post.
In which sequence I have to start reading.
There should be some guide like 6 months or 12 months course.
First 3 months may be basic blogging in which clear actionable topics should be there.
Steps to create Blog
Steps to do in First Week
Steps to do in Second Week.
By following all steps after 6/12 months we have a complete blog.
It should be not only creating blog , A to Z must be there.
I home you well help all blogger in this direction.
Sorry lots of typo mistake is there. you can edit.
Being a problogger is process of 2+ year. some time it took more of time to get the blog or a website to rank.
Being in bloging is very time consuming, specially if you dont get the result. I know when I was new to this blogging, daily I get frustrated.
But success come after failure – Bloging teach us lot more from failure – how to be on Top of this world.
Great Article Lisa Corduff,
Suniel Malviya
very true Suniel. Glad you liked it
Hi Lisa
I am trying to be as real as possible. Still we have to follow some blogging rules. Can you mention what are those?
Think about the value you can add to your community – what are their needs? What do you know that can help them? That’s a good place to start!
Hey Lisa,
Most important thing to strengthen and deepen the relationship with our customers is to be loyal, real and authentic to our customer. If we success in these things then we can almost assume that we get success in our profession.
In business, customers are considered as main mechanism of any kind of business if it online or offline. Time to time, active conversation really plays vital role in establishing good relationship with customers.The greatest thing about Facebook advertising is the ability to reach super specific audiences. We can narrow them down not just by the location, age and gender, but also by the education level, relationship status, life events, and of course, thousands of unique interests and behaviors. Eventually, thanks for sharing these beneficial thought with us.
With best wishes,
Amar kumar
Glad you enjoyed it Amar – active conversation is so important for relationship building of any kind!
Hey Lisa, simple but impactful tip here. Thanks for the share. I am just wondering about your thoughts whether we are going to reach a point where video would be the main form of content on the net. I mean, since it’s getting easier and easier to create quality videos, users are responding more to videos, and apparently popular platforms like Facebook are giving more love to video by giving them more organic reach. I’m even seeing video comments popping up on some platforms. And we know text content on VR is a bit lame. I’m just curious what form you think the future of content would take. Thanks in advance. I love your work =)
Hey Kurt – video marketing is only going to increase. FB does reward videos and I heard a podcast where someone who had worked there said that FB are aiming to be the TV in your pocket. The time to be getting into video is NOW!
I think about the generations coming behind me – they have no issues hopping on video – because they have grown up doing it. Current business owners need to push themselves a little to incorporate video so that they don’t disappear.
It’s very hard to convince people that blogging is not only about posting articles. It’s also patience and (Consistent Hard work). Many people freak out when they don’t see the quick result.
I feel blogging is much more difficult than daily jobs. It takes courage and passion to achieve a good position here.
Totally agree with you Sameer
Hi Lisa,
I have been hearing a lot lately about using video to build trust and to convert visitors. From what I have been reading, video testimonials are particularly good at driving conversion.
From my perspective it has always been difficult to visualise how I would actually incorporate the video however it seems pretty obvious now that I just need to get started and make it work. Thanks for the blog.
good luck Mike! Video testimonials are NEXT LEVEL social proof! Written testimonials on their own are amazing – but video just adds so much. At the Problogger Event this year I learnt that if you have a video on a sales page, whether people watch it not, conversions will be higher than without a video. Fascinating!
Hi Lisa,
I can’t agree with you more. I was very apprehensive about direct contact with readers. I listen to a lot of blog and business podcasts and slowly but surely decided to get more involved and interact with the audience. I am a cartoonist and musician and have web sites which combine both my hobbies. Facebook, Pinterest and podcasts were put on the menu. Podcasting was scary but I decided to face the fear and get on with it. The first few attempts were not good but it is amazing what you can do when you chuck yourself in at the deep end. Facebook is a great way to reach out and in my case cartoons are the perfect tool to get out there as people love to share images especially if you can make them smile. I have put cartoons out that have resulted in amazing success – one in particular was a rugby cartoon that had over 1200 shares and really boosted the number of friend requests and subsequently increased the number of likes on my facebook ‘business pages’. The bottom line is that my main web site has increased traffic almost ten fold since I have ventured into social media and podcasts. some of this is due to adding more articles to the site but I am convinced that social media has been the main traffic driver. The best by product is communicating with readers and people who I have interviewed – it as been fascinating to hear how other like minded people are developing in their niche. It is also very rewarding to help people who e mail me for advice. If you talk to you audience they will like you better for it and spread the word for you. If you are thinking of getting into social media to be more interactive with your audience – stop thinking and just do it!
That’s AWESOME Rob! Congratulations on your success
Always learning new things here, love it. Building trust is hard but not impossible, the real deal is to be a problem solver and helping people, that’s the best and fastest way to build trust no matter what your niche is.