#010 Smartphone Video Masterclass

Seriously, I am actually really just finishing up a smoothie. If you saw one of my recent Instagram posts, you know that I'm trying to do less coffee and more smoothies. This one today is going to be chocolate. Okay, welcome to Personal Brand Breakthrough. My name is Sheryl Plouffe. I'm a video marketing strategist. Let me put this cup down for a second. And today I've got a really special thing for you. It's actually a demonstration, largely a demonstration of Smartphone video production secrets, and it's in the format of a masterclass today. So we're really gonna be talking about, again, smartphone video secrets as part of a masterclass that was actually an interview that Sharena Mayani did with me some time back. I wanna say this was maybe a month or so ago. She's in Panama, in Central America, and she did this interview as part of her masterclass,, and now she has gifted it to all of us who participated in the summit. So I want to share it with you because I've had so much great response from people about it. People emailing me and wanting to contact me and go, "Wow, like the major epiphanies." So I think it's valuable and I really want to share it with you. So what you're going to learn today is a simple setup technique that's going to instantly improve your videos today, which is super exciting.

You're also going to—

I'm also going to show you an actual demonstration of how I record my videos so that the editing becomes a breeze. Okay, so you're also going to learn how to overcome your fear of video. So if you're a beginner or maybe even intermediate and you're still kind of not comfortable with video, I'm going to talk to you about how to overcome your fear of video so that you can start making money at it. So let's get into the show and watch the interview.

And I'm really excited to introduce you to Sheryl Ploch. She is a video marketing strategist and a former national TV broadcaster. How exciting is that? So she knows her videos, she knows her TV, all to do with this space, which is perfect. And she helps businesses make money with simple live-action smartphone video. And I'm really excited, Sheryl, to have you today because I, for me, like video was so overwhelming and scary for me, and I've come to realize how important it is. So for those of you watching, if you're starting your business, or you're in your first years of business, if you are not implementing video as a main strategy in your business, you are missing out. That is why Sheryl is here. So make sure you pay attention, because not only is she going to tell you why you got to use video, but she's actually demonstrate how simple this can be, because I used to always go into tech overwhelm, right? Which is so a different story. So Sheryl, thank you for being here with us today. I'm really excited to have you.

Thank you so much, Sharina. I'm excited to be here, and everything that you just said, I concur with, right? I mean, we make video much more complicated than it really needs to be. But video needs to be a part of your marketing today.

It doesn't have to be everything.

I mean, you know, you still want to be utilizing other forms of marketing, but video really is that powerful, and it can transform transform your business. I mean, you are a really probably good example of that. You do a really nice job of your videos now. I'm sure it's had a really big impact on your business, but you were overwhelmed at the beginning too. So what I like to do is to impart, you know, the experience that I've had on TV and some of the skill sets that I've developed and bring that into the entrepreneurial space so that we can all benefit from video.

I love it.

I'm so excited for this class.

Like, I'm like thrilled to be here with you today, Sheryl. Let's go into, why don't we go into what you're gonna be teaching us today and how we can use video. Like we spoke about a little bit of the importance, and I think it's important to now go into the teaching of today, which I'm excited about.

For sure. So what I really do is I focus on smartphone video. And let me tell you how it came to be that that be the case. When I first got started, I was using a Canon camera. Like I went out and I, I spent, who knows, hours and hours on Amazon, looking at all kinds of cameras and reading every review and trying to figure out which one to buy. I can't imagine how much time I spent doing that. But eventually I settled on a camera. Then I had to go and start researching all the equipment that I would need, and 5-point lighting systems, and all of this stuff. And it took a long time. Eventually I built my video scenario or kit or set, if you will., and I started using it, which was fine, except that I am not really, or at least wasn't, a great videographer, to be honest with you, when I first started out. But I wanted to use video because I was a broadcaster, I was, you know, a video marketing strategist and expert from a front of the camera standpoint, like from a communication standpoint. I've always been in front of the camera, so I've been, you in the homes of millions of people across Canada as a national TV broadcaster. And so, but I knew that I needed to use video and do the production piece of it for my own marketing. But here's what happened. I kept finding myself in positions and places where I was inspired to do a video in the moment, which is my thing, and I would reach for my phone because I had it with me. My other phone was sitting at home in, you know, in a padded case somewhere. So I kept reaching for my phone, and eventually a bell went off, and I went, I'm using my phone for all my videos. So that's really when I decided that if this is the case for me, and I am a video marketing expert and strategist, I can imagine that it's the case for a lot of people, that we have our smartphones. This is the most powerful computer that you bring everywhere with you. And so I really now exclusively focus on this. So into the teaching piece of this today, what I want you to know is that you can start your video marketing strategy today with just this. Now I am going to use a tripod today and I'm going to tell you where I bought it and everything. And you have one too, right? It might be. Well, this is, this is a really affordable AmazonBasics.

Amazon.

Yeah, perfect. I buy everything on Amazon. AmazonBasics tripod, lightweight. So this is not the type of tripod that I would have utilized when I was out in the field as a broadcaster. Those tripods are very high-end, they're very expensive, and they're made to withstand the elements. And they're, you know, those tripods in broadcasting can be $1,000, $1,500 plus, like they're expensive. This one, $30, right? $30. So when you get this tripod, you have to get, again, if you're going to use your tripod for your smartphone, you wanna get this little adapter. You see this, right? It's just a simple little adapter. There are various forms of this, with their spring-loaded, right? They're spring-loaded so that you can put your phone in it. The only thing I would caution you when you purchase this, depending on the phone you have, right? I have an iPhone 7, but the iPhone 7 Plus is quite large. It's almost like a little mini iPad. So you have to make sure that the spring-loaded bracket, that mount that you get, will fit your phone. So that's the only thing to be cautious of when you're looking to buy one of these. But this is standard. My phone fits in it. This is iPhone 7. You know, even though I do video and I teach about video, video is just the format. It's the format that works today to get our message. Really, what I'm— I'm a video marketing strategist, but what I really focus on and what I really do is help you get your message to more people through video. Video is just the format that really works for a lot of different reasons. It helps us to connect with our audience. It helps us to build rapport. We want to build that know, like, and trust factor. With our audience. That's how we make more sales and how we get more of our products and services in front of people without being salesy. I know you and I both have discussed this. We don't like the salesy approach.

Totally. Yeah, we've spoken about it.

Yeah, for sure. So that's really what this is about. So here's what I would do. I think I put this on back. Doesn't matter. So here we go. The thing to know with the tripod, if you do decide to get one, which I would recommend, I mean, it's a, it's, you know, it's an affordable piece that you can buy for your And you could have this in your office, in your home. And what you want to do is you want to adjust this so that when you put your phone— and I have to take my phone out of the case. So my case is like this. I have to take it out, otherwise it doesn't fit. And you may find the same thing.

Yeah, I think I might have to do the same.

Yeah, they tend to be kind of thick, right? So you're going to place your phone in the bracket. The thing you want to make sure of is that you're not hitting the volume buttons here on the bottom. You want to make sure that you don't have your phone over so far that it's pushing the buttons. Make sure the buttons are clear. Okay. Okay, and in terms of framing, what you want to do is— and I'm doing this like closer than I normally would for the purpose of showing you and demonstrating to you right now in this webcam. But when you have this set up, you wanna be pretty much about arm's length away from the camera itself. I'm a little bit closer right now to demonstrate. And framing-wise, what you're looking to do is, I hope you can hear me okay, 'cause I'm trying to, okay. That you want the camera to be pretty much, pretty much at eye level, the lens, I should say, the lens of the camera needs to be pretty much at eye level or just slightly above. And so right now I'm looking at it like that, and what I'm going to do right now, my camera, I don't see myself in the, in the camera, like in the lens right now, or in the frame. So I'm going to go into my apps, and I'm going to choose camera, and I'm going to choose video, and have it now facing toward me so I can see myself in the actual frame. You see? You can see yourself in the frame. What you want to do is make sure that, and again, my specialty is live-action smartphone video, and by live-action I mean you on camera. So many people, Sharena, miss this, where they want to hide behind the camera and not be visible, but in order to build a brand, to to really be, again, a powerful woman entrepreneur today, you— people want to connect with you. And so you have to give them the chance to do that. So we want to make videos where we appear on camera. So that's the vantage point that I'm taking.

Very important.

Yeah. Very important. If you don't do that, if you just, you know, again, hire someone for $5 on Fiverr to make you a, you know, a 2-minute explainer video that is just the words, you know, text across the screen, and you think that that's your video marketing strategy, you're leaving money on the table. And none of us—

And what if— let me ask you this, 'cause I know this question comes up a lot, be powerful just to talk about it. What if we're scared to go on camera? Like, I hear a lot of people, my clients say like, "I'm scared to be visible." Like, any insight around that, like, to getting over that?

Well, not to get too ethereal, but I think that you have to have a strong why. You know, it is fear. It is overcoming fear and resistance. One of my favorite books by Steven Pressfield is The War of Art, and he talks about—

I love it.

Right? And I think that as creative people, we need to understand that we have to fight resistance in order to get our creative work out there. And in this case, your creative work could be the videos. So I think that it really is just something as simple as saying, how strong is my why? How much do I want it? Am I willing to do the things that are uncomfortable in order to get where I want to go? Right? And I think that it's just a conversation that you need to have. What can help is to have someone like a coach or mentor like you who can help them through that process, or me, right? To help them through the process of getting over the fear and resistance. It is a big, big thing, especially for women. Especially for women. We feel— we're afraid of what people will think. We're afraid to get it wrong. We're afraid of being ridiculed. We're afraid of how we look and sound. Those are very common. So if you're feeling that right now and you're listening to this, you're saying, "That's me," you're not the only one. We all feel that way. Even for me as a broadcaster, you know, I have insecurities, absolutely. Absolutely have insecurities, but I know that by attacking that resistance and breaking through that fear, that there's something much, much bigger for me on the other side of that. So it really is as simple as practicing and starting small, starting simple, and then growing and evolving over time. You don't need to have a full-fledged video marketing strategy and know everything there is to know about it. In day 1. You start with a 15-second video. You start with a 15-second video message follow-up with a prospect. It could be something as simple as that. And the next thing you know, you're like, oh, okay, I did not melt, so I'll try now to do another one. And then maybe I'll graduate to a 30-second Instagram video, and I'll talk about something that I'm doing today, having coffee with a friend or whatever. And then you graduate to an evergreen video where it's a 2-minute YouTube video, right? So just baby steps along the way. Does that answer the question? Yeah, totally.

I think it's important to talk about that before you continue. That's an objection that always comes up. I think it's important just to be like, hey, for sure, for sure.

Really important. So, so what I would do then in terms of the framing is I would make sure— so what you don't want to do is you don't want to have this so low that you're looking down. Right? You don't wanna be looking down because now the perspective of the person watching it is that they're looking up at you, or they feel, so you know what I mean? And it doesn't give you a very authoritative presence. When, whether the lens is down or whether it's too high, if it's too high then you're looking up, and then people are looking up your nose kind of thing, right? So what you wanna do is just make sure that you are kind of looking more straight on in an authoritative way. It's a powerful stance. I usually stand with my feet firmly planted on the ground, usually shoulder-width apart, grounded, feeling really strong on my feet. And what you'll do is you make sure that your eye line— in terms of framing— that your eye line, if you were to draw, uh, Divide the frame, which is where you see yourself visible in the lens, or on the phone rather, divide it into 3 sections with an imaginary line, okay? It's called the law of thirds. And you want your eye line to be on that top line, that top imaginary line. So for instance, if I'm using this frame that we're looking at right now, I would draw a line here, and maybe, here. Do you see where my fingers are?

Yeah, yeah.

And then you want your eye line— see this? This is like the top imaginary. If I was to divide this in thirds, do you see what I'm doing? My eye line is pretty much along that line. What you don't want to do is be like this. So now your eye line is in the middle, you have too much headroom.

So I have a lot of headroom because I didn't realize. So it would be more like—

okay, yeah, okay, great. So yeah. Perfect. Yes, that looks much better. I'd go down, maybe down a little. Perfect. That looks great.

Right, yeah, before it was like, oh, interesting. So this is like the ideal space.

Yes, cool. That looks good. Yeah, so you want your eye line— now it doesn't matter whether you're far back or whether you're forward, right? It always stays the same.

Wow.

Okay, um, conversely, you don't want to be like this where no headroom and that you're showing like your eyeline is almost near the very top of the frame. So you want to be kind of like that. And Laleh, that's interesting. This one, just this one tip will help you to have much higher quality videos today. Today. So that's tip 1. The other thing is that again, I'm all about live action video. I am about putting yourself on camera and sharing your your tips and strategies and giving and putting goodwill into the marketplace, it'll come back to you in spades. You know, I'm all about, you know, educational videos and value and all of that. So when you do a video, it depends on whether you're doing it live or recorded. Live video, again, you use that framing tip, and you can do a live video today on Facebook. Use that framing tip and just go on and say something as simple as— what a framework that I use is called the Perfect Video Template, and it's really simple. It's just an introduction of you, and it's— the middle part is the value, the tips, the strategies, the meat on the bone, so to speak, the piece of what it is that you want to talk about. And then at the end, you always have a call to action. A call to action is just what do you want the viewer to do next? Now, this is not as important if you're just doing videos for hobby. Like if you're just doing a video, a home movie video for fun, then you don't really need a call to action. But when you're doing a business video or a marketing video, then there needs to be a call to action. Otherwise, it is just a hobby video. It's just a home movie. That's the difference. So have that call to action at the end. It could be something as simple as Be sure to visit my Facebook page and give it a like, or visit my YouTube channel and subscribe and set your notifications on. It could be visit my blog at CherylPlouffe.com. It could be any number of things. You wanna verbalize it. You could also support that by adding the text on the screen, which is a bit more advanced, but it really can be that simple. So for live video, That's the framework, but it's all in one fell swoop because there's no editing. But if you are doing a video that is prerecorded, where you are going to record the pieces and then put it into an editing software, then this is what you'd wanna do. You would want to, at least how I recommend, is do it in little chunks. So you're going to record, first you record the introduction. Right? So let me demonstrate, and I'll just pretend here. So I would— I always smile. You can anchor yourself. It helps with the editing process. You're recording for the edit in a sense where you are smiling at the beginning. So you'd be like this: Hi, I'm Sheryl Plouffe. I'm a video marketing strategist, and on today's video we're going to talk about 3 smartphone videos that you can create in minutes that helps you to 10x your audience reach and leads. End scene. So the smiling piece at the beginning and at the end makes it so that when you import this into your editor, it's a nice clean edit, clean edit point. If you don't do that and if you don't spend even a second or two just entering that piece, it's going to be more difficult to make it look Like it flows together in the editing. So then the second piece of that is, okay, so then you would start and you'd be like, so video number 1 is blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. Okay, piece. Next one. Video number 2 is X, Y, and Z. Okay, and then you, and you keep doing that piece through the, let's say, the 3 points you want to make in that case, and then you do a call to action. So it's the same thing. So there you have it. I hope you enjoyed these tips. For more tips like these, visit my blog at CherylPlouffe.com, and I'll see you in the next video. Done. So now all the little pieces, the elements of your video, are recorded. Thing I wanna make note of though, Shereena, is that, did you notice something about how I did that, or the, maybe the energy there? It was a little bit elevated, right? Like you had to put it on a little bit. And it's an important distinction. Like you do need to perform a little bit. You don't want to be, you don't wanna have low energy on camera. You don't wanna go on and be, "Hi, I'm Sheryl Plouffe, and today—" Totally. "—I'm gonna talk about 3 smartphone videos that are going to blah, blah, blah. Video 1 is blah, blah, blah. Video 2 is—" It's just, you know, you need to up the energy. There needs to be that level of enthusiasm and excitement about what you're speaking of, and it will feel unnatural to you. It will feel unnatural to you. But when it comes across on camera, the video actually just naturally knocks down that level of energy. This is a big broadcasting tip. Any broadcaster will tell you that when you go on camera and that little tally light goes on, you have to bring it. You have to bring more energy. So I'm like really, you know, upping it a bit. Hey, today we're talking about 3 smartphone videos that are gonna help you to blah, blah, blah. Yeah, amazing, it's amazing, right? So that's, that's one of the— those are some tips. I hope that's helpful for you, but I think that's a good jumping off point.

Totally, totally. Sure, I know you have a gift as well for the people who want to learn more, right, and go deeper with you. Share with us what you're giving away today, which I'm really, really excited about.

Okay, cool. I'm actually giving away the thing I just talked about, so there actually is such a gift. It's called the— I call it the Video Trifecta. And the Video Trifecta is a free download to you, as well as a video walkthrough of an explanation, really, of 3 smartphone videos that you can create in minutes that 10x your reach, audience, and leads. And you can find it at the URL that you're going to be posting here. And so feel free to take advantage of that. I give you a video to go through each of them. To further explain the premise of it and the power that it can have to grow your brand and business. I love it. I love it.

Amazing. Sheryl, thank you so much. Guys, the link for her gift is actually right down below, so make sure you click on that and download that gift. I would if I were you. Sheryl, it's been a pleasure. Thank you so much for demonstrating too. I think it's powerful, just seeing you. I've just gotten so much, so powerful. So I just appreciate you and what you've taught us today. Thank you so much.

Thank you so much for having me. Really appreciate being here. Yeah. Bye. Bye.