• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Social Media Examiner

Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle

  • 🔥 Free Newsletter
  • ⭐ FREE Web3 Course
  • 🗓️ Our Events
    • Social Media Marketing World (Mar 13-15)
    • Other Industry Events
  • 💡 Society
  • ⚙️ Tools
  • 🎙️ Podcasts
    • Social Media Marketing Podcast
    • Social Media Marketing Talk Show
    • Web3 Business Podcast
    • Our YouTube Channel
  • 🎯 Partner With Us
    • Podcast Sponsorship
    • Email Sponsorship
      • Email Newsletter
      • Dedicated Email Blast
    • Event Sponsorship
      • Social Media Marketing World
    • Tools Sponsorship
  • 👋 About Us
    • Our Story
    • Articles
      • Web3
      • Instagram Marketing
      • Facebook Marketing
      • YouTube Marketing
      • LinkedIn Marketing
      • TikTok Marketing
      • Expert Interviews
  • Search
  • Social Media Marketing World10th annual. Biggest industry event. Get the recordings!IMPROVE YOUR MARKETING

    Video Blogging: How to Become a Video Personality

    by Michael Stelzner / March 13, 2015

    Do you post videos?

    Want to make them better?

    To learn how to create great videos, I interview video blogger Amy Schmittauer.

    More About This Show

    The Social Media Marketing podcast is an on-demand talk radio show from Social Media Examiner. It's designed to help busy marketers and business owners discover what works with social media marketing.

    In this episode I interview Amy Schmittauer, a video blogger and marketing coach. Amy blogs at Savvy Sexy Social and is the host of the Marketing Lifestyle podcast.

    Amy will talk all about video blogging and what you need to know to become a video blogger.

    You'll discover the secret to making great videos, as well as what mistakes to avoid.

    “podcast
    Listen as Amy Schmittauer shares how to become a video personality by video blogging.

    Share your feedback, read the show notes and get the links mentioned in this episode below.

    Listen Now


    Where to subscribe: Apple Podcast | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS

    Here are some of the things you'll discover in this show:

    Video Blogging

    How Amy got involved with video

    Amy joined YouTube in March 2007. She was mostly an observer, and wanted to interact with others on the platform. In 2008, she started creating videos on her first YouTube channel. Amy enjoyed having a creative outlet where she could record and share experiences with her friends.

    When social media gained popularity, Amy looked at video differently. “I talked on Twitter to get to know people. I talked to a camera, so I could share that experience with those people. It was that simple,” she recalls. “Then I started to realize there was a lot more to this story.”

    Amy Schmittauer's video set
    Amy Schmittauer films casually in her office.

    In 2011 Amy began working independently. She used video to differentiate herself in the marketing space and started creating videos for her Savvy Sexy Social blog.

    3 Days of World-Class Training—Zero Travel!

    Social Media Marketing World

    Travel to Social Media Marketing World off the table? Get all of the great content at a fraction of the price with an On-Demand ticket.

    That’s full access to recordings of every keynote, workshop, and session—the ones people travel thousands of miles to see. Don't wait. Get your On-Demand ticket and enjoy actionable content that you can watch anytime, anywhere.

    GET YOUR ON-DEMAND TICKET NOW

    Now, she has a camera set up in her office and a fun bookshelf background.

    Three times a week Amy talks via video to people who want to learn more about implementing social media for their brand and their business. Although she's made other fun videos, as well as videos for brands, she recently filmed her 400th episode for the Savvy Sexy Social blog.

    Listen to the show to hear Amy's opinion on which came first: social media or video.

    Facebook video vs. YouTube

    Amy believes linking to a YouTube video on Facebook has never been a good idea, because you need to customize the experience based on the platform. Although a YouTube link has never been visually pleasing on Facebook, there's always been a way to work around that.

    Now that Facebook is pushing their own organic video, the game is changing. If you have an audience on Facebook or are hoping to grow one, it's definitely something to consider.

    keyboard shutterstock 192467753
    Organic Facebook video is overtaking YouTube video. Image: Shutterstock.

    Amy wants people to watch her YouTube videos, but within a space she controls, which is her website. Usually when Amy posts to Facebook, it's a blog link with the video embedded on her site.

    However, since Facebook video will perform better than a link to a blog or a YouTube video, Amy suggests another option.

    Since Facebook video has a clear call-to-action button that you customize at the end, it's an excellent teaser opportunity. “If the first 30 seconds of the video are really interesting, then upload that to Facebook,” she says. “Then, have the call to action at the end ask viewers to watch the rest of it on your website.”

    Listen to the show to find out what loyal YouTubers think about using Facebook video.

    Mistakes video marketers make

    “There's way too much green screen time going on,” Amy says. To be a professional on video, you don't need a perfect backdrop. YouTube and other online video platforms are places to get to know someone personally, so relax. You can still have the level of prestige that your brand deserves without having a formal background.

    The beginning of the video is the most critical, Amy adds. A lot of marketers and businesses spend far too much time at the beginning of a video doing what they think is the right thing and not considering the viewer experience. They start the video with their name, title, business and why they are there. They also do a title sequence, which is wasted time. By the time they get to presenting the content, they're 30 seconds in and no one's watching anymore.

    Personality should come first. Amy starts her videos with a greeting and then goes into a 2-second title sequence. She then says, “Hey guys, what's up? Here's why you need to be thinking about email marketing.” By 10 seconds, Amy's already talking about what's in the headline.

    Plus, Amy's name is displayed on a graphic, so she doesn't need to say it in her intro.

    Listen to the show to discover why audience retention is more important than views.

    How to get started with video

    The best way to start doing videos, Amy says, is to just do it.

    Amy doesn't want people to have an awkward learning experience, sitting in front of a camera and dragging words out of their mouth. Just turn on your smartphone when something interesting is happening. Then figure out a way to use it. This is especially easy to do if there's something going on that you're amped about. Instead of telling someone about it one-on-one, turn on the camera and talk it out with your audience.

    Look at the lens of the camera and pretend it's a person, Amy suggests. Then you'll have a well-executed video.

    Listen to the show to hear what people interested in video can learn from Instagrammers.

    Video tech

    Amy thinks smartphones are great for video, since they're so convenient.

    Just be conscious of where you're shooting video to make sure it's not too windy, because the audio on a smartphone isn't always the best. If you're doing something on the spur of the moment, you can knock out an indoor video quickly and easily.

    Tools Resource Guide

    Looking for something to make your life easier?

    Discover the tools we recommend to drive engagement, save you time, and boost sales across your entire marketing funnel or business.

    Whether you need help planning content, organizing social posts, or developing your strategy, you’ll find something for every situation.

    FIND YOUR NEXT FAVORITE TOOL

    As far as tripods are concerned, “don’t underestimate the arm.” Amy says any time you order a tripod, remember to add an attachment to use with the smartphone. People are a great option and monopods are also useful; they're like a selfie stick. Have someone use a monopod to film you or use it to take shots of the crowd.

    If you're looking at external audio options for your smartphone, check out iRig, which is what Amy uses.

    iric mic works with smartphone
    The iRig mic plugs into your smartphone.

    Listen to the show to hear when to consider upgrading from a smartphone.

    Video Scripts

    Amy explains that a script can go two ways: verbatim or as a list of bullet points.

    Amy goes the bullet-points route, so she doesn't forget anything when she goes off on a tangent. She knows YouTubers who look like they're comfortable, but are deathly afraid of being on camera, so she recommends you stay scripted.

    You can't read a teleprompter. That's not YouTube-worthy. It just comes off as impersonal.

    Know your message and your audience and look at the camera like it's a person, and making a video becomes much easier, Amy says. Your videos will get better every time.

    Listen to the show to hear other video tips from Amy.

    How much time Amy spends on her videos

    Amy publishes three videos a week: Tuesday through Thursday. Monday is her day to film, and she has all three videos recorded in a maximum of 1 hour. They each usually take 10 minutes each and there's added time to change clothes and hairstyle.

    After filming, Amy starts editing. She says it takes 30-45 minutes to edit each video.

    She also spends another 30 minutes or so per video doing additional research, copywriting, publishing and more.

    Listen to the show to discover what editing software Amy uses.

    Discovery of the Week

    PopClip is a clipboard text management tool that mimics some of the functionality that you normally only find in iOS, but brings it to the Mac. There are a bunch of cool extensions with it too. PopClip works across all apps in the Mac operating system.

    Popclip brings iOS functionality to your Mac
    The PopClip app brings iOS functionality to your Mac.

    Simply select some text, and as soon as you let go with your left click, the menu pops up. There are more than 100 extensions. For example, select a whole sentence and then click the icon to turn it into upper case. Use it with text-to-speech, Google Translate, Evernote, reminders, Omnifocus, numerous Twitter apps, iMessages, maps, email and more.

    Got to pilotmoon.com for a free trial; it's $4.99 in the Mac app store (coming soon).

    Listen to the show to learn more and let us know how PopClip works for you.

    Other Show Mentions

    Today's show is sponsored by Social Media Marketing World 2015.

    We are super-excited about Social Media Marketing World 2015. It's the world's largest social media marketing conference. By attending, you'll make connections with 100+ of the world's top social media pros (plus 2,500 of your fellow marketers) and you'll discover amazing ideas that'll transform your social media marketing.

    Hear testimonials from our 2014 conference speakers.

    This is just a sample of industry experts talking about their experience at Social Media Marketing World.

    We're a few short weeks away from Social Media Marketing World 2015, which is for anyone who wants to discover how to do anything related to social media better. Amy Schmittauer will be there, along with many other thought leaders.

    If you want to go but can't afford it, there's an option called the virtual ticket. It allows you to get access to every keynote, session and panel: more than 100 sessions across seven different tracks, ranging from small business to corporate to content marketing to analytics to every major social media network you can imagine. Access the recordings, download the audio, watch the videos, look at the slide decks and consume the content at a significant discount from the cost of going to the physical conference.

    Visit here to check out the speakers, the agenda and grab your early bird discount.

    Social Media Marketing World 2015 has a lot going for it with the great content, excellent presenters and valuable networking opportunities.

    Take your social media marketing to the next level and join us in warm, sunny, beautiful San Diego, California on March 25, 26 and 27, 2015. Hundreds of people have already secured their tickets. Click here to check out all of the speakers and the agenda, watch our video and grab your tickets today.

    Listen to the show!
    http://traffic.libsyn.com/socialmediamarketing/SocialMediaMarketing-136-15-03-13.mp3
    .

    Key takeaways mentioned in this episode:

    • Connect with Amy on her website.
    • Watch the Marketing Lifestyle podcast.
    • Check out Amy's resources for video and other tech.
    • Learn more about iRig microphones.
    • Check out PopClip.
    • Email [email protected] if you are interested in being a sponsor.
    • Learn more about Social Media Marketing World 2015.

    Help Us Spread the Word!

    Please let your Twitter followers know about this podcast. Simply click here now to post a tweet.

    If you enjoyed this episode of the Social Media Marketing podcast, please head over to iTunes, leave a rating, write a review and subscribe. And if you listen on Stitcher, please click here to rate and review this show.

    Social Media Marketing Podcast w/ Michael Stelzner

    Ways to subscribe to the Social Media Marketing podcast:

    • Click here to subscribe via iTunes.
    • Click here to subscribe via RSS (non-iTunes feed).
    • You can also subscribe via Stitcher.

    How to Subscribe to this Podcast on an iPhone

    Watch this quick video to learn how to subscribe on your iPhone:

    .

    What do you think? What are your thoughts on video? Please leave your comments below.

    Bloomua Social media keyboard photo from Shutterstock.

    Get Your FREE Course: Web3 for Beginners

    Web 3 for Beginners

    Curious about Web3, but don't know where to start or who to trust?

    Introducing Web3 for Beginners, a course taught by Michael Stelzner, the founder of Social Media Examiner.

    Learn the basics of Web3 and apply it to your business with this FREE comprehensive course.


    CLICK HERE TO GET FREE ACCESS

    Tags: Social Media Marketing Podcast, Social Media Video

    About the authorMichael Stelzner

    Michael Stelzner is the founder of Social Media Examiner and the Social Media Marketing Society. He's host of the Social Media Marketing Podcast, the Web3 Business Podcast, and he's founder of the Social Media Marketing Society. He also authored the books Launch and Writing White Papers.
    Other posts by Michael Stelzner »

    Get Social Media Examiner’s Future Articles in Your Inbox!

    Get our latest articles delivered to your email inbox and get the FREE Social Media Marketing Industry Report (39 pages, 50+ charts)!

    Industry Report Cover

    Worth Exploring:

    Facebook

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Instagram

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    YouTube

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Linkedin

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Web3

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Social Media Marketing Industry Report

    Get Free Report →

    Social Marketing Trends

    The data you've been missing!

    Need a new plan? Discover how marketers plan to change their social activities in the 14th annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report. It reveals what marketers have planned for their social activities, content marketing, and more! Get this free report now and never miss another great article from us. Join more than 400,000 marketers!

    Enter your email to get
    our free report:


    Footer

    Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
    Copyright © 2023 Social Media Examiner®
    All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy.

    Helpful Links

    • About us
    • Our content via email
    • Our podcasts
    • Our YouTube channel
    • Our live show
    • Our industry report
    • Sponsorship opportunities
    • RSS
    • Accessibility