Camera Ready With Val Brown

The first step in creating a video strategy is creating a video content mission statement. It will answer three questions: what you do, how you do it and why.  Once you know these three things you can then create your video mission statement what type of information will you deliver and why. A video content mission statement will help you stay on target when you are developing content for your videos. Do you want to educate, entertain, inspire? What does your audience need? What are their pain points? Getting really clear on this does two things. It lets you plan and deliver a cohesive body of content and develop a content calendar that supports your business strategy. When you have a road map it defines what you should be doing as much as what you should not be doing. What is the outcome your audience will receive as a result of consuming your content? In this episode, learn how to write your video content mission statement. Once you do, it will guide your content decisions whether you’re doing a quick video

Thinking about using video in your business can feel OVERWHELMING. There are so many moving parts, it’s not always easy to figure out where to get started or where to focus your efforts to get the biggest return on your time and budget. You want to be sure you are creating the right content for the right audience and delivering it in the right places.​ When you have a video strategy, you will ensure you are creating content that's in alignment with your business goals and where you’ll see the biggest return. It's no different than having a business strategy. It's a map to reach your goals.  When you have a strategy aligning your actions with your business goals, it makes it easy to know the next step to take.  In this episode, I share my top three reasons for creating a video strategy.

The future belongs to the storyteller, if you can tell stories, the world is your oyster." That's a quote from my friend, mentor and master marketer Mike Kim in part two of my interview with him. In part one of our interview, Mike shared his thought provoking personal brand questions known as the PB3, which are designed to help you get to your core, identify your audience and clarify your business idea. It’s a must listen for personal brands, you can listen here. This week Mike talks about the importance of using story for personal brands, his story strategy for Instagram and how he keeps creating videos simple.  So grab your notebook and something to write with as Mike spills more pearls of wisdom on this episode of Camera Ready With Val Brown.

My guest is friend, mentor, and master marketer, Mike Kim.  For those of you who aren't familiar with Mike, get ready to have your mindset about marketing completely reset.  ​Mike Kim is a real world marketing pro and he hosts the top rated Brand You podcast.  After working as the CMO of a multimillion dollar company in New York, Mike stepped into the consulting world and he's been hired by people and companies like John Maxwell, Donald Miller, Suzanne Evans and Catalyst.  So if you're ready to learn how to market your personal brand and do stuff that wouldn't embarrass your mother, then you really need to subscribe to his podcast.  What I love about Mike is he makes it so simple to understand what you need to do to become a successful marketer. Remember though, simple doesn’t mean easy ;0) One question I often hear from listeners is about sometimes feeling confused about connecting with your audience, and you’re not sure where to get started.  Fear not. Mike is going to share his PB3 of personal brand market

Marketers who use video are growing company revenue 49% faster year-over-year than those who don’t, according to research from Aberdeen Group.​ We all need data in our businesses to accurately forecast where we are headed. Tracking the results from our marketing efforts goes straight to the bottom line. If you know taking certain actions will yield higher results, why wouldn’t you invest your time and money there? I recently came across this compelling report from Vidyard about using video as part of your marketing strategy and it is so good, I had to share it.

You need to use video for your business and the thought of going live on Facebook sends shivers up your spine? Or even worse, you feel sick or lose sleep even thinking about it? You can’t really put your finger on it. You speak in front of groups of people all the time. Why is Facebook Live different? Learn 7 little known hacks to help you overcome your fear of Facebook Live. From content to tech, you'll build your confidence so you can go live like a pro! Download your checklist here Episode 5  - What to never wear on a marketing video contact: val@valbrown.tv

Live video is something we all need to do for our businesses and it can be intimidating when you haven’t done it before. I hear from so many of you that you feel paralyzed because you don’t know where to get started, you don’t feel like you have anything to say or that you can remember what you want to share. Learn a simple outline to use for your live videos to keep you on track, get you message out and show up with confidence and presence. Remember, when you’re going live it’s not about you, it’s about your audience and the value you are delivering through your message. Once you get over worrying about what other people think and focus on the message you want to share, you’ll see a big shift in your energy. That goes to purpose. Get to the point, don’t waste your viewer's time with irrelevant information. They tuned in to learn, so teach and deliver your message. Listen to learn a  quick outline, (you can think of it as a mini plan) to use to help you shape your video.   

"Good habits make time your ally, bad habits makes time your enemy." James Clear James says to forget about setting goals to get better results, focus on your systems instead. To reach your goals, you need to have the systems in place to reach them.  Learn about how habits: lead us to be the person we want to be work for or against us help us create the systems we need to succeed You can learn to apply the lessons from Atomic Habits so you can consistently create content.

This episode is devoted to your questions about: shooting video in the field by yourself lighting for home offices recording music and video  making time to create video on a regular basis.  There are some key themes that showed up in your questions so I thought I'd do a quick summary of a few things to keep in mind to help you successfully create videos for your communication or marketing plan. No matter where or when you are shooting videos: create a system to ensure your videos are consistent and you can control the quality shoot in batches whenever possible.You may not need to use a video right away, but you have it recorded and can edit it and upload it when you need it. And, most importantly, have fun! Creating videos is a wonderful personal growth opportunity for you to get to know yourself in a whole new light and develop your communication skills. When you're having fun, it comes through on camera and you will connect with your audience and be more effective in sharing your message. I hope this e

Have you ever tried time and time again to reach a goal or a dream, been disappointed, and felt like just giving up? Wanting to give in to that inner voice that says “this just isn’t for you.” I have. This is a personal story about turning failures into a pathway to achieve your dreams. The takeaways? As we are preparing for the new year, it’s a time for reflection and to take stock of things we’ve done well and things we’d like to do better. The importance of realizing when something’s not working the need to seek the knowledge and mentorship to help you reach your goals. Winning isn’t so much about the victory itself but about the pathway you take to get there. www.visualbridgecommunication. If you are seeking a guide to help you take your communication and on camera skills up to the next level, let's find a time to talk. 2019 will be here before you know it. >>>Just fill out the application here, and we can schedule a call to talk about your video and communication goals for the coming year. Until then, re

Has this happened to you? When you look at your holiday photos you think everyone in the shot looks great except you because: Your eyes are shut You hate what you are wearing The camera angle is unflattering You have dark circles under your eyes because of bad lighting  I know I’ve experienced every one of these.  Worry not, there are some really easy things you can do to make sure you look your best in your priceless holiday photos. On this episode of Camera Ready With Val Brown we'll cover: What to wear, or not Lighting, angles and tips to look slimmer on camera  Makeup and hair These are some really quick tips you can use before you step out the door for your next holiday event so you look awesome in your holiday photos, every time. ​ visualbridgecommunication.com/podcast val@visualbridgecomm.com

We’re all busy, whether we’re running our own business, leading our team or building our career.  Taking time to figure out how to put on makeup for video seems like a huge time suck. What about makeup when I'm on camera? is the question I hear most often behind what should I wear? And it’s a good one, because most of us don’t spend a lot of time under hot lights or in front of a lens that can change our skin tone or highlight our less than flattering attributes. If you could just learn a few basic makeup tips, to take the mystery out of how to you show up looking your best on camera whether you’re indoors or outdoors or taking photos for your headshots.  It would be so much easier to get your videos done. Look great on video without spending a ton of time and effort on things that don’t work. Wouldn't It Feel Great To Know It's Not A Lot Of Work To Get Ready To Be On Video?  I want you to know that you can show up as you and that you KNOW how to look your best. And that’s what we are aiming for on camera, a

Do you ever wonder if you should wear makeup or not on video?  You're just not sure how much to wear or what to use? It’s  a question I get asked a lot. Did you know that how you show up on camera is more than what you are wearing and your makeup? For the next two weeks, I am going to share my Emmy award winning secrets about makeup for video - things I've learned over three decades producing television.   Today's podcast is part one of two where I share makeup tips for men and next week I'll cover makeup for women. Before You Ladies Decide To Tune Out... There's plenty of good advice that you can use in this episode too! Lots of what I share in this episode applies to everyone and you'll learn best practices for men so you can help that special person in your life when they are doing video. Here's what you'll learn on today's episode: the importance of lifestyle on how you show up on camera things to consider about your hair and hair color  makeup tips for indoors and outdoors I also included some affiliat

We've all watched lots of videos where the background seems out of synch with the person speaking or there is so much going on you are focused on that and not the speaker.  And that’s completely avoidable.  In today's episode I’m going to cover a simple checklist to make sure your background is appropriate for the video you are shooting, no matter how much time you have to prepare. I’m pretty sensitive to backgrounds and a lot of that is probably due to a some of the mistakes I’ve made in my career.   I’ll never forget I landed an interview with a well respected elected official and got the okay to shoot in his office.  I was thrilled, because it was a really BIG deal. We shot the interview and when I went back to the edit bay to review the tape, I was horrified. In my hurry, I had missed the fact that there was an object hanging on the wall that appeared to protrude from his head. There were no words. He looked like My Favorite Martian. Back then, painting out an object was not as easy as it today. And resho

Creating videos on the fly is something I get asked about a lot, whether its for your product or a business message or idea you need to deliver quickly and effectively. And, as I was going through my morning ritual the other day I thought wow, wouldn’t it be awesome to create a video ritual that would let you get clear about your message and make sure you look and sound great before you hit the record button. It would be something that was especially good for situations when you don’t have a lot of time to think. Having a quick framework to reference allows you to collect your thoughts and energy and show up with intention and confidence. So I got to thinking about my morning ritual, one I got from Mel Robbins, the author of the Five Second Rule.   I created my own version of her morning ritual, Take Five, so you can gather your thoughts quickly and turn out great looking videos, every time. For a refresher on how you can use Mel's five second rule to stop procrastinating and get your headshots done, listen t

  On Camera Confidence is a result of  working with your strengths and developing in areas where you are not as strong. What Can I Do If I Don't Like The Way I Look On Camera? I Know It's Silly, But I Can't Help It... During my career there have been times where I’m really sensitive about my appearance too. When that happens I have had to work to get that voice out of my ahead that always judges how I look.  Like anything, some days I do a better job than others. What I can share with you are some concrete actions you can take to start getting to the root of your on camera shyness. And, you are not alone! Today I’m going to share a  Really Cool Tool To Help You Build Your On Camera Confidence In episode one of this podcast, I shared with you a bit about what led me to do my graduate work in organization development or OD.  For those of you not familiar with this area of study, I think this definition supports our topic today.   OD is the practice of planned, systemic change in the beliefs, attitudes and valu

  Video is the fastest way for you to create a connection with your audience - the sound of your voice and body language allows your audience to connect with you instantly. Using video lets your audience get a better sense of who you are. When they can see you, it helps you to build trust with them, and when done intentionally, you reinforce your brand.  When you use video, your personality and voice are center stage, and that’s critical to building your know, like and trust relationship with your audience. It’s also a great way to showcase your expertise and share what you know that can help people live better lives and build better businesses. On today's episode learn: ​How to quickly organize your thoughts to keep viewers watching A really cool tip on audio The best way to position your camera It actually goes back to the basics - the 3 p’s Purpose, Plan and Presence. If you want a review, check out episodes 2,3 and 4. Being intentional will save you from the shoot and pray and shoot and spray mindset an

When you create a video to tell a story, do you sometimes feel like you are shooting in the dark? Or, because you're not sure what to shoot, you record everything and it makes it hard to edit? Wouldn't it be great to know the secrets behind creating stories that connect with your audience? Here's the good news, it doesn't have to be that way for you! On this week's podcast I interview Emmy award winning documentary producer and director Kenneth Kebow about his secrets to Creating Stories That Connect. Learn Ken's secrets including: the importance of using sound to make a connection with your audience how to help people you interview look and feel comfortable what you need to consider before you hit the record button Ken is a friend, colleague and mentor who has been in the television business for more than 30 years. He's worked with Google, American Airlines, Ford, CBS and the United States Marines. He's also been honored with numerous awards for his corporate and documentary work including The Whimsical Im

Interview with Emmy award winning documentary producer, and director Kenneth Kebow about how to create great looking videos on a budget.  Ken is a friend, colleague and mentor and has been in the television business for more than 30 years. Some of his clients include Google, American Airlines, Ford, CBS and the United States Marines. He has been honored with a number of awards for his corporate work as well as his documentary work which includes one on of the original Disney Imagineers, Rolly Crump, and another with Academy Award Winner Richard Dreyfuss in a documentary about Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address. Both are amazing pieces of work. At the end of today’s podcast there will be a link where you can find out how to watch them both. Learn his production secrets including: the importance of pre-production before you shoot how to help people you interview look and feel comfortable an inexpensive way to create high quality, branded backgrounds References:Kenneth Kebow    

We all  use filler words. It’s normal to pause in between thoughts and use uhms, ers, and other filler words.  It’s when you use too many of them it interferes with your effectiveness in delivering your message. It also makes your listeners work harder to get to the heart of what you have to say.  When filler words fill your delivery, they undermine your credibility and authority, make you sound less confident and distract from your message.  Used to the extreme, filler words become verbal white noise the brain has to filter out to get to the meat of your message.  When you are delivering a message about an important project at work, or your service that will change lives, that's a distraction you can do without. Learn:  Why we use filler words How they affect your credibility What you can do to stop saying uhm It's a quick listen so you can put these tips to work right away. Research: University of Missouri