How to Make Your Marketing Videos More Engaging and Exciting – In Just 7 Minutes with Lou Bortone

Resources/Links:

• Check out Lou’s Mini-Course: http://www.Loubortone.com/sizzle

Summary

Are you struggling when it comes to video marketing whether it’s because you’re shy to be in front of the camera or you just don’t know how to do it?

Lou Bortone has been a pioneer and thought leader in the video space since the launch of YouTube back 15 years ago, back in 2005. He’s been in that space as a specialist refining and fine-tuning and as an innovator at the leading edge of using videos online.

In this episode, Lou shares his own personal fears and struggles in video marketing back then and how he overcame these. He also talks about the value and importance of video marketing and the common misconceptions business owners have when it comes to video marketing, such as- which is more important, the quality or the content.

Check out these episode highlights:

• 1:25 – Lou’s ideal client: “My ideal client is usually a small business owner who understands the value and importance of video marketing. A lot of folks come to me and say, “Oh, I really know I should be doing video but I’m not comfortable with it,” or, “I’m not used to it.” So usually folks come to me when they realize, “Yes, it’s time to do a video but I’m not sure where to start.”
• 1:50 – Problem Lou helps solve: “For the most part, I help them overcome their fear of video. A lot of people have the fear of the camera, fear of doing video. I, myself, as an introvert, never really liked to be on camera so I sort of empathizing with that and help them get over it.”
• 2:44 – Typical symptoms that clients do before reaching out to Lou: “I think it’s mostly just procrastination. They just keep putting it off until they realize, “Oh, my gosh, I’ve got to finish this, I’ve got to.” And a lot of it has to do I think with the fact that they think it has to be perfect or really high quality, when in fact, the message is really more important than the quality.”
• 3:22 – Common mistakes that people make before they find Lou’s solution: “Again, I think that they think that the equipment alone may solve the problem, like, “Okay, I’ll start doing a video when I get a better microphone. I’ll start doing a video when I get a better camera.” When it’s really like it’s not about the equipment as much as it is about them wanting to put themselves out there and get their message out in a more powerful way.”
• 5:04 – Lou’s Valuable Free Action (VFA): “Well, other than actually starting and doing it, I think, just experimenting, doing Facebook Live. I think that’s the low hanging fruit of video. It’s very easy to start, obviously, Facebook’s free. You can do it from your phone, you can do it from your desktop. And I feel there’s less pressure on Facebook. I think they’ve sort of lowered the bar almost on videos so anything goes.”
• 5:52 – Lou’s Valuable Free Resource (VFR): Check out Lou’s Mini-Course: http://www.loubortone.com/sizzle
• 6:43 – Q: How did someone who is an introvert and doesn’t like being on camera end up in this? A: It started with starting a YouTube channel and filming myself. I did goofy sketch comedy and used to dress up in costumes. Later on, I realized I didn’t the costume and just went and did it.

Tweetable Takeaways from this Episode:

“The message is really more important than the quality.” -Lou Bortone Click To Tweet

Transcript
(Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Tom Poland 0:09
Hello everyone, and a very warm welcome to another edition of Marketing The Invisible. My name is Tom Poland, joined today by the exceptionally well known in his field, Lou Bortone. Lou, good day, very warm welcome, sir. Where are you hanging out?

Lou Bortone 0:22
Thanks, Tom. I am in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, about an hour north of Boston.

Tom Poland 0:27
Right. And you have stones all around you, I believe. A little birdie told me.

Lou Bortone 0:31
Yes, because I’m doing enlightening and it’s nasty out, but that’s okay.

Tom Poland 0:35
Exciting.

Lou Bortone 0:35
But here in Manhattan with my background, it’s lovely.

Tom Poland 0:41
On the 77th floor in your Penthouse Suite, it’s a misty morning by the look of it.

Lou Bortone 0:45
Yes.

Tom Poland 0:45
Folks, if you don’t know Lou, he’s been a pioneer and thought leader in the video space since the launch of YouTube back in 15 years ago, back in 2005. So, he’s been in that space as a specialist refining and fine-tuning and as an innovator at the leading edge of using videos online. This is, just as well because the title is, of this little webinar, of this little interview, I should say is, “How to Make Your Marketing Videos More Engaging and Exciting.” And Lou’s going to share with you how to do that in just seven minutes. Lou, our seven minutes starts now. Let’s kick off with question number one which is, who is your ideal client?

Lou Bortone 1:25
My ideal client is usually a small business owner who understands the value and importance of video marketing. A lot of folks come to me and say, “Oh, I really know I should be doing video but I’m not comfortable with it,” or, “I’m not used to it.” So usually folks come to me when they realize, “Yes, it’s time to do a video but I’m not sure where to start.”

Tom Poland 1:43
Right. Thank you, sir. And so, question two, six and a half minutes left, what’s the problem you solve for them?

Lou Bortone 1:50
For the most part, I help them overcome their fear of video. A lot of people have the fear of the camera, fear of doing video. I, myself, as an introvert, never really liked to be on camera so I sort of empathizing with that and help them get over it.

Tom Poland 2:05
Ah, that’s interesting. So, it’s not, the first thing is the fear, it’s not the technical side of things. Or do those two things go together?

Lou Bortone 2:12
I think they do kind of go hand in hand. I mean, the fear of the camera is the main thing, but then it’s like, “Okay, which webcam should I use?” And, “Is this microphone okay?” And presumed it walked away today.

Tom Poland 2:22
Right. Okay. Thank you for that. So just out of six minutes left. What are some of the typical symptoms that people who have this fear, who don’t understand the technology, they know they should be using videos to get more engagement, etc? But what’s going on in their business or their lives that they could listen to or see and go, “Yep, I need to talk to Lou.”

Lou Bortone 2:44
I think its mostly just procrastination. They just keep putting it off until they realize, “Oh, my gosh, I’ve got to finish this, I’ve got to.” And a lot of it has to do I think with the fact that they think it has to be perfect or really high quality, when in fact, the message is really more important than the quality.

Tom Poland 3:00
Interesting, very interesting. So, you’ve got these people, they’re aware they need to be creating an online video presence, that it needs to be engaging, they’ve been procrastinating. Let’s say some of them move forward. What are some of the common mistakes? This is question four, five minutes left. What are some of the common mistakes that people make when they’re trying to get this happening?

Lou Bortone 3:22
Again, I think that they think that the equipment alone may solve the problem, like, “Okay, I’ll start doing a video when I get a better microphone. I’ll start doing video when I get a better camera.” When it’s really like it’s not about the equipment as much as it is about them wanting to put themselves out there and get their message out in a more powerful way.

Tom Poland 3:41
Right. So, thinking it’s, you know, Lance Armstrong wrote that book, It’s Not About the Bike. What do we think about Lance Armstrong? Is that it wasn’t about the bike, it’s about the drugs.

Lou Bortone 3:51
Yeah. As soon as I get that I’ll get in shape.

Tom Poland 3:52
Yeah. So, it’s not about the webcam, it’s about the message. Any other mistakes that you find that people are coming to you, they are now a client of yours. But the stuff they say, “Well, I wish I’d done that before.”

Lou Bortone 4:05
Yeah. I think a lot of it is overwhelming and they don’t realize that you know, that there’s more than one way to skin a cat, and there’s more than one way to do video. And sometimes that means, “Oh, I’ll just narrate this PowerPoint,” or I’ll do a Camtasia or an animation. So, I don’t think they, I think they see that it’s the traditional talking-head video, and that’s the only way to go.

Tom Poland 4:22
Right. And do they get tripped up thinking they have to have like a lighting studio and a dedicated space, and that sort of stuff?

Lou Bortone 4:32
I think so. Yeah. They definitely think like, you know, I’ve got to have the studio set up just right. And I’ve got to have, you know, the perfect condition and it’s got to be quiet outside. When in truth, it’s like, look, if you’ve got one of these, you’re good to go.

Tom Poland 4:45
Wow. Yeah. What a difference, no teleprompter required. So, thank you, sir. Question five, three and a half minutes left, what’s one valuable free action that someone is wanting to get into videos online, what’s one step they could take forward that’s going to help them? Not going to solve the whole problem but it’s going to take them a step in the right direction.

Lou Bortone 5:04
Well, other than actually starting and doing it, I think, just experimenting, doing Facebook Live. I think that’s the low hanging fruit of video. It’s very easy to start, obviously, Facebook’s free. You can do it from your phone, you can do it from your desktop. And I feel there’s less pressure on Facebook. I think they’ve sort of lowered the bar almost on videos so anything goes.

Tom Poland 5:25
Right. So, people in that environment are used to something not being like it’s professionally done by Saatchi & Saatchi in a Manhattan video studio. Right. And so that whole thing about just, you know, just doing one, just getting it done, getting it under your belt, building confidence. Thank you for that. Question six, two, and a half minutes left. One valuable free resource I’m after that we could direct people to that’s going to help them even more.

Lou Bortone 5:52
Sure. I have a free mini-course at loubortone.com/sizzle, I believe. And it’s just, basically, you know, talks about getting started. Little tricks that you can do for editing, you know. People get hung up on editing and thinking that “Oh, I’ve got to, this has to be just right.” So that helped folk’s kind of get over that initial hump and realizing that obviously the, you know, helps you get the confidence to just start.

Tom Poland 6:18
Perfect. So that’s Lou, L-O-U, Bortone, B-O-R-T-O-N-E, dot com forward slash sizzle. Loubortone.com/sizzle, in case you’re listening to this on a podcast. If it’s the video you’re looking at, the link will be just down below. Question number seven, sir, and we’ve got one half minutes left, ample time. What’s the one question I should have asked you but didn’t? And the answer, please.

Lou Bortone 6:43
I think it may be, how did someone who is an introvert and doesn’t like being on camera end up in this?

Tom Poland 6:52
Isn’t life interesting? So how did that person end up on camera?

Lou Bortone 6:58
It’s funny because when I was in the television business, I was always behind the scenes doing marketing and promotion, and nothing to do with on-air, whatsoever. And when I started to first do a video way back when, you know, when YouTube first started, I was doing, you know, goofy sketch comedy. Everything was just like, “Okay, what can I do to take the focus off me? I’ll put my kids in the video. I’ll put my dog video.” One time I dressed up as Moses and did the 10 commandments of online video, so it was all about like hiding behind all these costumes and props, and things like that. And after a while, like, “Okay, well I guess I don’t need the costume. I’ll just go up and do it,” so.

Tom Poland 7:34
Fantastic. Very interesting.

Lou Bortone 7:36
And I don’t mean to say people have to dress up as Moses to do video but that’s just, that was my entree into it.

Tom Poland 7:43
It’s an option. Yeah. Lou, thanks so much for your time. It’s been really interesting and very valuable. Loubortone.com/sizzle, go get it, folks. Cheers.

Lou Bortone 7:55
Okay, thank you so much.

Tom Poland 07:57
Thanks for checking out our Marketing The Invisible podcast. If you like what we’re doing here please head over to iTunes to subscribe, rate us, and leave us a review. It’s very much appreciated. And if you want to generate five fresh leads in just five hours then check out www.fivehourchallenge.com.