Overcome Your Fears With Video Marketing With Keri Murphy
It’s not hard to see why video as a marketing tool has become so popular today. It’s an easy-to-digest format that is convenient for the consumer and provides you with an attractive and extremely shareable medium to reach your audience. Incorporating video can help you diversify your content and remain competitive. But what if you’re scared to get in front of that lens or don’t know what you want to say to your audience?
Keri Murphy has been there. An entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in front of the camera, she now helps her clients how to show up authentically in their videos, teaches them how to leverage video to grow their brand and make a bigger difference in the world.
From Animal Noises to the Golf Channel
Keri started modelling and acting when she was 11 years old. “I wanted to be a supermodel and started attending all these modelling and acting classes. That’s when I fell in love with the ability to emotionally connect through a lens.” Keri’s been a performer her entire life. She owned her own talent agency, built up her business in interior design and now helps people create impactful messages through videos. At one point, she even worked as a host for the Golf Channel, without playing Golf herself.
“The Golf Channel found me on YouTube, through my blooper reels. When I mess up on camera, instead of cursing I make funny animal noises, like a monkey or a bird. They thought that was hilarious and hired me,” Keri remembers. “It’s funny because we always think that we need to put this perfect version of ourselves out there. But people want to see behind the scenes, they want to see the funny, the sarcastic, the witty.” Keri knows this to be true especially for women. As it turned out, it was actually the videos that were not so perfect and showed the real her that made the Golf Channel want to hire her.
Know Who You’re Talking To
The key when making a video, Keri says, is that as soon as you press record, you’re not talking to everyone. “Your goal is to reach one person at a time. When you start speaking, speak to one person and have a conversation.” Like this, the pressure of showing up and being in front of the camera goes away, because it’s about intimate connection, a one-on-one conversation. “You have to be willing and able to emotionally connect with the person on the other side, and you do that by knowing who it is, intimately. Demographic, psychographic, where they're at, what they struggle with, what they want. The more you know, the more successful you will be on camera.”
More than ever, people are looking for sincere, authentic connection. If they feel that the brand and the message is not authentic and focused at them, they will go elsewhere.
Don’t Be Perfect – Be You
But what if you don’t have any experience in front of the camera and even fear the lens? “If you’re a human with a heartbeat, you’ll probably have some sort of fear about putting yourself out there. It’s a very humane thing. The point is, how will you let that fear stand in the way of what you’re able to accomplish?”
Let’s take Oprah, for example. Oprah was told over and over again that she didn’t have a face for TV. Today, she’s a pioneer, a visionary, a movement maker and a billionaire. “Oprah is just one of millions of examples. You have to be more committed to your purpose and your passion than you are to the need to be perfect.” It’s about being the real you. The more you imitate someone else, the less authentic you get.
Some people might struggle to speak in front of a camera, but with practice comes confidence. “You won’t become confident from thinking, writing it out, preparing. Confidence comes from doing. The more you do it, the more confident you get.”
But paradoxically, sometimes it’s not the live speaking that leads you to overthink what you’re saying, but the possibility to edit your video an unlimited amount of time. “When you’re doing a live video, you’re more in the flow. People are right there, you’re seeing comments, you’re answering questions. It’s an interaction. You don’t get that in a pre-recorded video.”
Get Them Hooked With Your Why
The key is to structure these videos in an organic way that doesn’t come across as scripted and feels authentic. “It’s a dialogue, not a monologue, and you have to allow yourself to think, give someone time to think, laugh here, take a minute, get them to engage. But in the end, the structure is what it comes down to, starting with your why.”
Keri says to always start your video with why your audience is watching it. Here’s an example: ”I could start with ‘Hi, I'm Keri Murphy. Welcome to my show. I am so excited that you're here because in the last 30 years being on camera, in the last 20 as an entrepreneur, I have some things I can share with you.’
Or you can start with ‘I know that you want to make a big difference in the world, that you know you need to be on camera, and yet the thought of showing up scares the bejesus out of you. You don't know what to say, you don't know how to say it, you're not sure what platform to put it on. I'm Keri, and I get where you're at. I've been there, I've been on camera almost my whole life, and sometimes I still struggle with what to say, and so in this video, I'm going to give you the top three things you can do to overcome that fear.’”
By using the second version, the person watching feels as if you’re directly addressing them. That’s how you hook them. “You have three to eight seconds to keep someone’s attention. That’s the way to do it.”
Be Relatable, Then Call to Action
Continue with why you. “That’s where I share a little bit about a childhood experience. I always say, when I first started watching myself on camera, it was like a horror film. We all have that little person inside of us screeching when they see ourselves on camera. I share that because it makes me become relatable,” Keri says.
It’s important that the people watching your video can relate to you and you don’t just look like you’re at the top of the mountain. “People admire people on top, but they rarely want to work with them because they can’t relate.”
Tell your audience how you will help them by talking about your workshop, program or course. Then make a call to action. “This is where people drop the ball so many times. They finish their video with ‘Thank you for watching.’ Don’t do that. You need to tell your audience what to do next. It doesn’t have to be salesy, you can simply ask them for their opinion, to comment, to share.”
Your videos and your messages are going to change and evolve. Remember to be playful, to be willing to experiment. “That’s how you reach the tipping point.”
Different Videos for Different Results
If you feel ready to make your video and keep this structure in mind, you have to figure out where to start. Keri says that Instagram stories are an easy way because they only last 24 hours and it’s an easy way to just get on camera and start talking. But how do you decide on what your content will be? “It doesn’t always have to be you teaching something. There are different ways to keep people interested in what you offer.”
Here’s a summary of the five different types of videos Keri uses in her business.
The positioning video
“This video is on your website. Your website converts over 75% better when you have a video on your site.” The average bounce rate of a website is eight seconds, mostly because visitors don’t get an idea of why they’re there, why they should choose you, what it is you’re offering. “When you have the positioning video on the top line of your site, meaning I don't have to scroll down, people are going to stay, they're going to go deeper because you're guiding them through that client journey.”
The personality video
The next video is intended to drive your brand. “We love movies and TV shows because they show emotion. That’s what you need to do, show your personality and your emotions.” A good way to do this is with behind the scenes videos of your travel or how you feel about certain situations. “It’s pulling back the curtain of your life. You decide how much you want to show, but you have to show something besides your business and what you teach.”
The product/teaching video
These videos about your new online course, your workshop or your webinar are like your weekly blog or your YouTube channel and should be posted on a regular basis. “Product videos are a great revenue generator in your business, and they're also a brand generator.”
The promotional video
“There’s so many people who don’t ask for a sale”, Keri says. “One of my clients had a Facebook group where she went live every week. She had 400 people in the group and never monetized it. After she came to my IT factor training and she implemented the format, she went back into her group and closed $30,000.” Ask for the sale, otherwise you won’t sell.
Social proof video
Getting your clients to talk about how you helped them overcome a fear or resolve a problem is a great way of earning credibility. “The more other people are talking about you on camera the better, because again, we see it, we hear it, we feel it.”
The rules for video are the same as for all your content. The more consistent you are, the easier it is for your potential clients to connect with you. At the same time, the more you get in front of the camera, the more confident you will get – and you might even have fun!
“Feel the fear - but get really connected and excited about your purpose, about your passion.” - Keri Murphy