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What can you learn from author Dale Carnegie about how to build a loyal audience for your
online videos? Find out in today's episode.
I'm Jaime Geffner and I'm Steve Geffner and we're the creators and owners of Geffner Productions.
We specialize in Online Video Production, Strategy and Education For The Entrepreneur.
So if YOU'RE an entrepreneur who wants to learn how to use online video to transform
your business, then you're in the right place. Let's Talk Video!
Hi and welcome to the show. Today's viewer question comes from Julie in New York City.
Julie writes: Dear Jaime & Steve,
I'm an entrepreneur who is pretty new to the world of online video and using the internet
to market myself. My question is about how I get people to care about what I have to
offer. How do I build a loyal audience of people who will watch my videos, open my emails
and want to buy my products and services?
Thanks so much Julie. That's a great question!
Julie, there are a lot of factors that go into building and growing a loyal audience
for your business so this is a bit of a loaded question! However, we think that perhaps the
most important thing to focus on when it comes to getting people to care about who you are
and what you have to offer, is that it's not about YOU, it's about what you can do for
THEM!
How you build a relationship with people, and create a large following and a loyal audience
to eventually sell your products and services to, is you figure out what people want and
you do your very best to give it to them. In our experience, this is a 3-step process.
The first step is you need to figure out WHO your audience is. In other words, who do you
want to serve? You may need to start backwards by thinking about what you have to offer in
your area of expertise, and then determining what group of people really needs and wants
that the most.
As an example, we both have a TV production background. With that experience, we have
the ability to produce videos for anyone really. We've literally produced thousands of online
videos in the past few years. But what we realized is that when we tried to serve anyone
and everyone who needs help with their online videos, we weren't able to focus our marketing
specifically enough to reach a large number of people in any one particular area.
However, when we thought about what we have to offer and who really needs it the most,
we realized that the people who we've been helping who really need it and appreciate
it and seem to value it the most are entrepreneurs. So we decided to focus specifically on helping
the entrepreneur learn how to use online video to grow their business.
So our advice is you definitely have to start with this concept in mind.
And keep in mind, you can't fake it... you have to be authentic about wanting to help
the people you serve, so make sure you pick a group of people who it would truly be your
pleasure to work with.
So the first step is to identify WHO you want to help and then, step 2 is you get to know
them, so you can determine what they actually want and need. The best way to do this is
to get out there and spend some time talking to, networking with and asking questions of
your target audience.
Once you've done these first 2 steps you're ready for the 3rd step, which is creating
content that your target audience would want to watch, would be attracted to, and that
would answer their biggest and most important questions in your area of expertise. The key
is you want to try to give them as much of what they want and need as you possibly can.
To illustrate this point even further, this sounds like a perfect time to introduce a
segment we like to call: "Words of Wisdom".
Today's Words of Wisdom come from author Dale Carnegie from his book: "How To Win Friends
And Influence People".
Mr. Carnegie says: "Personally, I am very fond of strawberries
and cream, but I have found that for some strange reason, fish prefer worms. So I went
fishing, I didn't think about what I wanted. I thought about what they wanted. I didn't
bait the hook with strawberries and cream. Rather, I dangled a worm or grasshopper in
front of the fish and said: "Wouldn't you like to have that?" Why not use the same common
sense when fishing for people?"
The exact same rule can apply to building an audience for your online videos. Rather
than focusing on what YOU want to share, focus on what it is THEY want to know and want to
hear about. And then, use your knowledge and expertise to bring that information to them
in an engaging way.
The bottom line is that people will care about what you have to offer IF what you have to
offer helps them! A loyal audience is a group of people who want the information that you
have to share, and see YOU as the person they want to get that information from.
So when it comes to online videos you need to come up with regular content that your
audience wants and needs, and give it to them... and then they will care about your message
and in general your brand, and become your loyal fans, followers and customers!
Thanks so much for your question, Julie -- we really hope that advice helped you!
And for all of you at home, if you enjoyed this video, please leave a comment below.
Tell us: who is YOUR target audience and how do you keep them engaged?
For more great tips and advice about online video production & strategy for the entrepreneur,
make sure you join our mailing list at GeffnerProductions.com to receive weekly blog show episodes just
like this one.
And if you have a question that you'd like answered on an upcoming show, please email
it to us at LetsTalkVideo@GeffnerProductions.com.
Thanks for watching and we'll see you next time!