How to Use Video Communications to Boost Your Business

The easiest way to record a testimonial is to pull out your cell phone after the client says something nice about you. This way, you are not begging, pleading or bribing them to say anything. When you have finished working with a client, and they are happy with you and they said something nice about you or your service or product, thank them. Ask them if they can record these words for you and tell other people about their experiences.

Make them feel easy by saying, “We will record; if you don’t like it, you can delete it and re-record it.” Telling yourself that you are great is one thing, but when a third party says good things about you, it becomes more authentic and believable. Don’t worry about having perfect lighting, setting, and video production value. It is more credible when recorded naturally, like grabbing on the street.

Facebook live is another great way to communicate with customers, clients, prospects and the community in a video format. People feel nervous while going live, so only a few of your competitors are doing it. Here again, you have an option to cut through the clutter. A bonus of doing Facebook live is that Facebook loves it and gives you extra bonuses for doing it. They put you in front of many more of your followers. Every time you do Facebook live, you get a larger audience. The beauty of Facebook Live is that people can type in questions, interact and communicate directly with you. It’s a great way of getting an audience built in.

You can do it in a fancy way with big cameras like a broadcast production, but you can also do it by just holding out your cell phone. Have the cell phone a couple of inches above your eye. Most people have it down, shooting up their nose and the light at the back darkens your face from that angle. Keep it a couple of inches above your eyes or at least no lower than your eye level. In this way, it will look much better. If someone else can hold it, or you can fix it on a stand, it will get easier to frame better.

Be careful about the timeline from when you have started and when the broadcast starts. More importantly, in the end, it goes on for another couple of seconds until you stop it. Don’t make the mistake of finishing and saying the next second, “Oh, thank god that it’s over” because you are still live for the moment. When you have finished, stop talking and wait for a few moments. Make sure it’s entirely over before speaking again.

The other beauty of Facebook live is when you get used to speaking live, doing your recording gets so much easier for you. So do not overlook this huge opportunity of interacting with the audience on Facebook Live.

Skype, zoom and many other forms of online video communication have been around for a while. You have to select the one suitable for you and your client and make it the default type of communication in your business. In many organizations, texting and email are the first format, the telephone is the second format and only on extraordinary occasions do they do things on video. There was a time when there was a need to have a particular room for this and many complications. Now you can do an online video meeting with a push of a button.

What holds back people from this is that they are not comfortable with how they look and sound. The more you get used to it, the more you start to like it and do it more. The more you do, the better you get, and the cycle continues. These tools have been around, but we have to make it a default mode or primary mode of communication rather than an extra thing or something special.

Another underused potential use of videos is that you can deliver a keynote speech at a convention entirely through online video communication. Regardless of your field, if you have been speaking for a while and have an excellent reputation, you will likely be invited to make a speech. Even if you are not getting any fees for making the speech, you are getting an opportunity to reach the community and promote your business. If you want to avoid the travel costs and time as it is not suitable for you, you can ask to deliver the speech on skype, zoom, or any other medium. It works exceptionally well. All you have to do is let the people on the other end know it is possible.

The receiver’s end needs to connect the laptop you are speaking in, to a projector that magnifies your image on a larger screen. The audio can be plugged into speakers, and now you can be seen and listened to by even five thousand people or more. In many conventions, when the speaker is on the stage, you are not looking at the speaker; instead, you are looking at the jumbo screen on which you can see the magnified image of the speaker. So, it is not that much different from the standpoint of the audience. But you will save tons of time. So do not turn down an opportunity to speak at the convention if you cannot fly to that place, as it is possible via online video tools with the same efficiency and in a shorter time.