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Video can be incredibly impactful when it comes to your marketing, building trust with your audience, and increasing sales. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be polished, overly produced or perfect to make an impact! With just a little bit of prep, you can be more confident and make a bigger splash! This post shares our video prep checklist to make things easier.
When it comes to video there are lots of different ways it can be approached.
🌟 live video on social media.
🌟 pre-recorded video for social media
🌟 pre-recorded trainings
🌟 live trainings on zoom or other platform
🌟 meetings with your team, clients or potential clients
🌟 podcast recordings
For the purposes of this post, we’re going to focus on creating video content for social media. Either way, going through this checklist can help you show up feeling more confident, ready to go, and see better results.
Step 1 – Plan Your Content
No matter the type of content you’re creating, make sure you know what the goal of it is. For example, are you trying to sell something, create more awareness, just have fun! There is no right or wrong here, but understanding what you want the content to do will really help.
Here are some ways you can plan.
1️⃣ Make a list of content ideas so you can record videos, like reels, when the time is right.
2️⃣ Determine how many videos you want to create each month and assign a category to them. This will ensure you have a good balance of content and it is not all pushing sales.
3️⃣ Start to script out what will be in your content. This part is totally up to you. Sometimes you might just wing it, sometimes you might want a fully flushed out script, sometimes its just bullet points. However you work best is the right way to go here.
As an example in my world on a typically week I have:
🔹 audiograms that are created from my podcast episodes. These are created right after I create the show notes for the episodes and are ready to go. I use these as reels and stories on social media, and video pins on Pinterest.
🔹 weekly Facebook live in my VIP group. I go live every Monday to share updates, what to expect this week, and show off new product. These are usually a fly by the seat of your pants situation!
🔹 live training every other week. These happen on Zoom and are streamed to my Facebook group. Each one has a particular topic, or a guest, coming in to provide value and build community. Because of this, I do like to have bullet points laid out to stay on track and make sure I hit all the elements I wanted to discuss. If its a guest coming in, then we have a conversation prior about what we want to discuss!
🔹 stories to post a few times a week. I try and think ahead in the day about some “in real time” things I can share so that I don’t forget to capture the moments. I also have some images I can share about product or from the past that are relevant.
When you have a plan in place, and prep for what you’re going to share, it is more likely to happen.
Step 2 – Prep Your Space
Having a setup you trust and like will always make you feel more confident on video. This doesn’t mean it has to be fancy
If you’re going live from your computer for a training or something live, ensure you have good lighting. I use the Logitech Ultra Glow light. It is super easy to use, and because it isn’t a ring light, it doesn’t reflect on my glasses!
If you’re recording video out and about or on your phone, you can find a ring light that fits on your phone, but even better, try and find an area with natural light. That is truly your best friend!
I like to think about the time of day that light is best in my office and try and schedule time to record some of that content all at that time!
Check your background! Having something clean and organized is best so it doesn’t distract viewers. If possible, have something in the background that reflects your brand so you can reinforce who you are regardless of if you’re selling something or not in the moment.
Finally, check your sound. I like to use a microphone or headphones if possible. I love the Blue Yeti mic for my microphone and then use my AirPods for the audio. If you don’t have these elements that’s ok. You’ll also want to think about your environment. Is the room really echoey? That can come through on your video. If it is, add some blankets or a rug in the room to help soften the sound.
Step 3 – Prep Yourself
This is both physically and mentally. Let’s start with the physical first.
When you look good you feel good! This does not mean you need to be in full glam every time you go on video. In fact, for most of my videos I’m not even wearing any makup. Again, go back to the purpose of the video and do what feels most comfortable and natural to you.
For me, I like to make sure my hair is down and I feel comfortable and good in what I’m wearing. Then, going back to Step 2 and feeling good about my environment helps a ton.
When it comes to mental preparation, remember not to get in your own head, and let go of perfection! You’ll make mistakes, especially in the beginning, but that’s ok. Most people won’t even notice. The biggest thing I use to do is get off my live and wish I had said a bunch of other things. That’s why this is step 3 so you have all the other things in place and ready to go!
The other thing I like to do is let those around me know I’m going live. This is usually my husband, if we’re both working from home, or the kids if they happen to be around. That way I’m not worried about interruptions or them listening in! Better yet, I try and schedule longer videos when I know everyone is out of the house.
Step 4 – Do the Thing
You’re ready to go! You’ve got this! Not it’s time to hit the Go Live or Record button! You can do this knowing that you have taken some time to really understand what you’re trying to accomplish and what you’re going to say.
Remember, you may be talking to no one at first. Over time with consistency and practice you’ll see more people joining your lives and commenting on your videos.
Most importantly, have fun with it. You don’t need to take it too seriously. People engage more with video that feels real and authentic, not overly produced.