The 5 C’s to Making Popular Short Videos
Take the time to do them well and you can use your short videos over and over again.
If you’re going to make a video – of any length – you want it to pay off. After all, you’re investing valuable time, perhaps money, and more than a little sweat equity to create something you hope will move your business forward. Otherwise, what’s the point?
Unless perhaps you’re making videos for the joy of it or to establish yourself as a leader in a pursuit outside of business. Fair enough.
I like to get more than one use out of something. Maybe that’s why I go for wearable art as a souvenir of my travels. Clothing, shoes, jewelry … I always remember where I found them, which brings back wonderful memories of my travels. And I can enjoy them again and again. Who says women aren’t practical?! 😆
Know your purpose, your personal style, and how you want to be remembered.
All this goes into the making of your videos, so they're uniquely recognized as yours.
Your videos don't have to be flashy, expensive, or even professionally produced! They just have to reflect you and/or your business.
MOMisms as an example of leveraging several purposes in one video
This practical philosophy transfers over to my work, too. One way to go about it is to repurpose good content or at least tweak it over time to update or reformat it as fresh content.
Even better, as far as I'm concerned, it to have one piece of content accomplish more than one thing. With my MOMisms series of super-short videos, they actually do three things for me.
First, they’re fun to make. They’re comedic and I get a kick out of performing funny quips, sayings, and wry advice that moms often give (whether or not anyone is listening!). My audience likewise enjoys watching them, enough that people have sent me ideas for future MOMisms – and a few other moms have even joined me in a MOMism we make together. I confess … those are my favorites!
On a practical level, MOMism videos demonstrate my skills as an actor and content creator, especially in the areas of comedy and improv.
They help establish my credibility as a coach/consultant for others who want to create short videos for their own businesses. Together, we discover their unique voice and perspective for their videos, create a strategy that makes sense for their time and budget, and produce and roll out their first short video for social media.
Making your videos stand out with the 5 C’s
Videos provide content for social media visibility, but more importantly, they’re also a sales tool to attract potential clients. It’s not enough, however, to just put out a video without having a clear purpose in mind.
For them to truly be effective and well-received videos, whether they’re long or short form, they need to be at least four these five things:
Creative
Concise
Clear
Consistent
Comedic
Creative in the sense that they're interesting and reflective of you and your business. Notice I didn't say they had to be flashy, expensive, or even professionally produced.
Concise, because your future buyer's time is valuable. Tell them upfront what you're all about. Keep it short. And don't throw in the kitchen sink. Leave them with a question or wanting to know more.
Clear messaging, so that viewers know immediately what problem you're offering to solve. Whether they buy into your solution or not, they'll at least appreciate your direct approach that respects their time and attention. And who knows? They may come back to you later or refer a colleague to your site.
Consistent, in that they become familiar with the concept of the videos, their structure (what to expect), and a regular publishing schedule that they can look forward to.
Comedic, or humorous, is a bonus: something that both attracts and retains regular viewers. Keep it clean. Stay away from old cliches (unless you're skewering them). And don't insult others. As I was taught early in my IBM days, "don't disparage the competition." It just boomerangs and makes you look unprofessional and unworthy.
What do you need help with the most?
0%Coming up with creative ideas
0%Formulating a concise message
0%Writing a script or an outline that gets the job done
0%Creating and posting on a regular basis
You can vote for more than one answer.
The beauty of short videos
Short and sweet. That resonates with a lot of people, especially in their first engagement with you. Think of it as that first meeting, the coming movie attraction, or the promo for a new product.
I saw very quickly with MOMisms that because each video is so short and entertaining, viewers tended to watch the same video more than once and share it with others in their networks. The algorithms note when videos are watched through to their end and viewed more than once. In turn, they push what they read as well-received content to even more people on their platforms. The longer a given video demonstrates staying power, the more it is pushed. The algorithms are always looking for content that resonates ... which brings more eyeballs to you and your platform.
As I mentioned above, well-received videos don't have to be fancy or cost a lot of money! They can be made by anyone with basic equipment and little to no budget. Their success instead is based on the 5 C’s. They deliver on the promises in their titles and thumbnails. And they provide content that is relevant and valuable to their audiences.
Ready to create your own short video series?
Need a few ideas for coming up with your own short video series? I’d love to talk with you and see how I can help. Sometimes it takes someone from outside your business to provide a perspective that your potential clients can relate to. Or give you that nudge to get started. Or show you the basic video-making equipment and tools you need and how to use them.
Curious about the Momisms? Come visit the YouTube channel that’s dedicated to them, with a new one uploaded every four days: https://www.youtube.com/@mymomisms
Upcoming Events
NetConnect 2024
For women who want to expand their professional networks.
Virtual networking & speaker on the ultimate elevator pitch! Prizes, too.
Thursday, October 17
4 - 5:30 pm EST
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I'm Laura Doman, a voice & TV/film actor and video communications coach. As an actor, I create memorable characters that tell my client's stories well, from the friendly CEO to your sassy best gal pal dispensing real-world advice. As a coach, I help you become more comfortable and charismatic on camera in videos, presentations, and online appearances.
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