Let's talk about videos, shall we?
First fact for today is this- not all videos are created equal. The best videos that you can use on your Wordpress site are those that you do yourself, not the kind that are professionally done. Polished and perfect is not the order of events when doing a video that converts.
It's best to do a video that is casual yet professional. One that really connects with your audience. Studies show that if you get overly polished or are too perfect in your presentation, people won't trust you or take you too serious.
Truth be told, no one likes to follow a super polished perfect all the time leader. They want someone they can relate to, aspire to be like and someone they enjoy watching.
The best tools for video publishing on your blog are YouTube.com and Vimeo.com. Both are great! I personally choose YouTube because it is easy to publish from my MacBook Pro, my iPhone or even with a Flip Video. There's no need for special software or anything. The name of the game for me is easy smeasy. Get the job done.
This doesn't mean that having a blurry video, one where the picture doesn't match the voice or one that is choppy would be acceptable. Casual doesn't mean low quality. You want high quality, interactive and enjoyable.
Deliver high quality content. Talk to people right where they are at. Don't use words you normally wouldn't use. Feel free to just be yourself. While it might take a few tries, my students have overwhelmingly reported back to me that the 'first takes' they do tend to come out much better than the 'repeated takes' they try. Seems like the more they try to 'get it right' they end up getting it wrong. So... go easy on yourself. Better to do 20 videos and learn as you go than to hold back on your first one always trying to be perfect.
Another rule of thumb is to get rid of the radio personality voice. You know, the kind where the pitch is higher, the voice sounds fake and the speaker looks like they are reading a cue-card? This is not time to take on a new personality or persona. Your audience will see through that so fast and won't take you seriously. Be yourself. YOU are the only one who can do that.
When it's time to publish your video into your Wordpress page or post, YouTube.com and Vimeo.com will give you an embedded code that you just copy over to the source code of the page or post you're creating. It's really easy.
Add videos at the top of your posts.
Do videos as an intro to your pages.
Go ahead and do some video posts instead of regular blogging!
Most of all, have fun with your audience! They'll come back again and again.
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