by 
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.
Share your feedback, read the show notes and get the links mentioned in this episode below.
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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.”
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.
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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.
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.
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GET THE DETAILSAs 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.
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.
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.
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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.
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Listen to the show!
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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.
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Bloomua Social media keyboard photo from Shutterstock.
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