7 Expert Tips for Video Marketing Success

Paula: [00:00:00] Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Chatting with the Expert TV show with me, your host, Paula Okonneh, where I bring to you amazing women, amazing professional and enterpro, I can’t speak to the entrepreneurial women from Africa, from the Caribbean and the African diaspora who have something to share with you. The mission of this show is to ensure that women globally inspired or motivated or empowered by the women that are my guests. Our topic today is the seven laws of video success. And this will be given to you by another amazing, I love that word, that adjective amazing, obviously by another amazing woman whose [00:01:00] name is Pamela Vines.
So Pamela says every business must have a promotional video. To create your own, we should follow the seven steps that she will be sharing with us today. I’ll tell you a little bit about her and then I’ll let her take over. So Pamela Vines is a filmmaker and the owner of Vines Film and Media, a veteran owned Maryland based multimedia production company. Finds film and media, creates video and editing solutions for small businesses so that they can increase their customer engagement and revenue. There’s a lot more I can tell you about Pamela, but as I promised you, I’ll let her do the rest. So with that, I want to welcome Pamela to Chatting with the Experts.
Pamela: Hello.
Paula: Hey, Pamela.
Pamela: Thank you for [00:02:00] having me.
Paula: Absolutely. I promise the viewers that you’ll say more than what I did. I talked a little bit about you, but can you tell us more?
Pamela: Well, yes, we are a Maryland based Veteran owned, women owned multimedia video protection company. And we primarily work with small and medium sized businesses to work with them so they can showcase their products or services and increase their revenue and make more money.
Paula: And as a small business owner, making more money is why you are in business. All of us are in business. So thanks for that. So you’re going to share with us the seven laws of video success. I need that because this is video and behind, and before we started, we were talking about, you know, video production and what is good and what’s not so good. So…
Pamela: Yes as you mentioned [00:03:00] in your intro, every business needs video, because if you’re not using video, you’re not existing in our day and age is a 90 percent of marketers say that video helps them generate leads and 83. 5 percent of all internet traffic is video based. So where are your clients? Where are your potential leads? On video, using video, using their cell phones, their smartphones to to shop, to look around, to pique their interests. And from there, once they see something they like, if they don’t compelling, engaging, they forward it to their friends and families. So, you know, you have all of those influencers, third party people out there sharing, liking, disseminating your messages to the world from that one video. So it’s ultimately important for [00:04:00] everyone truly but especially small business owners to get their share of the market to use video to showcase what they do, invite people into their spaces so people can see, actually see what they’re doing and how it’s going to be like to work with them. How their product works and from there that will lead to increased revenue.
Paula: Well, people like me for many years hit from video. I was an audio girl, audio podcast, podcast and audio to me were one and the same. And then I started hearing the dreaded five words video. I was like, Oh no, I don’t even want to talk. I don’t feel comfortable with speaking in public, much less being in front of a camera. But that’s changed.
Pamela: Seven laws around DIY video production. I’m sure that going forward, you won’t [00:05:00] feel that way anymore. So the first one is a script. A script. So at Vines Film and Media, you know, anytime I’m dealing with a client, you know, the very first thing that comes out of my mouth is, we don’t do anything without a script. It all starts with a script and a script is nothing more than a roadmap. It sets the stage. It forces you to write down what you want to more than just what you want to say, but it helps you organize those thoughts to, to ensure that your messages are clear and concise that you’re not online, just rambling and wasting time on your recorded video.
And in a sense, once you have the words you want, you can also think about what visual aids you want to include in that script. So when we produce a script for a client, we have, well, it’s two sides of a screen, two sides of a piece of paper. [00:06:00] We write down what the person will say. The words that the audience will hear as well as the audio component of what’s going on. Like what type of music, any sound effects that will accompany it. So the script is by means by all hands down your very first requirements before you start to think about recording a video. So, shall I move on to number two?
Paula: Yes. ‘Cause just about to say so. The first thing.
Pamela: Yes.
Paula: Number one rule is the script.
Pamela: You must have a script.
Paula: Okay.
Pamela: And even if it’s not just something as elaborate as what we do, you can even write down the bullet points that will help you organize your thoughts and keep you on task about what you want to say. Because one of my pet peeves when I watch a video is to have someone talk for about 30 minutes. And they say, well, I just came on here and blah, blah, blah. And they’re talking about their neighbor [00:07:00] and talking about their outfit and what they ate for breakfast. I don’t care about that. I want to hear what I turned on this video for. So having a script will keep you on task. And then from there.
So point number two, law number two is to practice. So even though you may write down those key points and your key messages for what you want to convey in this video, you have to practice it. And that’s literally standing in front of a mirror, watching your tics because we all have them. People love to say depending on what culture is you’re in. If you’re in France, you, they say, eh. You know, so you have to understand what your tics are how often you use gesticulations and you may wave your hands too much or not enough, and maybe you look too stiff. And that’s where that practicing comes in. And so if you have a script and then you practice, you’re much more amenable to [00:08:00] having that video process go quickly.
Paula: All right. So the second thing is practice script and practice. Okay. Number three
Pamela: Is your equipment. And a lot of people think that they need to have the utmost equipment. Like they, if they decide, you know, I’m going to start doing videos for my business. Yes, but I can’t do it yet because I don’t have a good camera and they go out and spend, you can spend upwards of $200, $2, 000 on a basic DSLR camera. And not even to mention the cinema grade cameras, but you don’t need all that. You can simply with the technology nowadays, you can simply use your smartphone, whether you have an iPhone or and an Android, both of them have amazing cameras that people can use. So you can start simply, you don’t have to spend a lot of money, start where you are with [00:09:00] your equipment. And
Paula: I was going to ask you, sorry to interrupt, but okay, you talked about using a camera on your smartphone. Doesn’t it depend on the type of phone you have? I mean, when I say that, the generation of the phone, because I keep hearing, I was listening to a show yesterday about having the the iPhone 15, the camera is so much better than the iPhone 14. And you know, as you go down the line, the cameras get worse. True, or is that just a gimmick to get us to upgrade?
Pamela: Yes and no. So from my perspective as a DIY video person, I believe you don’t need to go the extra mile. You can get away with a, if you have an iPhone 8. You know, you can use that just the key is, so you have the cell phone, but the key is to use the rear facing phone camera, because this camera is what the phone is designed for. This is the better camera than this [00:10:00] tiny little camera on the front. So don’t do it as a selfie. You’ll need the other equipment besides the phone you’ll need for a successful video is a tripod that supports a cell phone and I happen to have one right here. So you can put that phone into the tripod and you can film yourself.
Paula: But what happens when you’re using, okay, so when you’re using the better cameras, which are the back, can you see yourself? Because it’s almost like you’re doing this blindly.
Pamela: You don’t need to see yourself. You know what you look like because we go back to point number two. You practiced in the mirror, so you know exactly what you look like and how your face, your facial expressions, when you’re going to smile, what gestures you’re going to make with your hands, because you’ve practiced. So you truly don’t need to look at yourself. If you want to do [00:11:00] a test run, yes, okay, use the selfie. Use the selfie mode in the front facing camera, but to record, this is the better camera. You’ll get the better resolution, whether you’re using a iPhone 15, IPro max, or using an iPhone eight or even an Android, or, you know, like I said, if you have a base camera, a DLSR you know, it just depends on what you have. The message is just use what you have. Don’t go out. Don’t let your equipment stop you from using video because the ultimate game here is to have you use video to promote your products and services and make more money because people will see you people will like and share and you’ll be in the game so
Paula: All right .
Pamela: Okay number three is lights and this is my pet peeve. You must light your face and that’s the key right there. Light your face. And that is standing [00:12:00] with the window pane in front of you not the window behind you. Because when people have the window behind themselves in film, you’re putting yourself in a silhouette and you’re darkening yourself out. No one can see you. And so then the question might be, well, you know, we, I don’t have professional light. But you can use what you have, even if you have a lamp, you can lift the lampshade so that it lights your face. And so I know that a lot of us out there, a lot of small business owners may have, nine to five jobs. And the only time they can film themselves is in the evening. And so that presents the lighting challenge because you know, you’re at home, it’s getting dark, the light, you know, there is, you can’t stand in front of a window and have the natural light you.
So, you know, I, we, you know, you, I get it, but natural light is the ultimate goal. But if you do not have it, You can use a lamp without [00:13:00] spending money, but if you wanted to spend the bare minimum, you could buy one of those ring lights and light yourself because they run anywhere from 20 to 40 and it’s a good investment. So it won’t be money, you know, thrown away. So, but you must light your face when you’re in front of the camera. So have the light facing you as the cameras facing you as well as you record. So lighting
Paula: Quick question. That was tip number four. What about people like me that wear glasses? What happens? There’s that glare, the ring light. I mean, I’ve seen mine right now as I’m looking around.
Pamela: You may see glare in my eyes because in this right here, you’ll see right here. You’ll see
Paula: Oh yes, I see that.
Pamela: And the ring light is in front of me because I wanted to ensure as we were on this video, my face was lit because the sun’s going down. So [00:14:00] how do you avoid that?
Paula: Hopefully you can see,
Pamela: Hopefully you have memorized your script and you know what you’re going to say because you did all that practicing. And so you won’t need to read a teleprompter. We didn’t even talk about that. That’s not one of the seven, you know, that’s gravy. So we’re not going to go there. But for people who do wear glasses and you don’t want the light, there are ways for you to position the light so that you don’t have the glare. You might raise it. Depending on what kind of light you have. You may you know, angle it. So it’s more on the side of you, but that may create a more dramatic look and you’ll have one side of your face a little bit more in shadow. You may not like that look. I happen to like it because it’s cinematic, but it just depends on the placing of the light. If you, if I did raise this. It would be unlikely that you saw the reflection, but if, you know, and I’m, I am aware of it [00:15:00] as we talk. And so I, when I see the light coming, you’ll see me shift, even if I’m, even if I’m here, you don’t see so much of the reflection.
Paula: Hmm. Yeah, that’s true.
Pamela: It’s so ultimately important to light your face and people don’t do it. And these are, I know these tips are simple. But even when people are on the news and they’re doing a guest appearance on the evening news and people use zoom to call in and they don’t follow these tips. And you see someone with the light in back of them or it’s just a mess. So, even though these may seem like simple tips, they’re vitally important for you to showcase your business in the best possible light. So, because you are representing your company, whatever video that you create, and if people are looking at [00:16:00] it and it looks bad, you know, it’s a, it is a bad reflection on you, no pun intended, which leads me to point number five.
Paula: Yes, five.
Pamela: Audio. So people, interestingly, as much as I bad mouth, having a bad visual video and no in poor lighting, people will still watch your video, but if they can’t hear it, you’ve lost them. So bad audio is an absolute no, no. And so, and that’s one of the other reasons for using the rear facing camera on your phone if you’re using a phone is to use this side because the audio will pick up better. And even beyond that, it’s better to have an external microphone and they do make external microphones. I’m looking to see if I have one on my desk and I do not, but they make external microphones [00:17:00] for cell phones.
Paula: Yes.
Pamela: And when you’re looking, you can go to any store, any audio store, a technology store. If you want to, you can even just do Amazon. There’s a great store B& H. There are a lot of stores that cater to equipment, visual audio equipment. And, but Amazon’s the easiest. You know, if you’re, you know, interested in using Amazon. I’m not promoting it, but it is very simple to just go on and you see the prices you’ll see which one connects with your phone. You can check the ratings and it is ultimately best to use a wireless
external microphone. I do happen to have one, I remembered. So, no, that’s not it. [00:18:00] All right.
Paula: Okay. So you talked about the wireless, you know, it’s interesting how technology changes, because when I first started, we didn’t encourage wireless microphones or wireless earpieces, et cetera, because it competed with, you know, with the wireless connection with the bandwidth. So now I guess they’ve worked on that. And so it’s probably a better option than in the past. Yes. Okay.
Pamela: You can still use a wired connection and that’s the one I have here. And I don’t use it a lot because you have to deal with the wire. You have to hide the wire because otherwise it looks messy.
Paula: It does.
Pamela: It’s unprofessional, but the wireless one, you can just clip onto your lapel and you can be upwards of, you know, 30, 50 [00:19:00] feet and still have good audio. And that is, so if for instance, you owned a bakery. And you wanted to take the audience on a tour of your brick and mortar. You could wear the wireless mic and you can still be far away from the camera as you’re demonstrating and walking through. So, the wireless are best. They are a little bit more expensive and where I say more expensive, maybe five, $10 more expensive than the wired microphones for cell phones.
And I’m gearing a lot towards cell phone because that’s where people are. They, you don’t necessarily have to have a DSLR camera, but if you do, then of course you’ll use a wireless or wired microphone with your camera. It’s always best to have the external mic because it makes the audio sound so much richer and gives the viewer a better experience.
Paula: So true. While we’re still talking [00:20:00] about audio and external mics where, I mean, can you recommend like one or two? I know you’re not endorsing anything but just for someone who wants to start, you know, wants to do a vlog or a video podcast and talked about audio. So
Pamela: Offhand, I don’t know the names, but I had a client who discovered I do, that the company does legacy videos. They wanted to film themselves because the father was is in his nineties. and in the South. So they were going to visit the father and they wanted to film him instead of, you know, having me of course, fly there. And they didn’t want, they knew he was very private and so they wanted to film on their own.
Paula: Mm-Hmm.
Pamela: So what I did was put together a list of equipment that’s very inexpensive that they can take. and film [00:21:00] their loved one with their cell phone, with the external microphone and the tripod. And so I have that. So if any viewers are out there, just please connect with me. I’ll be happy to share the package I put together for one of my clients.
Paula: Perfect. Okay. So that was tip number five. So we have two more to go.
Pamela: Number six is your background. So if in the same example, if you are a baker, you want to film in a bakery or in front of pastries, you want to film so that your background makes sense. And right now I’m in my home office. And so, you know, I do have, you know, my signage behind me in case there were any doubt of what we do. And I do have some cameras here. I have a camera here. I know we’re not talking [00:22:00] about props, but this is a large cinema camera with a cinema lens.
Paula: Oh yes. That’s the real thing.
Pamela: And you know, if I were doing a video for clients or for my business, I would position my equipment such that so you could see it. You can see what I do, or even if I’m on a set. I’m always aware of the background when I’m filming to make it make sense because even if I don’t mention it, even if I don’t mention the old cameras there, or my rigged out camera subliminally, you know, that we make film. So it’s always important to consider your background. I know it can be hard, especially if you live in a smaller home and, you know, or you have shared space, perhaps you have roommates. So, in that case I’d recommend even getting a portable green screen. [00:23:00]
Paula: Just about to ask you about that. Yes, a portable green screen and have a virtual background that somewhat.
Pamela: And, to key out, and that’s the phrase, key, K E Y. To key out a background using a green screen is a fairly simple editing technique. But if anyone wanted to do it and needed help, you can always talk to a digital editor. I know at Vines Film and Media we edit videos for a lot of clients who film themselves and just don’t have the interest or time or bandwidth to handle editing their videos. So, we do it as well, but having a green screen is one option to ensuring that you have the background that you want. But if you don’t want that they do have portable ones. And I do have a portable one. I could show you if you want.
Paula: Portable green screen. That is [00:24:00] okay. That’s actually green. You fold it and then you can use it and then, okay, let’s see that.
Pamela: Let’s see it.
Paula: Yes.
Pamela: So I keep this in my office. Just in case. And it’s very easy, very affordable.
Paula: I need to get one of those because I’m going to be traveling and I need to have a green screen. So yeah, I’m going to talk with you privately. Oh, in fact, you can even tell me. I mean, if you don’t, if you don’t mind sharing it or we can put it in the show notes because I’m sure that other people like me who sometimes cannot be on site, need something like that. So great. I like that. That was very easy. Just pulled it up and then [00:25:00] it went right back down.
Pamela: I do have a larger one in the studio.
Paula: Okay. All right.
Pamela: And they’re, you know, they’re not cheap, but again, fairly inexpensive because you’re buying something quality that will last you, you know, throughout the lifespan of your business.
Paula: So it’s well worth it. It’s an investment.
Pamela: Yes. And for finally tip number seven is your mood. And this is key. There might be an opportunity when you have planned to video yourself, you plan to make your video as soon as you get home from work. Life happens, work happens. Rough clients and employees happen. And so you may get home and you’ve had a terrible day. And it’s going to show. The mood that you’re in is going to come through unless you’re a Meryl Streep, you know, and you can hide it, but for most [00:26:00] of us, the world will show in our eyes, the strain of our next in our expressions.
I remember one time I was wanting to do a video. I had my hair done. I put eyelashes on. I was dressed in my brand colors, ready to do the video. But my videographer, because I didn’t want to film myself. I was not on time. It was a bad vibe and that’s another lesson hiring a videographer that you can work with. So it was awful. I couldn’t use any of it because as much as I tried to pretend I was happy, you know, the smile wasn’t sincere. It was in my eyes. It was pure D awful. So it’s important to be positive. Love what you’re doing. Let your be in a space where you can let your passion shine through [00:27:00] and it will turn a mediocre video into A plus plus.
Paula: Wow.
Pamela: So those are the seven.
Paula: Those are the seven.
Pamela: Make sure you always start with a script, practice that script use the equipment that you have, start with where you are. The goal is to just start making video if you’re, if you haven’t, and if you have, make more video because you have the ability to do it. Don’t let equipment stop you. Lights, audio your background, and be in a good space. And you’ll make great videos. And if you have any questions, always, we are available to help you talk through what you need to do, offer any advice or guidance, or if you wanted Vines Film and Media to come and film, we can do that too, because our motto is, where a vision meets value, Vines Film. And so we would love to work with you.
Paula: Absolutely. And that, folks, was Pamela Vines of Vines [00:28:00] Film. Thank you so much, Pamela, for coming on to Chatting with the Experts. And again, I say to my viewers and my listeners, because I do use the audio from this as a podcast, if you’d like to be a guest on my show, please reach out to me on chattingwiththeexperts. com. That’s my website. You can connect with me on LinkedIn. I love LinkedIn. Just look for Paula Okonneh there. I’m also on Instagram. My handle there is at chat_experts_podcast. And I’m also on Facebook as Paula Okonneh. Pamela, is there anything that we left out about you? Can anyone, I mean, we know that you said they should contact you. Are you on Instagram?
Pamela: We are on Instagram. The primary account that I look at most often is my name at Pamela Hart Vines. Okay. So always you can find me on Instagram. Also TikTok Pamela Hart Vines [00:29:00] one, I believe. We are on YouTube and Pamela Hart Vines, or it may be under Vines film. And there’s also Vimeo, Vines Film, Pamela Hart Vines, if you Google my name, of course, Twitter as well. We are everywhere.
Paula: Love it.
Pamela: My email which is my favorite mode because I’m old school. My video, my email address is video@vinesfilm.com and I will surely respond to you as fast as I can.
Paula: Thank you again. We’ve learned. I’ve definitely been empowered because I’m doing video. And of course, you’ve inspired me to make even better videos. Thank you, Pamela. Appreciate you.