One of the most fearsome marketing platforms I have ever used in my nurse business is video.What could be more horrific than seeing yourself on camera and ughhh . . .
Nurse Business and Video
When I first started in the business, I thought I would blog and maybe put up a blurry picture or two of myself. It was a picture of my son, and I was kind of behind him.
The truth of the matter was I was terrified at the idea of being successful and having people listen to me or heaven forbid – look at me. However, I was told over and over that video is the future. If I wanted to be successful in online business, I would have to get over being terrified of video. If you want to connect with your audience, video is important.
The only way to get good at the video is to record videos. You have to overcome your fears of being on camera. One great way to get started on video is to record a conversation with someone else. This recording takes all the pressure and angst of being on camera off of you. I decided to dip my toe in the water by creating videos by interviewing other people. Interviewing is a good start, and if you have never done videos before, you might want to start there.
Plus by doing an interview, you establish yourself as an authority figure because when you interview other experts, people naturally assume you are one of their peers.
Using Zoom
The platform I use for interviews is Zoom. Zoom is quite possibly the most fantastic platform I’ve come across, and I’ve used several of them.
Zoom is an online video communicator. Now the good news is that Zoom is free!
Well not entirely, but for those of you just getting started, it’s free enough. When you sign up for an account with Zoom, you can use the platform for free with some limitations. You can set up a conference call, invite participants, and record your call all for free within their platform.
This feature is great! Imagine interviewing with another person. You get to practice your video skills, you establish yourself as an authority who is interviewing another expert, and you will have some informational and useful videos for your audience to put up on your website.
Imagine you are own a coaching business which helps cancer patients—you could interview a nurse practitioner or physician in cancer care about a certain topic that would be of interest to your audience. Or do you own a business centered around infant care—you could look at the questions your audience has and invite experts onto Zoom to interview who could answer those questions.
The downside is that Zoom only lets you record for 40 minutes for free. After 40 minutes, the platform cuts you off and doesn’t give you any warning. So if you are in mid-thought or mid-sentence, it’s game over. This interview could be embarrassing if it’s going well. You would have to set up another meeting and reconnect with your guest. But if your interviews are 20–30 minutes, this could be perfect.
Now you can upgrade to a paid pro account which is what I have for $14.99 per month. The only reason I have the pro account is because of the time limit of 40 minutes, and in reality, most of the interviews I have done are under 40 minutes. It’s just the stress of a time limit makes me anxious, and I have enough anxiety in my life without watching the clock!
Now there are tons of options that you can add on to Zoom, such as webinars, or rooms, but they are an additional cost. For example, to add the webinar function, it will cost an additional $40 per month. I have found that I can invite people to a conference meeting, and it serves the same function as a webinar. You can still ask people to register by email (and collecting emails is an absolute must that we will talk about in another blog). You can record the conference and post it as a recording that people can watch later.
If you have a hosting service like YouTube or Vimeo, you can make your video hidden so that only people with a special link can access it, or you can post right on your website for everyone to view. What you want to use it for is up to you.
10 Ways To Use Zoom
1. Interview experts in your field
2. Record your 1:1 coaching sessions for your clients or your feedback
3. Record testimonials
4. Create break out rooms. For example, you could bring in 10 people at once and then put 2–3 people in one room, 2–3 in another, and so on, to address them on different issues
5. Host a webinar or conference call
6. Host a virtual summit
7. Have a panel discussion
8. Highlight participants in a “hot seat” situation, where you ask what the issue is and then solve it for the person in front of your Zoom audience
9. Be able to control speaker/video controls for your panelist
10. Collect emails when people join your conference call
Whatever you decide to do, I would encourage you to practice your video skills. Conducting interviews is not only an excellent way to practice your video skills, but you also get the added benefit of being seen as an expert by interviewing other experts. Plus it’s added value for your audience!
Ok to sum up:
Do videos for your business
Try interviewing people to answer questions your audience would be interested in
Use Zoom to schedule your interviews, and it’s very professional!
If you are using the free version, make sure your interview is less than 40 minutes OR schedule back to back meetings with your guest.
Let us know in the Facebook group how it goes!
If you aren’t part of our amazing Facebook Group, you are missing out! Click here to become a part of energetic NursePreneurs learning about Business + Marketing.
Ok to sum up:
- Do videos for your business
- Try interviewing people to answer questions your audience would be interested in
- Use Zoom to schedule your interviews, it’s very professional!
If you are using the free version, make sure your interview is less than 40 minutes OR schedule back to back meetings with your guest
Let us know in the Facebook group how it goes!