Is It Time You Embrace Video Strategy? EP #201 - Ben Amos

G', day, guys, and welcome to this episode 201. This week, Shorty, I've got a quick interview with my good pal Ben Amos from Engage Video Marketing. Ben, I wanted to get on the show because he's about to launch a free training for his video strategy blueprint. And the thing about this training, which is different from lots of other trainings that are out in the Internet, is that this is actually packed with three really amazing sessions of free value. So I wanted to get Ben on the show to run through why video strategy is actually growing as a service and how you can access some free training this week.

So I'm really thrilled that I've managed to grab my good pal Ben Amos from Engage Video Marketing back on the show. We've had Ben on a few times. I've been on his show, he's been on mine. Good to see you, Ben. How are you, man?

I'm doing well, Dan, and it's great to be back on your show.

Well, the reason I wanted to try and snag you for 10 minutes was that I know that we've spoken quite a number of times about video strategy, which is a big part of your business, and I know that you've run free trainings in the past, and those free trainings have been so well received that members of my community and members of your community have kind of run with those free trainings and actually implemented them in their business and made good money and actually started offering an additional service. And I wanted to share, share this again with my listeners because I think if. If you're not using some form of video strategy in your business, I think you're leaving money on the table. And so I wanted to get you back on to just share a little bit what's happening this week. So I'll hand it over to you, mate. How's everything going and what's happening this week?

Sure, yeah, I'm excited for this week because this is. This is a training that I've ran earlier this year for the first time. And it was. Well, first of all, from my perspective, so much fun to jump on over the course of a number of days and do some live training about this idea of becoming a confident video strategist, which I know for so many video professionals is something that they're thinking about or they've been prompted to think about because they recognize that just being good at the craft of video production is no longer enough. They actually need to step up and come alongside their clients and make sure that the videos that they're creating are actually getting the results that they deserve. Right. Because that's what video is all about for business, is about the results that the video can provide. So this training is basically over the course of three days and there's time between each of the days. It's not three back to back days. So that's something slightly different from last time I ran this where I did it back to back and people were like blown away and found it hard to kind of catch up on the replays if they weren't able to join live. So particularly for those listeners of yours in the UK who maybe the time for the live training is not ideal. Definitely by registering they'll get access to the replays and have time to catch up. So over the course of those three days, we're going to go deep into these ideas of what it takes to pivot a video production business and offer video strategy services in addition to everything that you already do as a video producer.

Well, I think you know, from speaking to members of the Video Business Accelerator who've actually been through your program, I know a number of them. Have they? I've seen how they've interwoven the video strategy component into their product offering and what that is doing is it's bringing their customers closer to them because they're no longer simply offering the video, they're actually starting way early on in the process asking, you know, what is the real true, genuine desired outcome for this project. And they work with the clients to craft not just a video, but perhaps a series of videos. So there's a great opportunity to kind of actually sell more to the client, but doing so actually deliver more and then right through to how they actually use those videos. So tell me some of the, some of the examples of situations with clients of yours that where they've been through this training and what kind of success they've been able to achieve with it.

Yeah, I mean, it's pretty wide and varied and it really comes down to the business, the professional video producer who's in their business today, there's different ways that they can integrate video strategy services. And you know, we've had people go through my training who have positioned themselves as video strategy consultants and effectively moved back from delivering and producing content and instead operating much more in that kind of consultancy model, which is super interesting for some people, others, and this is probably the most popular way, is they actually bring the strategic elements of what we talk about into everything that they're already doing with their video production company. So I call this A strategy first production company approach. And for many people that are running a successful video production business, by simply adding in some additional processes and ways of working with your clients where you're approaching things from a strategy first, you can actually be positioned in a much more valuable way for your ideal clients and effectively.

Stand out from the competition who are just approaching things from a production point of view. Right. So that's that strategy first production company mindset. And then really when people take this and run with it and you know, examples of businesses. For example, Doug in, in Canada runs a company called Tripwire Media. He went through this program a couple of years ago, maybe three years ago, and he's actually invested in growing his business and actually brought on a full time video strategist into his, his business now. And he's got a team of about 12 people in his production company. So he's really embraced what we call a full video strategy production company or video strategy agency, which is where you're able to actually consult with, produce content and then actually work with your clients on managing the distribution and implementation of that content to get results. So there's many different ways that you can go with this, but in this free training this week, I'm really just going to outline what this could look like for you and set you on the path to success in that way.

You know, I can think of Caleb in my group from Hebron Films who's been on this show and him and his, one of his team members, Bailey, they've, they've created a whole document around video strategy and they're actually getting such strong feedback from their clients. I think the thing that's important to me in this particular show is that we talk about how to scale a video business. And I think the last 18 months have been very challenging for a lot of businesses. What we've also observed is those businesses that continually invest in their own education by, by allowing and creating time and space. Because, you know, there is a program that you offer at the end of this training for those that want to take it further. I think it's important to just be upfront about that. But the fact is there is there are three really solid training sessions and what I've. The reason I've always been happy to have you on the show and talk about your work is because you deliver really high levels of value to the market. And I think that's really important because, you know, some people are just probably going to be listening to this, going, oh well, they're just trying to sell a course and the fact is there is, there is an opportunity at the end of this process if you want to get deeper into this. But I think that the feedback you got last time, I think you were just sharing before the call. There are people who just did the free training who've reported back to you with increased results, results. Can you share a bit more about why someone should take the time and invest the time to simply watch the free training?

Yeah, look, I think, and you say it all the time, that when you invest in yourself, you invest in your self development as a business owner, as a creative, then you're able to see new opportunities for your business and for your clients. And really for me, what it comes down to is as a creative, which many of us are at starting a video production company, you come from a creative background in many cases, or you want to be creative at least you typically don't have a background of marketing knowledge. Right. But that's something that can be learned and that's that journey. To become confident as a video strategist is about learning and understanding what online video strategy looks like, understanding the language to use. I share frameworks that you can apply straight away with the conversations you're having with your clients so that by changing the language and the way you're approaching things as you're talking to your clients, you change the positioning of your business and the value that is perceived by your clients. So I think the key thing to kind of take away here is this is something that can be learned. You know, it's something that some concepts that you can just start to embrace and make the language your own. And that's a game changer for a video business, I believe.

I agree. And you know, I think that there's often a lot of perceived free training on the Internet that is just a muse to kind of like get someone to make up, make a purchase. But I would really want to re emphasize that this is not one of these kind of, you know, new, new, new video coaches that show up in the marketing space. You know, Ben's been doing this a number of years. This is probably the fourth or fifth time that I've talked to you about this, this program and I've seen and I know members of my community who've been through your training. So I can vouch for it. It is an incredible training and actual paid program is phenomenal. But that's not for everyone. You may not be at the right measure for that now, but the only way to really find out is to come and do the free Training sessions and they are three sort of 30 to 40 minute sessions. I think you have a bit of Q and A in there and, you know, it really is an opportunity to learn about the process of video strategy and if it's right for you and you want to take it further, you can. But this is really one of those free trainings that genuinely has an enormous amount of value. So, guys, if you're interested in learning more about this, go to this short link which is Bit Ly Video Strategist. Bit Ly videostrategist. And Ben, before we wrap up, any, any closing thoughts, what would you say to someone who's listening to this, who's maybe dancing with the idea of learning a bit more about this?

Yeah, I just invite anyone who's intrigued in any way by any of what we've been talking about here to, to jump in on the training and if you can get there live as well, it's going to be fun. Right? There's lots of interactivity, there's lots of other people who are in probably the same position as you in the chat that you can connect with and, you know, maybe network with as well throughout the training and there's going to be giveaways and things like that. So I'm putting a lot into this training because. Well, first of all, it's a lot of fun for me to connect with people in this way and to share value, but also it's just going to be a great week of training that'll hopefully shift some mindsets for people.

Yeah, and so the idea is that that link, Bit Ly Video Strategist will take them to a registration page where they'll fill out their name, their email address and that will then send them a series of emails which will give them the details of when the live calls are and they're done. Are they done through Facebook? How are they done?

Yeah, it all happens in the video strategist community on Facebook. So if you're. Whether you're already in that community, if maybe you've heard us talk about it before, either way, the training is all happening in there. But if you register through the link that Den shared, then that's the best way so that you'll actually get emails telling you what to expect and you'll be able to download the workbook beforehand so that you're ready to go, ready to hit the ground running.

Fabulous, mate. I can't wait. So just that link again, guys, Bit Ly Videostrategist and we'll hopefully see you on that training hey guys, thanks for watching. I hope you got a huge amount of value from that episode. If you're looking for additional support or resources to support your business journey, then head over to Denlenny.com where you can get a whole heap of other resources, free downloads, and access all the other episodes in this series. Be sure to subscribe and I'll see you next time.