Video has long been a great medium to connect with people. I will often answer a blog by videoing my reply and then posting it – people have often commented on how ‘personal’ it was. In fact, I was once stopped in Victoria Station in London by someone who asked “Are you Stewart Graham?” I confirmed I was – but only after I’d established I didn’t owe them money – they then said I’d responded to their blog by video and they loved the personal touch it brought to the conversation and thanked me for going to the effort of making it so personal.
Do something a bit different with video for your business
People will often feel they know you better because they’ve seen you on video, therefore the rapport you wanted to gain with a potential client started before you even met. It’s a bit like why people go up to celebrities and say hello! They wouldn’t dream of going up to a total stranger and saying hello – a celebrity is a total stranger, but not in the mind of the person who goes up to ‘chat’! They feel they know the person; they’ve got rapport with them already, which is why they feel comfortable in approaching them.
The same thing can happen when using video for your business. A video allows your personality to come through in a way words can’t. If you can do something a bit different – but not so different as to put people off – even better because it then sticks in the minds of potential customers, which is what you want. I remember seeing a video of a law firm who decided to put a recording of their ‘daily morning meeting’ on their site. Unfortunately it was at the time the Hollywood drama, LA Law, was very popular and this ‘London’ law firm tried to copy the show, even being filmed walking into the room, talking and then sitting down and one person with a ‘fake’ US accent! It didn’t work!
Video needs to engage and inform, but be real, open and honest.
