Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Here's something I genuinely believe about every agent and advisor listening to this today. You are already one of the best communicators in your market and you simplify complex topics that confuse people.
Not to mention you can earn trust in a single conversation. Those skills matter now more than ever. But here's what frustrates me in the best possible way. A lot of you aren't putting it on camera yet, and I don't think it's because you're camera shy, although that might be the case. I think it's because you don't know where to start or you think you just don't have the time. Or maybe it just hasn't felt like the right moment. Well, today, today is that right moment, because short form video is the single biggest discovery tool available to you right now. So Jo and I are going to show you exactly how simple it really is, why it works and how to get started. I'm David Belleville.
[00:00:47] Speaker B: And I'm Jo Barker and this is
[00:00:49] Speaker A: the Amerilife Marketing Mentors podcast.
All right, Jo, let's start here. When we say short form video, especially for an agent or adv, what are we talking about?
[00:01:05] Speaker B: It is videos that people can consume that, that are usually no longer than a minute, minute and a half. You see a lot that are out there, a lot shorter than that also. And it's very easily consumable. Quick short videos providing value or giving a snippet of longer form video. It's entertainment. It is very popular right now. And we recently learned at the, we did a survey at medicareans that it's the preferred method of actually learning.
[00:01:32] Speaker A: Yeah, we, we surveyed over 150 agents back in April at Medicarians in Las Vegas. And what we found is that is how they prefer to learn. But Jo, we also learned that it's also one of the most underutilized channels when it comes to marketing. And so we know that there's an appetite out there. There's obviously a popularity to short form video since 2020 when the pandemic happened. TikTok really gained, I mean it took over, it gained so much popularity. And now we've got Instagram reels, we've got YouTube shorts.
But I think one misconception is, is that you need an elaborate setup like this to get started. But it's way simpler than that.
[00:02:15] Speaker B: Yeah, I actually just had a call last week with a group that is interested in doing short form and that was one of their exact questions of well, what do I need to get it done? And I Told him. I was like, if you look at any of the short, like the short one minute videos I do for LinkedIn, it's my phone and all I did was put a mic on and so I want to make sure it sounds good. I didn't use lighting besides what was around me. And that's all I used. I used a good mic that plugged right into my cell phone and I shot the video right there. And I do all of those. I try to keep them below a minute. Sometimes they go to a minute and a half, but I try to keep them as quick as I can. And that's really all you need?
[00:02:50] Speaker A: Yeah, it's really that simple. I think it can be so easy to overthink what you need to create. But if you have a smartph with a camera and a decent light source and a microphone, that's often, as you just said, all you need. And there are a lot of different content formats out there. Short form video is just one of them.
And there's also a ton of different platforms. It can feel overwhelming if you're not in the marketing space every day. So before we start diving into how to leverage best practices when it comes to short form video, why is this different than all of those other pieces of content out there?
[00:03:26] Speaker B: It gives you the opportunity to get in front of so many people so much faster. And so those shorts or those reels are being delivered nonstop every single day. And they're, you know, the platforms are trying to match their audience to what it is that they like. So they're constantly putting as many shorts out there as, I mean, I, I don't even know what the up to date number is now of how many shorts are being created every single day because there's so much consumption of them. So the biggest thing is putting them out there and it's the reach that you're going to get out of that. When you look at our longer form YouTube videos compared to our shorts, our shorts truly dominate in the amount of viewership and the amount of engagement that we get on them. And then we're utilizing that to tie it back to our longer form content and say, hey, go learn more by going over here. It works, the system works. And people love those shorts 100%.
[00:04:18] Speaker A: You talked about our success on YouTube. I want to revisit that. But on Facebook in quarter one and as the Amerilife marketing mentors, we want to use ourselves as proof of concept and we had a 39 times greater reach than our actual audience size. So in other words, our content was seen 30 times, nine times by a greater audience than our actual audience on Facebook. And that's largely having to do with reels. We cross posted reels from Instagram to Facebook, so we saw a significant amount of reach despite our audience size. And that matters too, because of what you just said. This now acts as a discovery layer for people to find you in your business. And then you mentioned it. The next step in that journey is to watch a longer form piece of content or follow.
And I, Jo, I, I want to name something here as well that I think a lot of agents and advisors don't always say out loud. We know that this isn't a knowledge problem. They have the knowledge. So what do you say when a person knows that they should be filming this type of content, but perhaps they're making excuses or they say they don't have the time. What is your piece of advice? To just get started?
[00:05:28] Speaker B: I think a lot of people, it's, they do know that they should be doing it. They do know that they have the content. It's intimidating. If you've never created videos before, I think you overthink it too much. And so as you create a piece of content, you're, you're judging yourself and you're over critiquing yourself. You have to get to a point where you just create the video and you post it. The good thing is, is as you start creating, you know it's not going to hit millions of people. You don't have to worry about going viral right away or anything like that. You can, you really can use it to get better and better and get more comfortable. I think it was Mr. Beast who said years ago that his first hundred videos were horrible. And he knew it, but, but he knew nobody was really paying attention in any way. And so he used that knowing I've got to create a hundred just to get comfortable. And then he got better and better and better, obviously, as he started to realize what his audience liked and he just kept going with it.
But it's, it is a good reminder that you just have to start. That's the hardest part.
And it's so easy to think of the content. I mean, it's one minute, within a minute, you're giving, you know, you're able to ask the question and give the answer. What is digital marketing? This is what digital marketing is. And you just say it in your own words. A minute goes by very, very, very quick. And it really is just a matter of people getting comfortable with it, getting used to it, putting it out there. And honestly, you could even put it out there as non public on your Facebook page and ask your friends and family to critique it. And if you're that worried about it, that's one way to get started is just put it out there like that, ask them, hey, what do you think? And then take back that feedback. But you have to be open to know maybe not everybody's going to like it. It's okay there, you know, and that's it's just getting comfortable online and getting comfortable with putting yourself out there.
[00:07:11] Speaker A: One thing I'll add to that, Jo, is you're right, a lot of people out there do are intimidated to get started. There's a hesitation there, but that's where I want you to listen up. Because that hesitation could be your opportunity. Because if you think you're the only one that's intimidated about just getting started or second guessing yourself or thinking, oh well, this won't matter to me or my, then you're just one of many, many, many others out there with that same mindset. So the key here could be just you getting started because your competition is having the same internal struggle. So that could be the difference is that hesitation.
We've talked about what short form video is. I want to continue this conversation into why this matters so much and get into what is actually possible once you start leveraging short form video and showing up on camera. We just talked about this. I think the key word here is courage and that starts to take care of itself when you understand the benefits of short form video. So Jo, we say it all the time, short form video is king. You had just said that. So let's make the case. Why does short form video matter so much, especially to agents and advisors? And why right now?
[00:08:21] Speaker B: It's the platform that agents and advisors need to reach more audience. Especially if you're in a local area, if you can tie in any of those local pieces to it, it's your way of, of sharing your knowledge and your education and trying to reach more people without them having to follow you or without them having to already be connected with you. So an example of that would be if I was a Medicare agent and I was doing educational seminars at my local library, I would go on there and say, hey, I, you know, here's a frequently asked question that I'm asked all the time. You, here's what the answer is. By the way, if you are new to Medicare and you want to learn more, I give every Thursday seminars over at so and so Library, come see me Those are the type of things that you can, you can create very quickly. You're just providing value and keep that. And that's the major thing to keep in mind. As long as you're providing value, you're not going on there and giving a sales pitch. You're not saying, hey, if you need help with your Medicare, you need to come see me. You're saying, here's a frequently asked question that I'm always asked. Here's the answer to that. If you know, if you have more questions, please contact me. Otherwise, just so you know, this is where I'll be at the last Thursday of every single month and come see me there. Something along those lines. But the reach that you get from short form video and the consumption of how many people are consuming it, it's. We always say it's really hard to create a behavior, but it's really easy to meet people where they're at. This is where they're at. They're on YouTube watching shorts, they're on Facebook watching. That is where you need to be. You have to meet them where they're at. And it's becoming critical. And those that are willing to do it and put themselves out there are going to be the ones that are going to, that are going to grow their audiences quicker because they did it.
[00:09:57] Speaker A: Yeah, consumer behavior has changed and it's changed significantly. It's very rare these days, especially the younger your audience gets to just assume that they're going to pick up the phone to start researching their decision. They're online or well before they ever do make that phone call. And if you are getting discovered on YouTube via your YouTube shorts or wherever you're posting that content, that just gives credibility to the point you're making. And it could very well lead to your next client if you're being exposed on their timeline and you're in their market. So it's just another level of discoverability that is so important and impactful. And you and I both know that trust is the whole name of the game in this industry. And short form video can be a massive trust builder as well. Is there anything that you want to add to that?
[00:10:50] Speaker B: Putting yourself out there and putting your name and your image as the one who's providing the value and providing the answers to those questions.
People trust people. And so there's a ton of content out there right now. There's a ton of AI content out there right now. And the fact is, is that we know when, especially in that 50 year old plus market, we know they do like to do their own research, they do like to learn for themselves. But whenever they get close to that buying stage, they want to talk to somebody. They always want to talk to somebody. And so that's where that is really critical. And the more that you can put out there those questions and those answers as they're researching to be that, that person that they build trust with. And you haven't even met them yet and they already begin to trust you because you provided them so much value and you answered questions and without asking for anything in return.
[00:11:38] Speaker A: And you said people trust people. And when we talk about different types of content that's out there, short form video is often like the most intimate you can get with your audience. I mean, oftentimes you're having a conversation that's close with whoever's on your screen as opposed to coming across a graphic on social media or perhaps getting a general email.
These are very, it can feel very personal just because of the proximity and how we consume this type of video. So it's just another level of how you can be building trust over your competition.
Now let's paint a picture here for the agent or advisor who commits to this. As we mentioned before, the hardest part is just getting started. So if you actually stick with it, what does the horizon look like six months from now to someone who does it consistently?
[00:12:26] Speaker B: Well, you have to be following the analytics. You have to see what is resonating with your audience. So as you're producing those pieces of content, it's actually checking to see how they're performing, see what the impressions look like. How many people was it delivered to?
For those that, that you did get likes or comments or shares or even saves to their message, you know, saves to their phone, pay attention to those type of things. If you do it the right way, you should see that your impression share is growing over, you know, over that six month period. If you're doing it consistently also. So it's not just going out there and putting out one short form video and then waiting six months and saying, oh, how did it do? It's consistently being able to put yourself out there, create two or three shorts a week, get them out there and answer and provide as much value as you can. If you're providing value, it is going to resonate and people are going to want to, you know, to keep following along to, to learn more. If you're giving the value that they're
[00:13:18] Speaker A: looking for and you need a large enough sample size in order for those that data and analytics that you mentioned to matter.
But if you're not posting consistently across a six month period, then you're not giving yourself a large enough sample size theoretically to be able to make strategic decisions. So another reason why being consistent matters here is so that you have reliable data to be able to make tweaks to perhaps how you intro your videos. We know that two to three seconds is all you have to capture somebody's attention when they're scrolling through their feed. But you don't necessarily know where to make those tweaks in your content if you don't have the data. Another very valuable piece of analytics that you can be looking for is your average view retention, or excuse me, your average view duration. In other words, your retention. Where are people dropping off on your video? That's where you want to be putting some strategy behind it and perhaps change your content strategy a little bit.
[00:14:15] Speaker B: Yeah, I'll pick up just real quick. I was reading an article, I think last week or the week before, I think Bill Decorsi sent it to me and it was about the short form videos and it was about skipping introductions in them. So. And I personally have a huge problem with this. Every video I create, I always want to say, hey, I'm Jo Barker. I. And it's getting to the point where you have to stop doing that. And I have to break that habit of doing that and realize people don't care who I am. I mean, they just want whatever information that it is that you know, if they're interested in the topics that I'm talking about. And so I've gotta be able to jump right in and say, did you. Here's a fun fact for you about short form video. This is what you need to do. And that when you jump right into there, you're holding them that much longer and they wanna be able to stay along and get that answer.
[00:14:56] Speaker A: Fantastic point. We know that a massive amount of reach is the opportunity. That is what is available to you. And the only thing standing between where you are right now and that picture that we just painted is knowing how to get started. All right, Jo, the other thing that I hear about all the time, I know you do too, is that I don't know what to say. I don't know what my audience is going to want to listen to. And honestly, it's a lot easier than people think. What would you tell people who ask that question?
[00:15:26] Speaker B: Pay attention to the questions that people are asking you or the comments that they make to you. Those make the best pieces of content. So I'll give an example And I think I've given this one before is we were in a conversation in a meeting with a agent, and I mentioned the word attribution.
And you could tell they were, they weren't really following. And then they finally just asked, they're like, jo, I have no idea what attribution means. And so it was breaking down what we meant when we were saying the attribution model. And, and then as we kept talking in other, you know, you lead into words like CPL or cpa, and then they're like, what do those mean? And so really just starting with the basics of the terms and what they mean. So if you're in, if you're in annuities and you want to talk about a fixed annuity, it's just explaining what it is. So it's taking those, those basic questions and just creating quick shorts out of it. Hey, if you're wondering what this means, here's the answer. But by the way, do you. Next up, I'm going to be talking about this in my next example, so don't overthink it. It can be the basic questions, it can be a quick intro about who you are, and then you do the next one about a day in the life. If you want to, you can do another one about the frequently asked questions that you get. You can do another one about why you got into this industry.
You can do one about a term that you know a lot of people get confused by and what it means in your industry. You, you can answer those questions about, if you're in Medicare, of when can you, when should you start looking at your options of Medicare? Those are all very basic, very easy things to be able to create videos on. And so if you can start out by creating videos that you know so well, the content of, especially your history and stuff like that, it's just going to get easier and easier because then you're going to get more comfortable in front of the camera and you're not going to, you know, you're not going to feel as intimidated and you'll be able to produce, you'll be amazed how much content you can produce and how quickly you can do it.
[00:17:17] Speaker A: And once you get started, you, it starts snowballing, you gain some momentum and things will start happening more naturally for you. We also have a great podcast up right now all about evergreen content. It gets into a lot of what you just discussed, of how to leverage content that has a long shelf life. So you continue to get discovered time and time again. Long, or, excuse me, short form Video is another type of content that will help you get discovered time and time again.
[00:17:41] Speaker B: One thing I will tease is later on, we are going to be shortly, actually we're going to be launching our lms, which is a learning management system. So if you're a part of Amerilife or Amerilise family of companies or associated with any of them, you're going to get access to this LMS to be able to go in there and learn. One of the things that we're going to be sharing is a tool that we use that helps us create those shorts. And we're actually going to show you how we take one long form piece of content and how we can get 30 shorts out of it by utilizing one tool. So, so that's something that we're going to dive into deep within the LMS and definitely is going to be a huge value add. And that's, you know, that's the point of what we do, is to show people exactly how we do it. And there's, there's a great tool out there to utilize that will create all of them for you, including the captions and everything.
[00:18:29] Speaker A: Great. Final point to end on. All right, Jo, before we wrap, I do want to plant a seed for our audience today because we've been talking about the simplest version of all of this, just you and a camera. But there's a whole world beyond this that we could talk about and, and creators have additional tools and formats for short form video, like voiceovers, text on screen, green screen, without going too deep.
The possibilities are endless once you just get started. So let's bring this home. Now we know short form video is the most powerful trust building tool and discovery tool available to agents and advisors right now. The equipment is affordable, the format is simple and the knowledge is already in your head. So don't delay. The time is now. Your competition is hesitating. Don't let that be you. This is how you start to differentiate yourself. Jo, we have many more podcast episodes to come, so be sure to stick around with the Amerilife marketing mentors and we'll see you next time.
