Video rules the internet. If you want to build a successful personal brand in 2020 and beyond, you need to tap into video as a marketing channel. When used correctly, video can deliver increased brand awareness, more leads, and greater revenue.
But the question is, how do you use video to grow your personal brand? Going beyond the obvious (and largely unhelpful) tips like “post videos on YouTube,” here are five lesser-known video marketing strategies you can use to better promote your personal brand.
1. Shoot an “About Me” Video
If you have a website, you probably have a “Bio” or “About Me” section that tells visitors a little bit about what you do and why you started your business. Great! But are you taking full advantage of this page on your site? If you’ve written your bio rather than shot an engaging “About Me” video, the answer is probably no.
A well-crafted “About Me” video is an easy way for you to showcase your unique personality and will allow people to connect with you on a deeper level than plain text will.
Just remember to keep your video short and sweet, address your target audience directly, and be yourself in front of the camera. Also, don’t be afraid to work hard and perfect this video, as it’s likely the first interaction new website visitors will have with your personal brand.
2. Interview Other Thought Leaders
Sometimes the best way to build your personal brand is to partner with other thought leaders in your niche and “steal” their audiences for yourself. This is easily done by interviewing industry authorities and posting the videos on YouTube, Facebook, etc.
This strategy has multiple benefits:
- It will allow you to network with the leaders in your industry. These connections will undoubtedly benefit your personal brand in the future.
- You’ll be able to expose your personal brand to a large following that’s unfamiliar with your work. This is what we mean by “stealing” a thought leader’s audience.
- The knowledge of the industry authority will automatically be associated with your personal brand since you’re the one who published the interview.
Fortunately, securing interviews isn’t that difficult. Make a list of popular personal brands in your niche and reach out to them with a customized message. You’ll probably get a few bites. Once you’ve published a couple of interviews, you can use them as leverage to secure bigger names.
3. Publish Behind the Scenes Footage
Behind the scenes footage is another great way to grow your personal brand with video. Why? Because we all love to see “how the sausage gets made” so to speak.
By showing your audience how you create content for them, what you do in your off time, etc., you’ll forge deeper connections with your target market. This is because behind the scenes content often feels exclusive and more personal.
To build a successful personal brand, your target market has to connect with you. Build stronger relationships with your followers by pulling back the curtain to reveal your daily life.
4. Gather Up Video Testimonials
Testimonials are the perfect way to lend your personal brand credibility. By capturing your current customer’s opinions of your business, you can convince new leads to work with you and/or buy your products too. After all, if you were able to help the people in your testimonial videos, why can’t you help other people too?
While written testimonials are valuable, video testimonials are better because they’re often more engaging and seem more authentic to viewers.
Embed: <iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/wurHOgGrUnk” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen></iframe>
5. Create a Facebook Cover Video
Finally, we suggest creating a Facebook cover video to promote your personal brand as well. This is a prime piece of real estate. Take full advantage of it with engaging footage that cuts to the heart of who you are and what you do.
Here are a few technical details to keep in mind:
- Size: While Facebook doesn’t list an optimal size for cover videos, all videos uploaded to the site must be smaller than 1.75GB. Don’t go over this limit.
- Dimensions: Your video must be a minimum of 820 x 320 pixels. But for the best results, aim for 820 x 462 pixels.
- Format: Don’t try to upload a Facebook cover video with a higher resolution than 1080p and make sure it’s in .mp4 or .mov format, as this is what Facebook recommends.
- Length: The ideal time length for your Facebook cover video is between 20 and 90 seconds. Try to create a short, snappy video that gets attention.
Use Video to Boost Your Personal Brand
Video marketing is a great way to grow your personal brand. We encourage you to use the above strategies to create compelling video content for your unique audience! If you do, you’ll love the boost in brand awareness, leads, and revenue you’re able to achieve.
Author bio
Haily Moulton
Haily is social media strategist at Biteable and knows a thing or two about building brands organically. Try Biteable for yourself here: https://biteable.com