Chapter Twenty One - Use Authentic Voice to Engage Clients - Ann Massie Nelson

"We Wish We Had Known - Everyday Tips from Consultants to Grow Your Business"

#Video
#Authenticity

Use Authentic Voice to Engage Clients

Ann Massie Nelson

Life Messages Media, LLC
Co-Founder
lifemessagesmedia.com / ann@lifemessagesmedia.com

Video on your website, YouTube and social media is a powerful tool to engage potential clients. Video speaks volumes more than text and still photos alone. But where do you begin to create a video that resonates with your prospects and clients?

      The place to begin is with the age-old advice of “Just be yourself.” Video that shows you speaking in your own voice at your own location – your authentic voice – is the surest way to demonstrate your expertise and bring your website and other media to life.

Why Authentic Voice?

Speaking in your authentic voice allows you to create a video that makes you more:

Credible

• By sharing some of your expertise in a video, you build credibility. You want to create a first impression that demonstrates your competence as a business consultant. Who better to speak on your behalf than you?

Approachable

• People engage with people, not a company. Ultimately, you want the person viewing your video to feel comfortable picking up the phone or emailing you. Introduce yourself in video so people have a face and name to connect with.

Memorable

• When you speak from the heart, people remember you. Scripted video that sounds like corporate speak will not create a lasting impression.

Unique

• Every consultant has a website. What makes you stand out from your competition is a video that showcases you and your unique approach to problem-solving.
  

How to Create Authentic Voice

• Know what your message is.
• Do you want to introduce yourself? Demonstrate a process? Feature a satisfied client? You might be looking at a series of short videos. Focus on a message you can get across clearly and succinctly.
•  Hire a professional interviewer.
• A professional interviewer can ask you questions and guide you through your points. The result is more natural, like a television interview, rather than a spokesperson speaking directly to the camera.
• Don’t be afraid of second (or third or fourth) takes.
•  Tell a story.
• People have been using stories to communicate for millennia. Telling a story in your own voice creates interest and excitement.
•   Use examples.
• How have you solved a problem or fulfilled a client’s needs? Help your prospect see themselves benefitting from your services.
•   Film on location.
• Your location says a lot about your business. Let prospects see you in your natural surroundings.
•   Intersperse photos and “B roll” in your video.
• You aren’t always in your office, so show viewers photos or video (B roll) of you on the job.
•     Keep it short.
• Attention spans are short, so keep your viewers engaged by limiting your video to two minutes.
•   Hire a professional video producer.
• You’re an expert at what you do, so hire an expert video producer who can create a video with professional quality lighting, sound, captions and editing. 

Just be yourself and you will shine in your video!

ANN MASSIE NELSON

Ann Massie Nelson is an interviewer and writer with extensive experience in marketing and communications, working primarily in financial services and trade associations. She has interviewed people on a wide range of topics for news and feature articles that have appeared in print, video, web, broadcast and social media. Ann has facilitated meetings and focus groups, developed and presented continuing education seminars, and taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She returned to the university in 2010 to earn a certificate in consumer health advocacy from the Law School. She holds bachelors and master’s degrees in life sciences communications from the UW-Madison.

Ann co-founded Life Messages Media, LLC with filmmaker Ren Patterson in 2013. Life Messages Media comes to your location, guides you through an interview, and records other footage that captures your unique story. Our high-quality production process – using professional cameras, lighting and sound – results in a video you will be proud to share with others. Your finished video is a natural reflection of you that speaks volumes more than text or photographs alone can do.