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7 Expert Tips for Video Marketing Success · Chatting with The Experts with Paula Okonneh

0:02
Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Chatting with the
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Expert TV show with me, your host, Paula Okonneh, where I bring to you
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amazing women, amazing professional and enterpro, I can't speak to the
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entrepreneurial women from Africa, from the Caribbean and the African diaspora
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who have something to share with you.
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The mission of this show is to ensure that women globally inspired or motivated or
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empowered by the women that are my guests.
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Our topic today is the seven laws of video success.
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And this will be given to you by another amazing, I love that word, that adjective
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amazing, obviously by another amazing woman whose name is Pamela Vines.
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So Pamela says every business must have a promotional video.
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To create your own, we should follow the seven steps that she
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will be sharing with us today.
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I'll tell you a little bit about her and then I'll let her take over.
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So Pamela Vines is a filmmaker and the owner of Vines Film and Media,
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a veteran owned Maryland based multimedia production company.
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Finds film and media, creates video and editing solutions for small
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businesses so that they can increase their customer engagement and revenue.
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There's a lot more I can tell you about Pamela, but as I promised
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you, I'll let her do the rest.
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So with that, I want to welcome Pamela to Chatting with the Experts.
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Hello.
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Hey, Pamela.
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Thank you for having me.
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Absolutely.
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I promise the viewers that you'll say more than what I did.
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I talked a little bit about you, but can you tell us more?
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Well, yes, we are a Maryland based Veteran owned, women owned
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multimedia video protection company.
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And we primarily work with small and medium sized businesses to work
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with them so they can showcase their products or services and increase
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their revenue and make more money.
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And as a small business owner, making more money is why you are in business.
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All of us are in business.
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So thanks for that.
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So you're going to share with us the seven laws of video success.
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I need that because this is video and behind, and before we started, we were
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talking about, you know, video production and what is good and what's not so good.
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So...
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Yes as you mentioned in your intro, every business needs video, because
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if you're not using video, you're not existing in our day and age is a 90
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percent of marketers say that video helps them generate leads and 83.
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5 percent of all internet traffic is video based.
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So where are your clients?
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Where are your potential leads?
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On video, using video, using their cell phones, their smartphones to to shop, to
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look around, to pique their interests.
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And from there, once they see something they like, if they don't
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compelling, engaging, they forward it to their friends and families.
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So, you know, you have all of those influencers, third party people out
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there sharing, liking, disseminating your messages to the world from that one video.
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So it's ultimately important for everyone truly but especially small
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business owners to get their share of the market to use video to showcase
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what they do, invite people into their spaces so people can see, actually
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see what they're doing and how it's going to be like to work with them.
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How their product works and from there that will lead to increased revenue.
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Well, people like me for many years hit from video.
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I was an audio girl, audio podcast, podcast and audio
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to me were one and the same.
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And then I started hearing the dreaded five words video.
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I was like, Oh no, I don't even want to talk.
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I don't feel comfortable with speaking in public, much less
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being in front of a camera.
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But that's changed.
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Seven laws around DIY video production.
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I'm sure that going forward, you won't feel that way anymore.
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So the first one is a script.
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A script.
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So at Vines Film and Media, you know, anytime I'm dealing with a client,
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you know, the very first thing that comes out of my mouth is, we
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don't do anything without a script.
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It all starts with a script and a script is nothing more than a roadmap.
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It sets the stage.
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It forces you to write down what you want to more than just what you want
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to say, but it helps you organize those thoughts to, to ensure that your
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messages are clear and concise that you're not online, just rambling and
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wasting time on your recorded video.
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And in a sense, once you have the words you want, you can also
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think about what visual aids you want to include in that script.
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So when we produce a script for a client, we have, well, it's two sides of a
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screen, two sides of a piece of paper.
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We write down what the person will say.
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The words that the audience will hear as well as the audio
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component of what's going on.
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Like what type of music, any sound effects that will accompany it.
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So the script is by means by all hands down your very first
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requirements before you start to think about recording a video.
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So, shall I move on to number two?
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Yes.
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'Cause just about to say so.
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The first thing.
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Yes.
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Number one rule is the script.
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You must have a script.
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Okay.
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And even if it's not just something as elaborate as what we do, you can even
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write down the bullet points that will help you organize your thoughts and keep
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you on task about what you want to say.
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Because one of my pet peeves when I watch a video is to have
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someone talk for about 30 minutes.
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And they say, well, I just came on here and blah, blah, blah.
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And they're talking about their neighbor and talking about their
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outfit and what they ate for breakfast.
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I don't care about that.
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I want to hear what I turned on this video for.
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So having a script will keep you on task.
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And then from there.
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So point number two, law number two is to practice.
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So even though you may write down those key points and your key messages
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for what you want to convey in this video, you have to practice it.
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And that's literally standing in front of a mirror, watching your
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tics because we all have them.
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People love to say depending on what culture is you're in.
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If you're in France, you, they say, eh.
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You know, so you have to understand what your tics are how often you
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use gesticulations and you may wave your hands too much or not enough,
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and maybe you look too stiff.
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And that's where that practicing comes in.
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And so if you have a script and then you practice, you're much more amenable to
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having that video process go quickly.
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All right.
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So the second thing is practice script and practice.
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Okay.
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Number three
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Is your equipment.
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And a lot of people think that they need to have the utmost equipment.
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Like they, if they decide, you know, I'm going to start
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doing videos for my business.
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Yes, but I can't do it yet because I don't have a good camera and they go
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out and spend, you can spend upwards of $200, $2, 000 on a basic DSLR camera.
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And not even to mention the cinema grade cameras, but you don't need all that.
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You can simply with the technology nowadays, you can simply use your
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smartphone, whether you have an iPhone or and an Android, both of them have
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amazing cameras that people can use.
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So you can start simply, you don't have to spend a lot of money, start
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where you are with your equipment.
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And
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I was going to ask you, sorry to interrupt, but okay, you talked about
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using a camera on your smartphone.
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Doesn't it depend on the type of phone you have?
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I mean, when I say that, the generation of the phone, because I keep hearing, I
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was listening to a show yesterday about having the the iPhone 15, the camera
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is so much better than the iPhone 14.
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And you know, as you go down the line, the cameras get worse.
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True, or is that just a gimmick to get us to upgrade?
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Yes and no.
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So from my perspective as a DIY video person, I believe you
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don't need to go the extra mile.
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You can get away with a, if you have an iPhone 8.
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You know, you can use that just the key is, so you have the cell phone,
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but the key is to use the rear facing phone camera, because this camera
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is what the phone is designed for.
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This is the better camera than this tiny little camera on the front.
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So don't do it as a selfie.
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You'll need the other equipment besides the phone you'll need for a successful
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video is a tripod that supports a cell phone and I happen to have one right here.
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So you can put that phone into the tripod
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and you can film yourself.
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But what happens when you're using, okay, so when you're using the better cameras,
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which are the back, can you see yourself?
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Because it's almost like you're doing this blindly.
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You don't need to see yourself.
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You know what you look like because we go back to point number two.
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You practiced in the mirror, so you know exactly what you look like and
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how your face, your facial expressions, when you're going to smile, what
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gestures you're going to make with your hands, because you've practiced.
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So you truly don't need to look at yourself.
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If you want to do a test run, yes, okay, use the selfie.
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Use the selfie mode in the front facing camera, but to record,
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this is the better camera.
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You'll get the better resolution, whether you're using a iPhone 15, IPro
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max, or using an iPhone eight or even an Android, or, you know, like I said,
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if you have a base camera, a DLSR you know, it just depends on what you have.
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The message is just use what you have.
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Don't go out.
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Don't let your equipment stop you from using video because the ultimate
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game here is to have you use video to promote your products and services
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and make more money because people will see you people will like and
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share and you'll be in the game so
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All right
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. Okay number three is lights and this is my pet peeve.
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You must light your face and that's the key right there.
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Light your face.
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And that is standing with the window pane in front of you not the window behind you.
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Because when people have the window behind themselves in film, you're
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putting yourself in a silhouette and you're darkening yourself out.
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No one can see you.
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And so then the question might be, well, you know, we, I
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don't have professional light.
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But you can use what you have, even if you have a lamp, you can lift the
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lampshade so that it lights your face.
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And so I know that a lot of us out there, a lot of small business
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owners may have, nine to five jobs.
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And the only time they can film themselves is in the evening.
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And so that presents the lighting challenge because you know, you're
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at home, it's getting dark, the light, you know, there is, you
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can't stand in front of a window and have the natural light you.
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So, you know, I, we, you know, you, I get it, but natural
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light is the ultimate goal.
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But if you do not have it, You can use a lamp without spending money, but if you
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wanted to spend the bare minimum, you could buy one of those ring lights and
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light yourself because they run anywhere from 20 to 40 and it's a good investment.
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So it won't be money, you know, thrown away.
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So, but you must light your face when you're in front of the camera.
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So have the light facing you as the cameras facing you as well as you record.
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So lighting
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Quick question.
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That was tip number four.
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What about people like me that wear glasses?
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What happens?
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There's that glare, the ring light.
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I mean, I've seen mine right now as I'm looking around.
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You may see glare in my eyes because in this right here, you'll see right here.
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You'll see
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Oh yes, I see that.
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And the ring light is in front of me because I wanted to ensure as
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we were on this video, my face was lit because the sun's going down.
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So how do you avoid that?
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Hopefully you can see,
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Hopefully you have memorized your script and you know what you're going to say
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because you did all that practicing.
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And so you won't need to read a teleprompter.
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We didn't even talk about that.
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That's not one of the seven, you know, that's gravy.
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So we're not going to go there.
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But for people who do wear glasses and you don't want the light, there
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are ways for you to position the light so that you don't have the glare.
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You might raise it.
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Depending on what kind of light you have.
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You may you know, angle it.
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So it's more on the side of you, but that may create a more dramatic look
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and you'll have one side of your face a little bit more in shadow.
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You may not like that look.
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I happen to like it because it's cinematic, but it just depends
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on the placing of the light.
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If you, if I did raise this.
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It would be unlikely that you saw the reflection, but if, you know,
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and I'm, I am aware of it as we talk.
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And so I, when I see the light coming, you'll see me shift, even
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if I'm, even if I'm here, you don't see so much of the reflection.
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Hmm.
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Yeah, that's true.
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It's so ultimately important to light your face and people don't do it.
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And these are, I know these tips are simple.
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But even when people are on the news and they're doing a guest appearance on the
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evening news and people use zoom to call in and they don't follow these tips.
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And you see someone with the light in back of them or it's just a mess.
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So, even though these may seem like simple tips, they're vitally
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important for you to showcase your business in the best possible light.
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So, because you are representing your company, whatever video that you create,
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and if people are looking at it and it looks bad, you know, it's a, it is a
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bad reflection on you, no pun intended, which leads me to point number five.
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Yes, five.
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Audio.
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So people, interestingly, as much as I bad mouth, having a bad visual
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video and no in poor lighting, people will still watch your video, but if
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they can't hear it, you've lost them.
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So bad audio is an absolute no, no.
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And so, and that's one of the other reasons for using the rear facing
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camera on your phone if you're using a phone is to use this side because
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the audio will pick up better.
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And
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even beyond that, it's better to have an external microphone and
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they do make external microphones.
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I'm looking to see if I have one on my desk and I do not, but they make
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external microphones for cell phones.
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Yes.
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And when you're looking, you can go to any store, any audio
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store, a technology store.
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If you want to, you can even just do Amazon.
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There's a great store B& H.
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There are a lot of stores that cater to equipment, visual audio equipment.
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And, but Amazon's the easiest.
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You know, if you're, you know, interested in using Amazon.
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I'm not promoting it, but it is very simple to just go on and you
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see the prices you'll see which one connects with your phone.
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You can check the ratings and it is ultimately best to use a wireless
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external microphone.
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I do happen to have one, I remembered.
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So, no, that's not it.
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All right.
18:08
Okay.
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So you talked about the wireless, you know, it's interesting how technology
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changes, because when I first started, we didn't encourage wireless microphones
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or wireless earpieces, et cetera, because it competed with, you know, with the
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wireless connection with the bandwidth.
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So now I guess they've worked on that.
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And so it's probably a better option than in the past.
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Yes.
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Okay.
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You can still use a wired connection and that's the one I have here.
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And I don't use it a lot because you have to deal with the wire.
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You have to hide the wire because otherwise it looks messy.
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It does.
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It's unprofessional, but the wireless one, you can just clip onto your lapel
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and you can be upwards of, you know, 30, 50 feet and still have good audio.
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And that is, so if for instance, you owned a bakery.
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And you wanted to take the audience on a tour of your brick and mortar.
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You could wear the wireless mic and you can still be far away from the camera as
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you're demonstrating and walking through.
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So, the wireless are best.
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They are a little bit more expensive and where I say more expensive, maybe
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five, $10 more expensive than the wired microphones for cell phones.
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And I'm gearing a lot towards cell phone because that's where people are.
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They, you don't necessarily have to have a DSLR camera, but if you do,
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then of course you'll use a wireless or wired microphone with your camera.
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It's always best to have the external mic because it makes the
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audio sound so much richer and gives the viewer a better experience.
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So true.
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While we're still talking about audio and external mics where, I mean,
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can you recommend like one or two?
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I know you're not endorsing anything but just for someone who wants to
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start, you know, wants to do a vlog or a video podcast and talked about audio.
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So
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Offhand, I don't know the names, but I had a client who discovered I do,
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that the company does legacy videos.
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They wanted to film themselves because the father was is in his nineties.
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and in the South.
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So they were going to visit the father and they wanted to film him instead of,
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you know, having me of course, fly there.
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And they didn't want, they knew he was very private and so they
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wanted to film on their own.
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Mm-Hmm.
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So what I did was put together a list of equipment that's very
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inexpensive that they can take.
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and film their loved one with their cell phone, with the
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external microphone and the tripod.
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And so I have that.
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So if any viewers are out there, just please connect with me.
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I'll be happy to share the package I put together for one of my clients.
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Perfect.
21:17
Okay.
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So that was tip number five.
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So we have two more to go.
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Number six is your background.
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So if in the same example, if you are a baker, you want to film in a bakery or
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in front of pastries, you want to film so that your background makes sense.
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And right now I'm in my home office.
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And so, you know, I do have, you know, my signage behind me in case
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there were any doubt of what we do.
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And I do have some cameras here.
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I have a camera here.
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I know we're not talking about props, but this is a large
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cinema camera with a cinema lens.
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Oh yes.
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That's the real thing.
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And you know, if I were doing a video for clients or for my business,
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I would position my equipment such that so you could see it.
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You can see what I do, or even if I'm on a set.
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I'm always aware of the background when I'm filming to make it make
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sense because even if I don't mention it, even if I don't mention the old
22:31
cameras there, or my rigged out camera subliminally, you know, that we make film.
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So it's always important to consider your background.
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I know it can be hard, especially if you live in a smaller home
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and, you know, or you have shared space, perhaps you have roommates.
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So, in that case I'd recommend even getting a portable green screen.
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Just about to ask you about that.
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Yes, a portable green screen and have a virtual background that somewhat.
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And, to key out, and that's the phrase, key, K E Y.
23:12
To key out a background using a green screen is a fairly
23:18
simple editing technique.
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But if anyone wanted to do it and needed help, you can always
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talk to a digital editor.
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I know at Vines Film and Media we edit videos for a lot of clients who
23:30
film themselves and just don't have the interest or time or bandwidth
23:36
to handle editing their videos.
23:39
So, we do it as well, but having a green screen is one option to ensuring that
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you have the background that you want.
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But if you don't want that they do have portable ones.
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And I do have a portable one.
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I could show you if you want.
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Portable green screen.
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That is okay.
24:00
That's actually green.
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You fold it and then you can use it and then, okay, let's see that.
24:04
Let's see it.
24:06
Yes.
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So I keep this in my office.
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Just in case.
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And it's very easy, very affordable.
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I need to get one of those because I'm going to be traveling and
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I need to have a green screen.
24:38
So yeah, I'm going to talk with you privately.
24:42
Oh, in fact, you can even tell me.
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I mean, if you don't, if you don't mind sharing it or we can put it in the
24:46
show notes because I'm sure that other people like me who sometimes cannot
24:52
be on site, need something like that.
24:55
So great.
24:56
I like that.
24:57
That was very easy.
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Just pulled it up and then it went right back down.
25:01
I do have a larger one in the studio.
25:04
Okay.
25:05
All right.
25:07
And they're, you know, they're not cheap, but again, fairly inexpensive
25:12
because you're buying something quality that will last you, you know,
25:15
throughout the lifespan of your business.
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So it's well worth it.
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It's an investment.
25:20
Yes.
25:22
And for finally tip number seven is your mood.
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And this is key.
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There might be an opportunity when you have planned to video yourself,
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you plan to make your video as soon as you get home from work.
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Life happens, work happens.
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Rough clients and employees happen.
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And so you may get home and you've had a terrible day.
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And it's going to show.
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The mood that you're in is going to come through unless you're a Meryl Streep, you
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know, and you can hide it, but for most of us, the world will show in our eyes,
26:03
the strain of our next in our expressions.
26:07
I remember one time I was wanting to do a video.
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I had my hair done.
26:14
I put eyelashes on.
26:15
I was dressed in my brand colors, ready to do the video.
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But my videographer, because I didn't want to film myself.
26:25
I was not on time.
26:29
It was a bad vibe and that's another lesson hiring a
26:33
videographer that you can work with.
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So it was awful.
26:38
I couldn't use any of it because as much as I tried to
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pretend I was happy, you know,
26:46
the smile wasn't sincere.
26:48
It was in my eyes.
26:49
It was pure D awful.
26:51
So it's important to be positive.
26:55
Love what you're doing.
26:56
Let your be in a space where you can let your passion shine through and it will
27:01
turn a mediocre video into A plus plus.
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Wow.
27:06
So those are the seven.
27:08
Those are the seven.
27:09
Make sure you always start with a script, practice that
27:13
script use the equipment that you have, start with where you are.
27:17
The goal is to just start making video if you're, if you haven't,
27:20
and if you have, make more video because you have the ability to do it.
27:25
Don't let equipment stop you.
27:27
Lights, audio your background, and be in a good space.
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And you'll make great videos.
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And if you have any questions, always, we are available to help you talk through
27:40
what you need to do, offer any advice or guidance, or if you wanted Vines
27:44
Film and Media to come and film, we can do that too, because our motto is,
27:48
where a vision meets value, Vines Film.
27:51
And so we would love to work with you.
27:54
Absolutely.
27:55
And that, folks, was Pamela Vines of Vines Film.
28:00
Thank you so much, Pamela, for coming on to Chatting with the Experts.
28:04
And again, I say to my viewers and my listeners, because I do use the audio
28:09
from this as a podcast, if you'd like to be a guest on my show, please reach
28:13
out to me on chattingwiththeexperts.
28:16
com.
28:16
That's my website.
28:18
You can connect with me on LinkedIn.
28:20
I love LinkedIn.
28:21
Just look for Paula Okonneh there.
28:23
I'm also on Instagram.
28:25
My handle there is at chat_experts_podcast.
28:31
And I'm also on Facebook as Paula Okonneh.
28:34
Pamela, is there anything that we left out about you?
28:37
Can anyone, I mean, we know that you said they should contact you.
28:41
Are you on Instagram?
28:44
We are on Instagram.
28:45
The primary account that I look at most often is my name at Pamela Hart Vines.
28:53
Okay.
28:54
So always you can find me on Instagram.
28:56
Also TikTok Pamela Hart Vines one, I believe.
29:01
We are on YouTube and Pamela Hart Vines, or it may be under Vines film.
29:09
And there's also Vimeo, Vines Film, Pamela Hart Vines, if you Google my
29:14
name, of course, Twitter as well.
29:17
We are everywhere.
29:18
Love it.
29:19
My email which is my favorite mode because I'm old school.
29:24
My video, my email address is video@vinesfilm.com and I will surely
29:31
respond to you as fast as I can.
29:35
Thank you again.
29:36
We've learned.
29:37
I've definitely been empowered because I'm doing video.
29:41
And of course, you've inspired me to make even better videos.
29:46
Thank you, Pamela.
29:48
Appreciate you.