Create Exposure
When you can’t be with your clients in person, digital proximity is the next best way to show up and connect. So create a video. Then create more and more.
Frequent exposure makes you more approachable and even likeable, like a song that you were first ambivalent about but grew to love. Social psychologists call this the mere-exposure effect. The more familiar we become, the more our affinity grows. For years news anchors achieved this effect, creating rapport with their television audiences every evening on the six o’clock news. You’ll know you’ve achieved a similar tie to your audience when you meet someone from your online community and she says, “I feel as if I already know you.”
How do you create exposure after you’ve made a video? You can always post to your website, blog, or YouTube channel. But since it’s easier to foster existing relationships than it is to chase down new leads, prioritize distribution directly to your community and database via social media or email. To make an even more personalized connection, you can distribute one-to-one videos through email or text. Look into personalized video services such as VidYard or BombBomb to streamline the process.
Give Yourself
Although one of the goals of video marketing is to create exposure for yourself, you’re also giving yourself — your time, presence, personality, emotions, and vulnerability — in order to educate and connect with your viewers.
Unlike the written word, which has been around for a relatively short time in human history, nonverbal communication has evolutionary depth. It’s less laborious and subject to personal interpretation. Our tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language, along with our focused attention and presence, deliver nuance and emotional tone. When people can see your expressions and hear your voice, your message becomes better understood.
But how do you unmask and tap into your genuine self?
Show your personality. After all, you are your own brand. Remind people of your personal values and your value to them by communicating with your whole self. Injecting your energy and other intangibles that are often hidden in black and white text will knock down barriers and reveal the person behind your services.
Show your feelings. Video delivers the more impactful emotions such as empathy and gratitude that are harder to communicate. Go unscripted. An outline can be helpful, but speak from the heart and acknowledge your audience’s desires, pains, and successes. Any time you receive feedback, try to peel back the onion until you discover the underlying why. Let’s say your clients tell you they are unbelievably excited to move into their new home. Find out why. So that our growing family has enough room and our kids can play outside and attend good schools. Why? Our kids will have a better life, one we didn’t have. Why? So that they can be the best that they can be, and our strong desires to be good parents are met. Now you have a better understanding and empathetic messaging that can reach others in your community.
Be vulnerable. It’s nerve-racking to know people are giving you their time. You want to excel for them, and the fear of rejection is real. Letting yourself be seen and your voice be heard is hard. But as Brené Brown says, mindful presenters need the courage to be imperfect and the willingness to let go of who they think they should be. And it’s not all one-sided. Opening up and letting your guard down draws you closer to your audience and makes them more likely to engage in two-way communication.
