It is no secret that creating awesome content is more important than ever to your marketing efforts. And one great approach to producing that content is to involve your CEO. It offers the CEO a chance to connect with their audience, which ultimately makes them more relatable and trustworthy.
However, despite his or her best efforts to engage in blogging, many CEOs fall short.
Why is that?
One of the most common issues I hear from marketing professionals struggling to create content is that their leadership team just doesn’t have the time to contribute content. Yeah, they’re bought in, but they’re busy people. We get it. But what if I told you I have a surefire plan that will help shorten the time it takes for your CEO to get in on the action?
It is called video blogging, also known as vlogging to the cool kids. It is a form of blog for which the medium is video rather than text. (That’s right – you can say goodbye to all those hours in front of a keyboard trying to writing catchy introductions and witty conclusions.)
Vlog posts often combine embedded video or a video link with supporting text and/or images. (Our own CEO, Kathleen, has a great video blog series, if you’re looking for inspiration.) If your CEO is short on time and yet has something interesting to contribute, get them in front of a camera. Video is a great way to save time and get your CEO blogging.
How do you prepare your CEO for video blogs?
The video will only be as compelling as the amount of preparation you invest beforehand. Thankfully, most of that work is on you and not relying on the big wig. Preparing your CEO for taping will help them appear in the best light possible and keep everything moving quickly and smoothly when the camera starts rolling.
Don’t sweat it, though. You don’t have to prepare an essay’s worth of content in advance…
Get to the Point
First, it is important to remember that not all blogs your CEO publishes has to be some lengthy in depth analyses of a subject. Some will be short and to the point – which is okay. According to Wistia, videos two to three minutes in length have about a 60 percent retention rate. Videos five to 10 minutes long see over 50 percent viewer retention halfway through.
Moral of the story? You need to get them talking, but it doesn’t have to be for very long.
Draft an Outline
Notice I said “outline” and not “script.” That’s because scripts tend to feel more canned and not as conversational or natural. The best way to sound natural, but prepared, is to have a bulleted outline available. The mapped out talking points help keep them on track and ensure each topic you want covered is addressed. It is the best way to sound natural, but be prepared.
Create a Great Vlogging Space
It’s a good idea to designate one area of the office to film your videos. Take some time prior to filming your CEO to find a place with the best lighting, sound and decoration. Natural lighting is always best, but if you need to bring in extra light make sure it is all set up before. Once that is established, check out your decor.
You don’t want the background to be distracting. The audience might not be listening to a word your CEO is saying if they are zoomed in on a family vacation photo behind their head.
Appearance Matters
Make sure you give your CEO a heads up regarding which day you plan on shooting. Send them a quick reminder at the close of business the day before. What they wear is going to be very important. Make sure you give them some tips on what looks best in front of the camera too. For example, patterns may look great in person, but don’t always translate well on screen. It can make your viewers dizzy.
Also, if you plan to shoot multiple vlogs in a single session – a great way to create a bunch of content all at once, instead of taking the time to film each week – you’ll want to have a change of clothes handy. That way there is some variation, and you’re not giving away the fact that there is some marathon filming happening behind the scenes.
What’s Next
Using video to save time and get your CEO blogging is a great content strategy. However, it is super important that once those blogs are published they don’t just sit idle. Make sure you have a marketing plan in place for usage of those videos. Share them on social media, inform your subscribers about your latest blog posts, and include them in your monthly email newsletters. Video in email leads to 200 to 300 percent increase in click-through rate.
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