In this podcast, Ken Tucker of Changescape Web talks with Nina Radetich of Radetich Marketing + Media about the Importance of Video Marketing. Nina is in an Emmy-winning former news anchor who’s made the transition to digital marketing in 2012. In 2016 she became a certified Duct Tape Marketing consultant, and founded Radetich Marketing & Media with the mission of solving the mystery of marketing for small businesses..
Ken: This is Ken Tucker here, and today I am pleased to be joined by Nina Radetich. Nina is in an Emmy-winning former news anchor who’s made the transition to digital marketing in 2012. In 2016 she became a certified Duct Tape Marketing consultant, and founded Radetich Marketing & Media with the mission of solving the mystery of marketing for small businesses. Nina, thanks very much for joining me.
Nina: Ken, thanks for having me. It’s fun to be here.
Ken: Yeah. This is a topic that’s really near and dear to my heart, and I think video is something that is so important for so many businesses, and I just don’t see many people taking advantage of it. I know you’ve got a tremendous amount of experience and insight that you can bring to bear to help people kind of get their arms around why video is so important. One of the things that I did want to ask you was: What’s the number one thing that most people do wrong when it comes to video?
Nina: I think that’s pretty simple. I think the number one thing that people do wrong when it comes to video is they’re just not using a tripod. I know it sounds really simple, and yes, this is the era of the sort of YouTube-style video that’s supposed to look organic. It’s the era of live streaming. Everything’s supposed to look really authentic and non-rehearsed, but it’s really hard to watch a video that’s jumping around as somebody is walking or …
You know how tired your arm gets by holding your video camera up for a long period of time. There’s so many affordable tripods out there for even just $20. If you’re doing a selfie-type video, there are selfie sticks. There’s monopods out there that aren’t going to break the bank. So do us all a favor: Stop bounding around and get yourself something that steadies the video.
Ken: Okay. Yeah, what are your thoughts on lighting and audio quality? Those seem to me to be some issues that pop up from time to time, as well.
Nina: I think audio, really strong audio, is extraordinarily important. Not everybody agrees with me on that, and I think that comes down to my background. As a news anchor, everything we did was very polished and always sounded good from an audio standpoint. Again, video is so accessible now, Ken, and you and I have talked about this sort of extensively, like how businesses can really be do-it-yourselfers now.
If you’re listening to scratchy audio or somebody sounds like they’re in a tunnel when they’re coming to you live or they’re coming to you on video, it’s very distracting. Now the lighting thing is difficult to pull off if you don’t have videography experience or photography experience, and that’s why if you just simply go outside and shoot a video and you look into the sun, as awkward as that is … If you’re looking toward the sun, you’re going to have great lighting on your face.
If you are indoors and you have a window, make sure the window is behind the camera so that the light from the window is coming on to you, the person, that you’re not shooting standing in front of a window with the window behind you. I do think all of that is important but again, with all the organic video we’re seeing, I think it’s probably less important for some people and sometimes people are able to get their message across without anything fancy. But audio is key as well as the tripod.
Ken: Okay. Great, thanks. I’m sure you have talked to a lot of people who are very reticent about being on camera. What’s the one big fear that most people seem to have, or what are some of the fears and how can they get over their fears of being on camera and being on video?
Nina: I think it comes down to fear of public speaking or … Right, I think that’s a huge fear that almost everybody has.
Ken: Yeah.
Nina: I think the other thing that it comes down to is just … You’re putting yourself out there and that can be very uncomfortable. You’re putting all of you out there. It’s one thing to do a conference call and you’re just talking and you’re not seeing people. You’re on video, people can see what you look like, people can hear how you sound, people can watch your body language. It feels vulnerable to people and I think that brings up some sort of deep-seated fears within us.
I have a favorite quote from Dale Carnegie and it’s about fear. He says, “Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage.” If you want to conquer fear, do not sit at home and think about. Go out and get busy. To that end, the first thing I would suggest that people do if they’re worried about being on video is to get themselves in front of a camera and hit record. I’m not saying publish that video to the world. I mean, do it in the privacy of your own home, do it on your phone.
Decide on a message you’d like to convey, like 30 seconds worth of a message. Because if you don’t have something to say you’re really not going to motivate to hit the record button, so we’re trying to remove as many barriers here to get you to actually get on video. Record that message once, play it back and watch it, and then just make note of one thing that you’d like to change because here’s what happens.
We record a video, we’re not used to doing video, we watch it back and we go, “Ugh, gosh, I hate how I look” or “I hate what I did there” or whatever. Yeah, we’re all going to be hard on ourselves. There are a million things that you can change. Just focus on one. Then hit the record button again and deliver the same message, making the one change that you told yourself you’d make. Just keep doing that over and over again.
It’s that action that starts to breed confidence, familiarity, and comfort in front of the camera, and I think that’s probably one of the first steps you can take to becoming comfortable on camera. The other thing that I think is really important is to envision that there’s somebody behind the camera, or that you’re looking into a lens and you’re talking to a person. Not just pretending that you’re talking to them but really feeling like you’re talking to somebody else, because that’s what we’re trying to do on video. We’re trying to connect.
Ken: Yeah. Yeah, it’s that sense of connection, I think, that’s really important. From my perspective, and I’m certainly no expert in this, but I know when I watch a video I feel a more effective bond with somebody if I feel like they have some passion and they’re really talking to me instead of just reading words that are showing up in front of them that they’ve memorized and they get so robotic in the way that they deliver.
I think it really is important to rehearse here, and just get comfortable. One of the things that I really would recommend people go out and do is: I love Wistia. Wistia has some great videos where they just show people “Hey, loosen up. Jump up and down. Move around before you get on camera.” I mean, it just kind of lightens the mood, it takes you out of this fear that you might have of “Oh my gosh, I’m going to be on camera.”
I think it’s important to try those different things because honestly, video is such an important medium right now. It’s such a great way to connect through social media or on YouTube, but also video is very important on your website and for SEO purposes. You can’t ignore it so you’ve got to find a way to conquer the beast and own it and incorporate video effectively.
Nina: I have a friend who’s a speaking coach, and she does an amazing exercise at one of her retreats where she has speakers actually stand on one of those exercise trampolines, and she has them jump up and down while she’s asking them questions. It’s amazing what happens.
Ken: Wow.
Nina: You get tired while you’re jumping up and down on a trampoline, but by the same token you loosen up. Because you are focused on jumping up and down on the trampoline and not falling off the thing, you tend to not worry as much about what you’re talking about and overthink things. I think that’s sort of what happens when people freeze up on video, is they’re overthinking everything. If you can just think of it as another conversation tool, another way to connect with people, you’re just going to have a lot easier time.
Ken: Yeah. Okay. We’ve kind of talked a little bit about this, but I wanted to make sure that we get your thoughts on some of the easiest ways to improve your on-camera presence. Anything else that we need to cover on that?
Nina: I always tell people, and it’s going to feel funny to people, but I tell people to exaggerate their energy. What I mean by that is it’s one thing to get on video and start maybe talking to somebody like you talk to them on the phone, like “Hey, it’s Nina. I’m here. We’re going to go do this today.” It’s another thing to be really excited about whatever it is you’re going to do. “Hey, it’s Nina. We’re going to do this today. I’m really excited to talk to you about it.”
Now, it’s going to feel funny because it feels a little bit like acting, but an exaggerated energy, a little bit amped up from what your normal energy level is, is always going to translate better on camera, and I guarantee when you watch it back, you’re going to go, “You know what? That’s more interesting. That’s something that’s going to get me to watch longer.”
Ken: Wow.
Nina: I always tell people to do that even though it sounds funny, and one of the best ways to do that, Ken, is to stand up. Like even right now where we’re recording this podcast … I use my hands a lot to communicate so I’m sitting … I’ve got my microphone, I’m sitting in a chair, and I’m moving back and forth while I’m talking to you. It’s just how I’ve always done things. I need my hands to move and my body to move to communicate. I think one of the most effective things that people can do on video that they’re not doing is to stand up while recording.
It just gives you a natural amount of energy, it helps you own your space, and it just gives you a better ability to connect, I think. If you’re watching yourself on video and you’re like, “You know what? I don’t have a whole lot of energy there, it’s kind of looking boring,” try standing up and shoot the video standing up, even if you’re just shooting from the waist up or just your face. You’ll have a lot better results, and you’ll like the way it looks a lot better.
Ken: Yeah. Okay. That’s awesome. I mean, I’ve never really thought about … Again, how did you describe that? Over-energized. That’s not really the way you described it, but-
Nina: Yeah, I always say it as exaggerate your own natural energy.
Ken: There we go. Yeah. Yeah, that’s fascinating actually. I think back when I’ve worked with a few clients here and there doing some video shoots and whatnot. Some people naturally do that, and they just do it really, really well. Other people really turn down the energy level dramatically when they’re on camera.
Nina: Yeah.
Ken: Yeah.
Nina: Yeah, I have some friends who … They shot a series of videos for their website, and I’m like, “No, no, no. Could we take those down?” Because when you talk to them in person, I’m like, “That’s not even you. That’s not what you look like. That’s not what you sound like. That actually is worse for you, because you are so … You’re funny, you’re intelligent, you’re smart, and none of that comes across because it’s a monotone delivery, there’s no inflection, and it just looks like you’re reading something.”
News anchors, the craft that we practiced, Ken, for years and years and years, was the ability to read a teleprompter with feeling. I was looking into that camera and I saw words, yes, on the teleprompter, but I saw a person there. Every night I saw a person there, and I was communicating to that person even though they’re words on the screen. My goal was to be able to make it feel like you didn’t think at home that I was reading a teleprompter, that it was that conversational. The news anchors, I think, that are the most successful, that’s their delivery, especially nowadays when there’s such a focus on authenticity.
Ken: Yeah. Wow, that’s fascinating. I never really thought about that before.
Nina: Yeah, it is. You can kind of harken back to the DJ days: “Hey there, we’re rolling the tunes from the ’50s, ’60s.” There’s like a cheeseball version of it.
Ken: Right, right.
Nina: Then there’s sort of the authentic but yet on steroids version of a really strong delivery, and I think even in podcasting … I mean, in podcasting you do not have visual as the aid. You have to find a way to bring joy to your voice, whether that’s smiling or again, varying your tone. There’s so many things that go into making communication interesting, and it takes a lot of time and practice to develop your own style.
Ken: Yeah, absolutely. Well, and the point you made about where you don’t even sound like yourself … One of the great things about video is it is often one of the next best things to having a live conversation with somebody. If somebody is trying to know, like, and trust you, video can be fantastic for that if you come across as sincere and real and have the energy of the way you normally would communicate.
I think for a lot of people that can be a really powerful differentiator, and I think it’s important for a lot of people, especially in a lot of businesses, it might be important to see the business owner, how they look, how they think about things, the expressions that they have, the way they speak. All of those are really important things. They’re subtle. It’s not going to show up on search results. But when people are watching and engaging with content, which is a very important thing these days, I think video is a very, very, very powerful medium that really can make a big difference for businesses.
Nina: And not enough businesses are using it. Wouldn’t you agree? I mean, I feel like there’s a real opportunity here. And again, it comes down to time. Everybody’s time is so fragmented. But there’s nothing better than you as a business owner hearing somebody say, “I watched this video that you did and it really resonated with me.” They’re not just saying that the content resonated.
They’re saying, “You know what? From that video I got that I need to meet that person and I need to work with that person.” I mean, that’s how strong video can be, and I think we’ve seen that in a lot of these folks that are blowing up the Internet with online businesses. You get such a sense for who they are through video that you’re like, “I don’t even need to talk to you in person. I’m ready to hire you.”
Ken: Yeah. Yeah, definitely.
Nina: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Ken: What types of video should businesses really be creating, and what videos seem to be having the most impact? Or what’s maybe the key to a successful video strategy?
Nina: Well, I think the key to a successful video strategy comes down to what we talk about as Duct Tape Marketing consultants, and that’s understanding your ideal client. Right? What does he or she need to know in order to improve his or her life or solve a problem? I mean, you want to create a video that’s going to add value to your ideal prospect’s life. And again, I would keep videos simple and short. I mean, I think that’s key, especially now.
I mean, our attention spans are shrinking, shrinking, shrinking, shrinking. If I were going to create a video strategy for a small business, I would focus on a branding video which is essentially something that would tell your company story. Help you connect on a personal level with your prospects, tell them a little bit about who you are, why you do what you do, how your service differs from those that are similar. Do that in one or two minutes max. Right? Because once you get past the two-minute mark, you start losing people.
Ken: Yeah. Absolutely.
Nina: I would probably do something on frequently asked questions, especially if you have a product or a service that could be confusing to people. Sometimes an animated explainer video is good for that. Then the best ones are testimonial videos. I mean, just get some of your happiest clients on video and let them tell their story of working with you. I mean, that’s really, really effective. There are a million different ways you could go with video.
You can branch out into vlogs, right, video blogs, especially for search engine optimization if you’re going after specific keywords. But always, always, always when you do a video, it’s got to have a call to action at the end. Make sure there’s a reason that people are watching your video, whether it’s sign up for our newsletter, connect with us on social media, go to our website, set up a free consultation. Make sure that you are providing your customer or your viewer the opportunity to take the next step with you.
Ken: Okay. Yeah, that’s a really important thing that I think … A lot of people, they may just wind up taking the easy way out of flashing a phone number up there, and not even saying the words “Call us for a free estimate” or whatever’s appropriate.
Nina: Well, I forget that, too. It’s funny because I … What I like to do with video is provide value, so I kind of go back to the traditional when all of this sort of started, where you just sort of give away a lot of information and build thought leadership. I make that mistake a lot because I’m like, “Oh, I just want to make sure that everybody knows this piece of information,” and then I forget to tie it back in to my business goals. I mean, I’m guilty of that.
Really have something in mind at the end. I just started a Facebook Live show, and the first show we just did. Then the second one I was like, “You know what? There’s going to be a call to action in this. I’m going to ask people to join my Facebook group. I’m going to have them download one of my freebies.” I think that all of us forget that we’re doing this. Yes, we want to provide value to people’s lives, but there has to be a business goal related to it, as well.
Ken: Yeah, absolutely. No, I agree with you. I tend to forget adding the calls to action because for me, I try to approach things very educationally.
Nina: Uh huh.
Ken: A lot of the times. I’m recorded a lot. When I do presentations where it’s not really a specific branding message or a specific product message, it’s really talking a deeper dive about a particular subject. I’m co-chair of the Technology Committee here for the Chambers of Commerce in my local county here in St. Charles, and that’s not really an appropriate environment to do a call to action.
Nina: Right.
Ken: But there’s no excuse for me in the other video content that I create. I just want everybody who’s listening out there to realize: Look, the best way to get good at video is to do it and practice and do it more and more and more, and I think that’s really critical. What do you think about for certain businesses, doing videos that are how-to’s or demonstrations can also be pretty powerful. Do you think that those are important to incorporate?
Nina: I absolutely think those are important. Those are the types of videos that can get you found a little bit easier than some of the content that we spoke about earlier, the branding videos and the frequently asked questions. But the how-to videos, to me, they really speak to what somebody might be searching for online. If your product solves that problem, how to do something, you should absolutely create a video around that and optimize it for search.
Ken: Yeah. Well, and I think there could be a potential operational benefit to a business to do a how-to video, as well. As an example, I was doing some consulting with a heating and cool contractor four or five years ago, and at the time I really didn’t have any video skills and I didn’t really know anybody that had video skills. Actually, a person that was on staff actually was very good at video. One of the things we talked about was … For this particular contractor, they usually lost money or felt bad billing somebody when they went out to address a programmable thermostat type of an issue.
Nina: Right.
Ken: For them, if all they were going to do was have that drive-time to go out there, spend 15 minutes on sight … It wasn’t a great experience for their customer, it wasn’t a great experience for the company, so we talked about “Well, why don’t you just create a how-to set of videos that shows people: Hey, look if you’re willing to go online and watch a video you can save yourself some money, just by going and watching this video, and if this doesn’t help you, give us a call, we’re happy to come out, but we just want to offer that to you.”
And they took me up on that idea and they said it was actually had worked out really well for them because while this wasn’t something … I mean, you know, I didn’t talk to them specifically about whether or not it was an asset that made them more findable online, but from a customer perspective and from their own operational cost perspective, it was a really good deal. It’s not always just about marketing. Sometimes you have to think about does it just make good business sense sometimes to do some of these things. Video could be training your employees, developing a video to train your employees.
Nina: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Yeah, it can enhance a lot of different experiences within a business. I love that if you’re having a common problem that can be addressed with a video, why wouldn’t you do it? Imagine, again, the customers are upset probably because they’re getting charged for something that they probably could’ve figured out themselves, and they’re probably a little embarrassed, too. I mean, it does. It solves a customer service problem, it solves a “We’re taking too much drive time and staff time for something that’s such a small little thing that could be easily solved.”
I love the idea of training internally, because I think that especially as businesses grow, they may have somebody that they’re moving up into a different position and they’re bringing somebody in under that person. If that person who is moving up has created videos for everything that he or she did, imagine how much easier that transition time is going to be for employees. There’s so many different uses for video and you’re right, it doesn’t just come down to marketing. It comes to customer experience, internal communication. There’s so many different uses.
Ken: Yeah. Absolutely. I usually like to try to keep these around a half an hour or less, so we’re coming up on that window and I could probably talk to you about this stuff all day long, so we probably need to talk about wrapping it up here in a little bit, but you know there’s one thing that seems to be all the rage. There’s so much hype about live streaming. From my perspective, I’ve got a live streaming camera. I bought one of those Mevos.
Nina: Oh, did you?
Ken: Yeah, and I have not used it in the live mode yet because … You know, I don’t go on video a lot. Well, that’s funny I say that because I’m recorded and doing a lot of these presentations that I talk about. There’s just something about live streaming that to me seems particularly intimidating. I mean, it’s hard enough sometimes to get on video and then it’s like “Okay, well, if I mess up something and I flub up a few words I can always go back and edit that out.”
With live streaming you’re out there. So anyway, I know you’ve started a Facebook live streaming program and I just wanted to get your thoughts on that, and do you think that that’s something a lot of other businesses should be looking at? And if so, what kinds of businesses do you think really live streaming would work for?
Nina: Good question. Let me back up for a second because you are going to come on my Facebook Live show, aren’t you?
Ken: I am, yes.
Nina: In January. January 11th, is that the right date?
Ken: Yeah.
Nina: January 11th, Small Biz Power, facebook.com/ninaradetich. See, I got my call to action in, Ken. How about that?
Ken: Very, very, very nice. Yeah. Well, and actually you’ve done a lot to help me prep for that with the advice you’ve given in the first part of this.
Nina: Oh, good. Good. No, I can’t wait to have you on. It’s going to be super fun. I sort of just jumped into the live streaming thing. Live streaming for me is fun, it’s exciting, it sort of brings back the little piece of the news business that I miss. There’s a lot that I don’t miss. There’s a couple pieces that are sort of fun, exciting, presentation in front of a camera, and there is something about live streaming that yes, it is intimidating like you said because there’s no real editing ability.
You got to go. You can’t freeze up like deer in the headlights. I think that yeah, it’s big hype right now. I do think that it’s here to stay. I think we’re going to see a big change in broadcasting in general. I mean, people are starting shows … Like me, we’re starting shows on Facebook and we’re getting thousands of views. I mean, and there is value in that from a content standpoint.
I see sort of the top things with live streaming as positives are that it allows you a different kind of connection with your audience because you can have a live interaction. It’s the only place you can, really, aside from like a webinar where people are typing into a chat box … It’s the only place where you can really have that sort of live engagement. They can ask questions, you can answer them on video, so that’s a really unique way to sort of set things up.
If you’re a business that’s doing sort of webinars or if you do lead generation using presentations, why not try live streaming one of those presentations live on Facebook? The other great piece about it is that Facebook prioritizes that content. Facebook really likes people to use Live, so the algorithm shows your video to more people. I mean, the best posts that I have done in the last three weeks have been my Facebook Live shows. Now granted, I do put some advertising money but only like $20, and it amps up the number of views.
I mean, I see live streaming for other businesses, too. I mean, say you’re a restaurant and again, if you can get the audio piece worked out, but say you’re a restaurant and you’re launching a new menu item. Or you want to get people down to an event so you’ve got an event that goes from 5 to 9. So you live stream the first part of the event, you build hype around it, people are watching it live, they’re like, “Why am I not there? I’m going to head down there.” Right?
Ken: Yeah, that’s an awesome idea.
Nina: There’s a million ways that you can use this in your business. If you have a show, we’ve got the Smith Center for Performing Arts. I mean, I feel like why not do some behind-the-scenes stuff? Have one of the actors take people behind the scenes in a live stream, and interact with the audience and they’re going to ask questions. You could use this for fundraising. Right? During a gala. Not everybody’s able to come to the gala.
Get experienced people to do this, to be your front people, but do a live stream where you’re actually doing fundraising through a Facebook Live by showing hosts at a gala that are trying to help you understand what this charity does and why you should support them. Million different uses that I can think of. But again, it’s not easy for people and it does require a bit of a plan.
Ken: Yeah.
Nina: Because like you said, it’s not that easy, unless you’re experienced, to just jump on camera and start talking.
Ken: Yeah. Yeah, there are a lot of businesses that I’m sure that are out there scratching their heads: “How could I do live streaming?” I’m thinking of a business like a plumber, for example. Again, you could do a live stream where you demonstrate something. If your toilet’s just running, the water’s just running, how do you go in and make the adjustment to fix that? Now, it may not be the most exciting thing in the world but it is going to get the priority, as you said.
Nina: Yep.
Ken: It’s recorded for future viewing purposes, as well. And who knows. I mean, if you’re doing it and your competitor’s not, that might be the thing that makes your phone ring. Sometimes these things aren’t necessarily obvious, and I think live streaming is one that’s going to be really interesting to see how different industries can really take advantage of the live streaming. If you’re a foodie or something like that, and it’s going to be pretty obvious that you can take advantage of live streaming.
Nina: Right.
Ken: A restaurant, interior design or maybe a lot of folks like that. It’s going to be really interesting to see how it unfolds.
Nina: Well, there’s a guy here locally who, and I don’t think he’s doing it right necessarily, but I was like, “Whoa, that’s really interesting.” We’re friends on Facebook and he popped up in my feed, and he has got a carpet cleaning company. The live stream was “We love cleaning carpets.” That was the headline, right?
Ken: Okay, yeah.
Nina: All it was was a video of his crew just hard at work cleaning carpets, and I was like, “This is fascinating.” And again, it pops up into my newsfeed, right, because Facebook’s like, “Hey, love this content.” And you wouldn’t think to use it for that but heck, it’s there. Why not just try it? You know, see what happens.
Ken: Yeah, absolutely. Well, you know in certain things like spot removal or something like that, it might be a great way to really demonstrate … You have to have the right knowledge and the right chemicals or whatever.
Nina: The process, the right process.
Ken: In the process, yeah. Absolutely.
Nina: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Ken: Yeah. Yeah, it’s going to be interesting to see … Performers, politicians are really going to be taking advantage of live streaming. And it’s not just on Facebook. I mean, you can live stream on YouTube.
Nina: Yep. There is the capability, if you have the right crew and the right tools, to broadcast through your website. Now I think one of the reasons that not a lot of people are doing that is because the people are gathering on Facebook and YouTube, right, so they’re not necessarily gathering on your website, but there is that technology available.
Ken: Yeah.
Nina: We’re just going to see so many things change over the next couple of years, and I’m really … Because I love video and I love seeing where the technology is going, so it’s an exciting thing for me.
Ken: Yeah. Well, Nina, this was awesome. I mean, I learned a lot. I couldn’t agree with you more. I think this is really going to be a very important thing that so many businesses can take advantage of and need to learn more about. I really appreciate you spending your time and sharing your knowledge and expertise with us.
Nina: The pleasure was mine, Ken. Thanks for having me.
Ken: Yeah, well, thank you very much.