Using Short Videos to Grow Your Business

[Andy Black]

Thought we could discuss short videos in this thread.

Remember, this is a forum for producers so think about this from the perspective of a producer not a consumer. Even if you don't watch or like short videos they're a massive opportunity for businesses right now and will be even more so going forward.


Why Short Video:

1. People watch them and platforms are crying out for more videos to keep people on their platforms.
   
   > If the average long YouTube video is 10 mins and people watch 50% then YouTube needs to serve 12 videos to keep someone watching for an hour.
   
   > If the average YouTube short is 30 secs and people watch 50% then YouTube needs to serve 240 videos to keep someone watching for an hour. Platforms NEED more short videos.
   
   
2. Short videos are quicker to create so you can publish more regularly.
   
   > You'll get more reps in and iterate faster.
   
   > You'll also put more videos out and find out what resonates with your market quicker.
   
   
3. Organic viewership can be large for short videos.
   
   > Platforms like TikTok and YouTube Shorts are merit based. Each video mostly performs based on it's own merits. Facebook and LinkedIn are (currently) social networks - so the bigger the audience you have the more chance of getting views. @ZCP has only 1,604 followers and 38 videos, yet one of his TikTok videos has 839k views.
   
   
4. You get in front of people who don't already know you.
   
   > See 3. above. I've 41 followers on TikTok and only a dozen videos, yet my last video has 1,141 views. Those views are clearly not just from people following me.
   
   > Consider the advice: "Stop telling the same people different things Tell different people the same thing."
   
   
5. Shorter content forces you to get to the point, and get better at creating content.
   
   > People are tired of keyword stuffed articles and fluffed out videos and books. Even Google is starting to prioritise short videos (or links to chapters in longer videos) on it's own search engine.
   
   > When you've only 30s to get a point across you'll spend much more time figuring out how to do so.
   
   
6. The short videos (and skills acquired to created them) lend themselves to creating ads, and improve your copywriting and thinking anyway.
   
   > Ads are often short. 6 second non-skippable ads are a thing on YouTube.

Platforms:

• YouTube Shorts.
• TikTok.
• Instagram Reels.
• Facebook (pages and personal profiles).
• LinkedIn.
• Others? (Reply below and I'll update this list)

Tools:

• The best camera is the one in your pocket. Use your phone, it's better than your webcam anyway.
• Talking head works, but there are great videos showing products - often created on phones too.
• Descript.com is great for editing talking head video and adding automated captions.
• CapCut.com is free and from TikTok themselves.
• Canva.com now has video creation and editing.
• Someone shared veet.io with me.
• Others? (Reply below and I'll update this list)

Useful/related threads:

• MARKETING - How To Growth Hack Your Social Media Without Hoping (2022)
• Others? (Reply below and I'll update this list)

Progress threads:

• There's a master thread for YouTube progress threads, but it's not specific to short video. You might find it useful anyway HERE.
• I've a YouTube/TikTok thread but it's long. The part about short videos and TikTok starts HERE.
• Others? (Reply below and I'll update this list)

Related marketplace ads:

• @BigRomeDawg 's YouTube Video Editing, Long-form and Shorts, Instagram Reels, TikToks - Superspreader Media.
• @mikecarlooch 's Get 100,000+ New Eyeballs On Your Brand
• Others? (Reply below and I'll update this list)

What's your thoughts, experience, suggestions?

 

Don't like ads? Remove them while supporting the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[mikecarlooch]

Thought we could discuss short videos in this thread.

Remember, this is a forum for producers so think about this from the perspective of a producer not a consumer. Even if you don't watch or like short videos they're a massive opportunity for businesses right now and will be even more so going forward.


Why Short Video:

1. People watch them and platforms are crying out for more videos to keep people on their platforms.
   
   > If the average long YouTube video is 10 mins and people watch 50% then YouTube needs to serve 12 videos to keep someone watching for an hour.
   
   > If the average YouTube short is 30 secs and people watch 50% then YouTube needs to serve 240 videos to keep someone watching for an hour. Platforms NEED more short videos.
   
   
2. Short videos are quicker to create so you can publish more regularly.
   
   > You'll get more reps in and iterate faster.
   
   > You'll also put more videos out and find out what resonates with your market quicker.
   
   
3. Organic viewership can be large for short videos.
   
   > Platforms like TikTok and YouTube Shorts are merit based. Each video mostly performs based on it's own merits. Facebook and LinkedIn are (currently) social networks - so the bigger the audience you have the more chance of getting views. @ZCP has only 1,604 followers and 38 videos, yet one of his TikTok videos has 839k views.
   
   
4. You get in front of people who don't already know you.
   
   > See 3. above. I've 41 followers on TikTok and only a dozen videos, yet my last video has 1,141 views. That's clearly from people who aren't following me.
   
   > Consider the line: "Stop telling the same people different things, tell different people the same things."
   
   
5. Shorter content forces you to get to the point, and get better at creating content.
   
   > People are tired of keyword stuffed articles and fluffed out videos and books. Even Google is starting to prioritise short videos (or links to chapters in longer videos) on it's own search engine.
   
   > When you've only 30s to get a point across you'll spend much more time figuring out how to do so.
   
   
6. The short videos (and skills acquired to created them) lend themselves to creating ads, and improve your copywriting and thinking anyway.
   
   > Ads are often short. 6 second non-skippable ads are a thing on YouTube.

I also think that the last few years with tiktok have completely changed the game for video as a WHOLE. Even if tiktok, youtube shorts, instagram reels become extinct (which they won't), there will always be another platform that offers the short videos in order to beat out a competitor platform.

I think social media platforms are starting to realize that if they DON'T offer their own version of "reels" they are missing out and will be dominated by their competition.

Short videos are also a great thing because a good, valuable short video respects people's time. Someone can be scrolling on their feed, and all of a sudden something super relevant to them pops up and gives them a small dopamine hit of mental clarity from learning something new so fast.

Useful/related threads:

• https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...k-your-social-media-without-hoping-2022.10533
• Others? (Reply below and I'll update this list)

Thanks for tagging my thread! the link you posted doesn't seem to be working however - here is a new one: MARKETING - How To Growth Hack Your Social Media Without Hoping (2022)

 

[Andy Black]

I also think that the last few years with tiktok have completely changed the game for video as a WHOLE. Even if tiktok, youtube shorts, instagram reels become extinct (which they won't), there will always be another platform that offers the short videos in order to beat out a competitor platform.

I think social media platforms are starting to realize that if they DON'T offer their own version of "reels" they are missing out and will be dominated by their competition.

Short videos are also a great thing because a good, valuable short video respects people's time. Someone can be scrolling on their feed, and all of a sudden something super relevant to them pops up and gives them a small dopamine hit of mental clarity from learning something new so fast.

I've found amazing little videos on TikTok that explain ONE nugget really well.
People are tired of fluff. The world wants short videos and articles.

Thanks for tagging my thread! the link you posted doesn't seem to be working however - here is a new one: MARKETING - How To Growth Hack Your Social Media Without Hoping (2022)

Fixed.

 

[mikecarlooch]

Here's a great gold nugget I've learned from posting over 1,700 short videos

People that post underground actionable shorts will beat people that post purely motivational shorts.

I've noticed that the people posting motivational shorts without any actionable ideas OR ideas that are widely known about (meaning lots of people are saying the same thing over and over again) become extremely repetitive and people actually start to get disinterested in watching.

This lack of knowledge in certain fields creates a massive opportunity gap for those who have insights that aren't available widely throughout the internet, OR if you can structure the wording in your video in a way that makes the thing you are talking about seem novel.. People will see you as the expert over others.

HOWEVER (don't make the following mistake)!

One of the biggest mistakes I see experts without much attention on social media making is.. They are giving GEM information that if a lot of people watched the whole video and truly understood it, they would be MASSIVE in their industry on social media..

But the problem is, they are talking about things that are so new or unknown to the general public that when someone comes across their video and they see something that they can't really understand or see how knowing what the hook in the video says will help them.

Here's how to fix this:

1. Instead of making the title of your short video something like "Here's how to compile data into blah blah blah" ... position the title of the video as a HACK or a SECRET strategy in a certain industry.

2. After you've pointed out that it's a hack or a secret strategy, explain in a short fashion the biggest benefit that the viewer will get from knowing and understanding this new concept that you are about to teach them..

3. When you are presenting the information, be careful not to confuse people. Have you ever heard about Donald Trump speaking in a 2nd grade fashion to win the election compared to other candidates speaking in a 9th grade fashion? You should do the same things when presenting your actionable ideas.

Make it stupid simple for people to understand and don't use big words.. You'll get a much larger audience!

Something I heard recently that changed my mindset about posting content is..

Share your ideas on social media like you're running for president

More tips coming,

Mike

 

Don't like ads? Remove them while supporting the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Andy Black]

One of the biggest mistakes I see experts without much attention on social media making is.. They are giving GEM information that if a lot of people watched the whole video and truly understood it, they would be MASSIVE in their industry on social media..

But the problem is, they are talking about things that are so new or unknown to the general public that when someone comes across their video and they see something that they can't really understand or see how knowing what the hook in the video says will help them.

This is exactly what I'm working on at the moment. I used to just do geeky how-to videos for Google Ads. The vast majority of people interested in business aren't interested enough to sit through Google Ads how-to videos.

I'm now trying to create content that appeals to more people interested in business.

And I'm trying to make it actionable and inspire people to take action.

I've noticed that my 10s videos on TikTok don't get as many Likes as my 30s ones which have a bit more meat (the sample size is only a dozen videos so far so I could be wrong).

It might be that the sweet spot for me is 15s videos with a short story and one simple yet actionable takeaway that inspires people to both believe they can do it *and* take action.

 

[heavy_industry]

Great post!

Another advantage of short videos is that they are more suitable to the gold-fish attention span of 2022 internet users.

 

[Andy Black]

Great post!

Another advantage of short videos is that they are more suitable to the gold-fish attention span of 2022 internet users.

I wonder about this.

How do we reconcile Netflix binge-watching being a thing now, and shortened attention spans?

Could it be people are tired of fluffed out content and are voting with their feet?

Does longer form content not get watched because it's longer, or because it's cr@p?

 

Don't like ads? Remove them while supporting the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[heavy_industry]

How do we reconcile Netflix binge-watching being a thing now, and shortened attention spans?

The stuff shown on Netflix is designed to be addictive and keep the viewer rooted on their sofa. The attention span problem only comes into play when the content is informative in nature (and not necessarily entertaining) and the user needs to pay attention for longer to get the information.

 

[BigRomeDawg]

I wonder about this.

How do we reconcile Netflix binge-watching being a thing now, and shortened attention spans?

Could it be people are tired of fluffed out content and are voting with their feet?

Does longer form content not get watched because it's longer, or because it's cr@p?

Shorts are like window shopping, to me. If a creator piques my interest, I'll step inside. See what their long form is like. If it's good, I'll become a customer.

Having more choices means not having to settle. In all areas of life.

 

[BigRomeDawg]

Share your ideas on social media like you're running for president

LOVE this! I've lived by a similar phrase for years: whenever I'm in a new city, I network like I'm running for mayor.

Fully expect you to be suited up behind a podium in your next videos.

 

Don't like ads? Remove them while supporting the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[mikecarlooch]

LOVE this! I've lived by a similar phrase for years: whenever I'm in a new city, I network like I'm running for mayor.

Fully expect you to be suited up behind a podium in your next videos.

LOL!

Actually, phenomenal idea.

I will be like that "Kid President" dude on social media

PS: I'm not joking! BOLO for next batch of vids I post

The MyPillow guy is my inspo for something like this

 

[Andy Black]

LOL!

Actually, phenomenal idea.

I will be like that "Kid President" dude on social media

PS: I'm not joking! BOLO for next batch of vids I post

The MyPillow guy is my inspo for something like this

Sigh. Now what are the kids talking about with BOLO?

Mike... found your personal channel on TikTok. 264k followers and then you stopped posting for a couple of years?

 

[mikecarlooch]

Sigh. Now what are the kids talking about with BOLO?

Mike... found your personal channel on TikTok. 264k followers and then you stopped posting for a couple of years?

@Andy Black

I actually post on my other account @mikecarlooch quite a bit

I stopped posting on the other one a while ago and archived most videos because it wasn’t the audience I wanted to reach…

Probably was a limiting belief and should’ve kept going; (most likely would be at millions of followers at this point)

But built up an audience of 50k on my other account and happy with the audience I reach there!

BTW:

I have all of these followers on that account some even follow me religiously (DM's on instagram and everything..) but I don't know what to do with the audience..

Do you have any tips?

 

Don't like ads? Remove them while supporting the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Kak]

Shorts are like window shopping, to me. If a creator piques my interest, I'll step inside. See what their long form is like. If it's good, I'll become a customer.

Having more choices means not having to settle. In all areas of life.

This is my hypothesis as well! Nice. You confirmed something for me.

 

[mikecarlooch]

This is exactly what I'm working on at the moment. I used to just do geeky how-to videos for Google Ads. The vast majority of people interested in business aren't interested enough to sit through Google Ads how-to videos.

I'm now trying to create content that appeals to more people interested in business.

And I'm trying to make it actionable and inspire people to take action.

I've noticed that my 10s videos on TikTok don't get as many Likes as my 30s ones which have a bit more meat (the sample size is only a dozen videos so far so I could be wrong).

It might be that the sweet spot for me is 15s videos with a short story and one simple yet actionable takeaway that inspires people to both believe they can do it *and* take action.

Exactly!!

So many more people will be interested in business-centric content..

As a matter of fact, I post some myself to my audience and it's some of the most-responded to content on my page! (in terms of comments)

 

[Private Witt]

Share your ideas on social media like you're running for president

More tips coming,

This is a great tip, thanks. Id never want to be president though, this would be a disaster, but I'd be thrilled to have a President DeMarco and Vice President Kak.

 

Don't like ads? Remove them while supporting the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Andy Black]

This is my hypothesis as well! Nice. You confirmed something for me.

I think of our short content as bread crumbs strewn across the internet that lead back to us. TikTok and YouTube Shorts especially get our breadcrumbs in front of brand new people who've never encountered us.

We've 3s to hook them into that first piece of short content, and that short content should add so much value they want to check more of our short content.

Get them binge-watching our library of short content and some will follow us, some will check out our bio, and some will head over to the link in our bio.

So that first piece of content should be us putting our best foot forward. For you @Kak, I'd think that's you speaking one golden nugget to camera so people get to know you. That nugget might have been dropped in your podcast but I don't think a still image with a voice will be as effective. Can you do video podcasts so you can pull video extracts out?

 

[Andy Black]

@Andy Black

I actually post on my other account @mikecarlooch quite a bit

I stopped posting on the other one a while ago and archived most videos because it wasn’t the audience I wanted to reach…

Probably was a limiting belief and should’ve kept going; (most likely would be at millions of followers at this point)

But built up an audience of 50k on my other account and happy with the audience I reach there!

BTW:

I have all of these followers on that account some even follow me religiously (DM's on instagram and everything..) but I don't know what to do with the audience..

Do you have any tips?

Post the type of content you want to post, and see if the audience likes it. They may well love it.

For my TikTok and YouTube I decided to remove links to my linktree style website and not presume I know what people want from me (currently my links are Google Ads related).

Instead, I'll post videos of things I repeat over and over, and that I want to send people to in future.

I'm even thinking longer term than that, about this being my legacy. I want those little videos to be around when I'm gone and my kids and future grandkids can watch them and learn and remember me. I've a way to go to make the videos how I want. My onscreen persona isn't really me, and I'd rather it was as if I'm chatting to my kids or a nephew (I know a 13 year old nephew follows me on TikTok and I've inspired him to start creating TikToks).

Shorter term I'll keep posting, getting better, and building engaged subscribers/followers till they start asking for more content and/or I get a "shut up and take my money" moment. What happened in this forum is someone PMd to say it took them 18 hours to get through all my Google Ads content, while others asked if I had a course/book/podcast/etc.

 

[MitchC]

Posting to reels on Instagram and then ticking the box to have them recommended on Facebook is almost like a cheat code to free views, I have no idea why, maybe there’s more inventory on Facebook and less videos? You won’t be able to boost the post if you do that but who cares. One of mine got 2.5m views recently so it happens.

 

Don't like ads? Remove them while supporting the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Andy Black]

Posting to reels on Instagram and then ticking the box to have them recommended on Facebook is almost like a cheat code to free views, I have no idea why, maybe there’s more inventory on Facebook and less videos? You won’t be able to boost the post if you do that but who cares. One of mine got 2.5m views recently so it happens.

I posted twice to Instagram last week and someone said they weren't reels. Doh.

2.5m views is amazing! 2.5m people saw your reel. Dayum.

 

[MTF]

I'm skeptical of shorts so I'm going to challenge you guys a little with my question...

There's all this talk in this thread about all the views people are getting. But are you getting clicks to your website? Sign-ups? Sales?

Mike posted this:

I have all of these followers on that account some even follow me religiously (DM's on instagram and everything..) but I don't know what to do with the audience..

What's the point of building these big audiences if they only consume your content on TikTok or whatever but never do anything that really matters?

Who cares that you got 2.5M views if that didn't lead to anything else?

Sounds to me like chasing vanity metrics.

 

[Andy Black]

I'm skeptical of shorts so I'm going to challenge you guys a little with my question...

There's all this talk in this thread about all the views people are getting. But are you getting clicks to your website? Sign-ups? Sales?

Mike posted this:



What's the point of building these big audiences if they only consume your content on TikTok or whatever but never do anything that really matters?

Who cares that you got 2.5M views if that didn't lead to anything else?

Sounds to me like chasing vanity metrics.

Step 1: Get in front of people.

Step 2: Add so much value so quickly that they like your content.

Step 3: Get them to follow for more value and/or check out the link in your bio to learn more.

Step 4: Let people who want more find your longer content, newsletter, products, services, etc.

Create raving fans or champions and you can figure it out from there.

Getting millions of eyeballs is valuable in itself. Lots of businesses don't know how to do that and pay handsomely for it. That's what Google and Facebook make their money with after all.

 

Don't like ads? Remove them while supporting the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MTF]

Step 1: Get in front of people.

Step 2: Add so much value so quickly that they like your content.

Step 3: Get them to follow for more value and/or check out the link in your bio to learn more.

Step 4: Let people who want more find your longer content, newsletter, products, services, etc.

Create raving fans or champions and you can figure it out from there.

Getting millions of eyeballs is valuable in itself. Lots of businesses dont know how to do that and pay handsomely for it. That's what Google and Facebook make their money with after all.

Okay that's great in theory. And where are the metrics? Can anyone provide their own data or a case study of someone's clear correlation or directly attributed sales from TikTok?

Everyone is like "look man, my video got 565k views." Nobody is like: "this video generated xxxx in sales for me."

Everyone is so enamored with that social media ego stroke but who's actually doing the math to figure out if it really makes a noticeable difference in your business that's worth your time?

I'll change my mind if I get real data with meaningful metrics.

 

[MitchC]

There's all this talk in this thread about all the views people are getting.

Who cares that you got 2.5M views if that didn't lead to anything else?

2.5m free views on a video I edited originally to run as an ad. Let people celebrate their wins even if it's a vanity metric.

Massive businesses are being built almost overnight off of videos going viral on these platforms.

I will admit mine must have hit the wrong country or audience as it didn't do much for sales but who cares? The potential is there for it to hit the right audience or country and blow your business up, why not try?

 

[MTF]

2.5m free views on a video I edited originally to run as an ad. Let people celebrate their wins even if it's a vanity metric.

Massive businesses are being built almost overnight off of videos going viral on these platforms.

I will admit mine must have hit the wrong country or audience as it didn't do much for sales but who cares? The potential is there for it to hit the right audience or country and blow your business up, why not try?

It's s business forum so I'm asking for business results and case studies, ideally for real businesses and not gimmicky short-lived meme brands.

Your example only shows that many people may be wasting a lot of time never once questioning what they're doing and if it's producing results they're after.

 

Don't like ads? Remove them while supporting the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MitchC]

It's s business forum so I'm asking for business results and case studies, ideally for real businesses and not gimmicky short-lived meme brands.

No, you're just being negative and shitting on a massive opportunity that's working for 1000's of businesses because you have a thing against social media and short videos and now you want to be spoon fed case studies because you can't use enough imagination to work out how this could possibly benefit a business, and if I share any you are going to call them gimmicky short-lived meme brands even though they make real money.

 

[Andy Black]

Not here to convince you @MTF. Your language suggests you already decided it's a waste of time and effort.

I built my business by helping people for free with no expectation of anything in return.

I subscribe to the Mother Theresa quote in my signature.

Funnily enough, I provide a direct response service to businesses yet I don't do it for my own and it's done just fine.

I've made money selling courses without even promoting them.

Most of the "content" I put out isn't even about Google Ads, it's just me being helpful, cheerful, and supportive. That's enough for people to refer my DFY services or my courses.

Me getting good at short video means me getting good at writing hooks and stories, delivering them, getting comfortable on camera, etc. It's forcing me to grow my copywriting, communication, and marketing skills - rapidly.

I've been on this little journey again for only two weeks and had loads of messages from people thanking me for them. I apparently also inspired others to start/restart creating shorts too. So I'm helping people move from consumer to producer... for the time spent on my part it feels like an outsized impact.

Oh, and look up the story of Miss Excel. She made learning Excel fun and is hitting 7 figure months selling courses now. Many doors have opened for her, including becoming a Microsoft Ambassador.

 

[doster.zach]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1570494379739205636

View: https://twitter.com/Liv_Boeree/status/1570494379739205636

 

Don't like ads? Remove them while supporting the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Andy Black]

Love this guy's TikTok account, and his loops are a work of art:

Jamie on TikTok

How to delight your freelance clients #freelancer #TalkToClients #clientwork #selfemployed

www.tiktok.com

 

[mikecarlooch]

Local Businesses... Should Be Using Short Videos?

"The Needle In a Haystack"
​

Recently, I've been speaking with wellness centers and health entrepreneurs like chiropractors and physical therapists in my state (New Jersey).

Almost every single one of the doctor entrepreneurs I've spoken with and seen on social media have one thing in common..

They all are excruciatingly bad at social media.

I don't say that to be rude, but rather I say it because I spotted an opportunity.

A couple days ago I was on a call with my mom, who is also a chiropractor in the New Jersey area.

She is kind of in that mode where she is posting on social media (mostly because of me..lol), but it's not a professional thing that is taken very serious.

She proceeded to tell me that 4 of the customers she's gotten in the past month that came into her office came from Instagram Reels.

Meaning her video popped up on people's pages that were located in her exact location.

I was honestly in shock.. Because the reels she posts aren't that great.. and she doesn't necessarily post them that often, maybe once every other day.

And then I had an epiphany about local businesses using social media..!

Immediately, I made a pretty bold projection.

I told my mom that the first chiropractor to be ahead of the curve and start taking social media seriously on the BIG 4: TikTok, Instagram reels, YouTube shorts, and Facebook Reels..

Will become the GO-TO doctor within a large radius of her area.. Just because everybody else sucks so bad!

I mean it's not surprising, right? The people running the practices are the same ones who decided to open up a local chiropractic practice... inside of a sea of local chiropractic practices.

So most of them just don't know marketing or even care that much to learn it.

But for local businesses, I'm not even just suggesting that you post videos and hope that they reach people..

I'm saying that you post engaging videos (that will reach people if you post enough.. and distribute enough) and then instead of doing it to just get inbound viewers..

Use this awesome-looking social media page with super educational content (which none of your competitors are doing because they don't know how) as a credibility statement, and then do hand-to-hand combat to get people in your area to click on your page..

My philosophy is that if you post content like how a good YouTuber posts content for their audience, the people who click on your page will have never seen anyone like you in their local area posting on social media and helping people the way you do.

Naturally, this will make people trust your business more than any single business out there.

You may be wondering what I mean by hand-to-hand combat?

All it means is, after you have a portfolio of awesome educational content posted..

1. simply go to any social media platform that you're posting on..
2. type in the exact location of your local business in the search bar
3. leave thoughtful comments on people's posts in your area

This will cause people to click your page and see something they don't usually see.

The moral of the story is, I told my mom "If you're getting 4 customers in a month from barely doing anything, imagine what could happen if you started doing (what I just said above) and started taking social media more seriously?"

Hope this was valuable

Mike