Have you ever been positively influenced by someone or something you saw on TV?

We’re living in a time when you’re on camera more than any time in human history. Whether it’s iPhone photos, Skype calls or CCTV, you are being photographed. Maybe you’re even being photographed as you read this: if you’re reading on a train or at a bus stop, you probably are.

Most of the footage goes to waste – the photos never looked at, the CCTV footage innocuous, the Skype communication employed for nothing more than the occasional ‘thumbs up.’ But what if you could harness the potential of video, get it pulling its weight for your business?

Well, here’s the good news… You can. It’s cheap, it’s easy, it’s powerful.

If your answer was to the initial question was yes, you already know how powerful video can be.

Case in point, how about Jamie Oliver? He’s famous, both as a chef, a political activist and businessman a) because he’s on TV b) because he’s the first and last word in enthusiasm when he’s on TV.

He’s great at cooking – that goes without saying.  But it’s his personality shining through that makes him memorable. Lots of people can cook, but there’s only one Jamie Oliver.

So my one tip this month is this:

Put video on every page of your website, on every social channel, and maybe, if you’re feeling brave, ask if you can get one on popular sites your customers might visit.

And don’t be shy. People say to me, ‘I don’t like being in front of a camera.’

I say, ‘what happens when you go to do a sales presentation? Do you hide? Do you wear a mask?’

The answer is always no. (I guess that might be different if you were sales director of a Halloween costume manufacturer – but I’ve yet to coach one of those!)

But the fact of the matter is, you are what you are.

You’d be yourself in a sales presentation, shouldn’t you be yourself on your online videos? People don’t want polished perfection, they don’t trust it. They want you to come as you are. Real. Tangible. Fallible. Human, just like them.

If you are just like them, with an offer that will bring them some value, delivered with enthusiasm and a dash of personality, you’re in business.

I’ve lost count of the times I’ve met a sales guy who says, “I’m rubbish at sales, I just really believe in this product.” If your customers see how much you believe in your products, you’re onto a winner.  Remember, “I’m Victor Kiam, I love the product so much I bought the company” – that guy sold a lot of razors!

So my one tip this month is dive headlong into video.  Work hard at getting exposure. Raise your media profile.

Be yourself, the enthusiastic version. Be informative and helpful and real… but be in front of a camera!

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If you’d like some help marketing your products or services, give me a call.

Photo credit, with big thanks!

photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/98396806@N06/9327696946″>Cameraman and The Black Hole –  Zoom Shot</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/”>(license)</a>