Developing marketing ideas that will attract prospects and cultivate clients is one part of my business that I love! Over the last couple of years I’ve been talking to everyone about creating videos. There hasn’t been a business yet that couldn’t benefit from creating videos. Hardly a week (or a day) goes by that I am not tempted to click on a video in Facebook and watch. If you haven’t started using videos for marketing your business, you are missing out on a popular tool.

Now, you may be thinking one of these things:

• I don’t know what kind of video to create. (of course that is why you need to continue reading…)
• I don’t have access to good video equipment.
• I hate to be in front of the camera.

Here’s the good news! You don’t need expensive equipment, I’m going to give you a lot of good ideas, and most of them don’t require you being in front of the camera! Most businesses can create a short video – 30 seconds to no more than 2 minutes – using a low-cost video camera. There are lots in the $175 range. I have a Kodak Zi8 that does a great job. Someone you know may have a Flip camera. Easy to do: Power on, shoot video, upload to YouTube, and post.  And honestly, I’m sure a lot of the videos that people create are taken using their smart phone.

Now, you’ve got the camera. Where are the ideas? Here are some of my favorites.

1. Give a tour of your office or location. Let us see what’s going on inside. You might show us the shop where your products are made, or introduce us to your customer support person. If you are a restaurant, how about a peek inside the kitchen. If you are a retail store, show us some of your wares.
2. Interview someone in your office. It’s nice to see and get to know the people you are working with.
3. Interview some of your clients – we’re talking video testimonials. Many would be very happy to oblige. Just ask!
4. Do some before and after videos. This could apply to building a house, style makeovers, personal organizers, or updating a website. Another variation that might fit some clients is explaining how your product works, or applications for your product.
5. FAQ’s are great to create videos for. What do people always ask you? Create a series of videos answering one question in each video.
6. Do regularly scheduled tips. Search for “legal minute” or “marketing tips” or something similar inside YouTube. You will find a lot of people give out tidbits of information in this fashion. If you are a fitness expert, create a video showing the proper way to do each exercise.
7. Do a video blog. This would be just you sitting in front of the camera telling the story or teaching the information in the way that you would have written it down.

Most of those ideas can even keep you off the video if you are not interested in being in them. Find someone else to be in the video if that is an issue. However, there is great power in building relationships if prospects can actually see you. Don’t miss out on that! Another tip is to vary the setting of your videos. One time you might be in your business outfit at your desk. Another time you might be outside on your patio in more casual wear. The viewer is more interested in what they are going to learn from you than what you are wearing or how your hair looks. (Depending on your business, you will have to use good judgement as to how casual you can go. I’m a firm believer in looking presentable at all times…)

Are you using videos yet? Please share some other video ideas in the comments!

Linqto is a wonderful new tool that business owners should investigate. This afternoon I am hosting my first “call” using linqto. It has all the bells and whistles of many webinar type products, with an added benefit of connecting to Facebook. For me, this is going to be great when teaching – either one-on-one or virtual classrooms. I can use it to have meetings with clients or potential clients. I could use it instead of driving to local businesses when explaining things. It would be great for just visiting with friends and family, too.

I love cool software. This has so much potential. It’s kind of like Facebook TV. In fact, some linqto subscribers are doing exactly that – weekly shows at a set time. I haven’t gotten to that point yet, but this is just an example of the power it has. Other uses are discussion groups, online meetings, mastermind sessions, and focus groups. Vicki Sarris, one of the developers and owners, calls it a “live interaction platform.” Benefits for class participants are the ability to chat during the call, ask questions privately to the presenter, and being able to use their own webcam and mic and be seen and heard live. Some may choose to cover up their camera and just use the mic, or maybe all they have is a mic attached to their computer.

One other nice feature is “raise hand.” I will be using this during the call when polling the participants. Everyone can see who has raised their hands. It’s going to be much more interactive and interesting to all involved.  You should check it out.

(I am not in any way affiliated with this company and get no money from them when talking about linqto or if anyone joins as a result of my information.)

This weekend I was alone during the day. My son was working and my husband was playing in a golf tournament. Perfect timing for me since I had lots to do in order to be ready for a business trip I am taking. The weather was glorious – clear blue skies, 70 degrees, and all sunshine. This is amazing after the near month-long rain and gloom we’ve been having. I just admired it from the window as I slowly worked my way through the to-do list.

The highlight of my weekend was listening to a teleseminar series by Gina Bell, called “How Does She Do It?”

Fifteen amazing women business owners gave advice on “How To Stop The Knee-Jerk Reaction of Comparing And Copying So You Can Create Success Online (Your Way) With Authenticity And Confidence!” It was the perfect thing to hear since I have been falling prey to seeing what others are doing and feeling like I have to copy cat my way to success. As Dr. Phil would say, “How’s that working for you?”

Here are a couple of things that were Aha moments to me:

•    You don’t have to do what everyone else is doing. Be authentic to your own style. Discover what works for you. Create new paradigms! Don’t look outside yourself for definition.

•    Talk about money with your business girlfriends. Get to know money so it will flow into your business. Love your money. Pay attention to it. That will start bringing it to you.

•    Be generous with your contacts, but don’t give away everything. And there will always be a segment of your audience that will want you to do the task for them.

For me it all boils down to staying true to my strengths- which are completely different from everyone else’s strengths. What I bring to my work and clients is me. And you bring you! Listen and watch what your mentors are doing, and then take what you can that works with your business. But don’t BE them. Be You!

You know that I have a new desk top computer, right? Well, it took about a month before I started moving everything from my laptop over to the new desktop. I was getting by with some of my files and programs on one, and some on the other. And a lot of files spread between two external hard drives. It was really dumb and took too much mental energy to keep up with it all. For some reason, in the back of my head, I kept hoping that I would wake up and the computer fairy would have done it in the middle of the night. Finally, a couple of weeks ago I took  a morning and dedicated myself to the big job. And of course it didn’t take as long as I feared.

I can’t lie to you. It’s not all moved. And I haven’t changed over my Carbonite subscription or my security software. After waiting on hold for about 10 minutes and leaving a call back number to my security software company, I still haven’t heard back. Now I’ll have to call again. curses.  I’m still using the 60 day free trial that was installed on the computer so that gives me some sense of security. no pun intended. And I keep discovering other little programs that need to be re-downloaded and installed, too. This could go on indefinitely at this rate!

So my post today is about documenting your computer programs and files. Keep a record of everything you add to your system, put all the receipts,  logins, passwords, software keys, etc. in one place. Then you won’t have to go running around without a checklist like I appear to be doing right now. [As my Dad always said when we were growing up, "Don't do as I do, do as I say."]  Ideally you would have a folder with all of the software information in it, and keep your software CD’s together for quick retrieval. I have a folder on my computer labeled “Downloaded Programs” and it contains all the programs I download rather than having actual CD’s.

My next big to-do will be to document my new system and file it away for the next time I have to “rebuild” a computer. Do you have any good ideas to share about this?

This weekend I bought a new desktop computer! My husband was right: it’s nice to drive to a big box electronic store and buy a good, fast computer for one fourth of what we paid for our last one. It’s been a long time since I had a new computer that wasn’t a laptop. It took a little re-arranging, but I was able to quickly set up the new box and still have room for my laptop during the conversion period. I am hesitating to move everything over yet until I have more time and can make sure something weird isn’t going to happen with the new PC. The last laptop I bought only made it a few days before its untimely demise. It’s really annoying to get a computer all set up like you want, and then have to redo it AGAIN a week later.

The wide screen monitor on this baby is a joy after so many years on a laptop. I had to give up the nice lamp in the back of the built-in desk space, but the light that this great monitor gives off should make up for that. I’ve got 8 USB ports on the PC, plus the six I have on my existing external USB box. The new external wireless adapter is a beauty: small and incredibly easy to setup. The first external wireless adapters we bought years ago took several calls to tech support and lots of muttering before they would connect. The hardest part of the whole process today was deciding how to run all the cords so that it looks tidy. And I have failed miserably that that…so pictures will be delayed a bit.

The only downside is that I am now using Vista Home Premium. I have Ultimate on my laptop, so this seems like a step backwards. My only frame of reference is the painful recollection of the years we had Windows ME, which was a home edition. If you suffered through ME, you know what I am talking about. New, fun times are likely ahead. Stay tuned in a few months when I take advantage of my free upgrade to Windows 7. Not one to be on the “bleeding” edge, I’ll give it a while before migrating over.

Y’all have a great week!