Your biggest challenge in helping your prospective customers choose your cleaning or restoration company? They can’t pre-see, pre-touch, pre-test and/or pre-visualize your service! Even worse, they can’t see (or even really imagine) what the finished result will look like! But fear not because YouTube rides to the rescue!
Host videos on your website so prospects can SEE what your company will be doing in their home or business. Even better, they will also be able to SEE your dramatic results!
Well done videos will calm your first time customer’s fears and “differentiate” your company from your competition. BUT your videos need to at least appear “professional”. Here are some simple guidelines:
1) Keep your videos short! Aim for two minutes. Write up a very tight script and then mercilessly cut-cut-cut during editing. (Today’s internet prospect has a very short ADD-like attention span and will quickly click away from a long, drawn out, boring video.)
NOTE: HERE is a SFS orientation video that I need to cut by at least 50%! 🙂 So yes- I need to take my own advice!
2) Shadows are a no-no! Focus on your lighting. Always have lighting from at least two sides. Amazon sells a very adequate portable lighting kit for less than 150.00. (Or here is a good blog post on budget lighting with stuff you can buy from Home Depot.)
3) Mike up! PLEASE! There is nothing worse than a mumbling, unintelligible sound track! So invest in a lapel microphone. If your video shots will be close in you can use a cheap 20.00 corded microphone.
4) Freshen up! Yeah, you as the owner or manager should be in the video. But clean up! Shave, comb your hair, wear a pressed shirt and pants and shine your shoes! (Just a bit of powder dabbed on your face will get rid of any “shininess” and provide better skin tones.)
5) Lighten up! Sure, you’re nervous “on camera”! I get it! But your prospects want to see a seasoned, confident professional passionately speaking about a craft they love. So look into the camera and RELAX! Do a short take and look at it with a critical eye. Do more takes. Still too “wooden” appearing on camera? Slam down a couple quick shots of vodka! (I’m kidding here… I think!)
NOTE: Check out our (small) SFS video library HERE and send me your thoughts!
Steve