Video Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses with Chris Van De Hey
The crux of this episode lies in the profound exploration of the transformative power of video marketing for small businesses, as articulated by our guest, Chris Van De Hey, the CEO and co-founder of ConnectVids. Through his engaging narrative, Chris elucidates the evolution of video as an indispensable communication tool, particularly in the context of contemporary marketing strategies. He emphasizes the necessity for entrepreneurs, especially those from smaller enterprises, to embrace video content creation as a vital component of their branding and customer engagement efforts. Our dialogue traverses the intricate dynamics of this medium, including the significance of consistency in content production and the strategic use of video to forge connections with audiences. Ultimately, we aim to empower listeners with actionable insights that can catalyze their own success in the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing.
Takeaways:
- This podcast episode emphasizes the importance of authentic communication between individuals in a business context, which fosters genuine connections.
- Chris Vandehe discusses how the evolution of social media has necessitated frequent video content for business visibility and engagement.
- The necessity of video as a primary communication tool in modern marketing strategies is highlighted, underscoring its significance for brands of all sizes.
- Both the host and guest acknowledge the transformative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on business practices, compelling innovation and adaptability.
- Vandehe articulates the significance of transparent pricing in service-oriented businesses, aiming to establish trust with clients from the outset.
- The discussion touches upon the importance of consistently showing up in digital spaces to maintain relevance and connect with potential clients effectively.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- ConnectVids
- Connect Marketing
- McDonald's
- Coca Cola
- Ameren
- AT&T
- Ascent Dealer Services
- Jack Schmidt
- Gary Vaynerchuk
- Tony Robbins
- Tim Ferriss
- Richard Branson
- Danelle Delgado
Transcript
This is Adam Marburger.
Speaker A:And this is humans that build real conversations with real people.
Speaker A:Not just about what they've built in the world, but what had to be built inside them first.
Speaker A:No hype, no shortcuts, just humans doing the work.
Speaker A:Humans that build.
Speaker A:Real people.
Speaker A:Real work.
Speaker A:Welcome to another episode of Humans that Build.
Speaker A:I'm your host, Adam Marburger, and this show is designed to share stories from super achievers to ultimately make an impact in this wonderful world that we live in.
Speaker A:I'm here with a special guest today, Chris Vandehe.
Speaker A:He's the CEO and co founder of ConnectVids, a company that helps small businesses use video to communicate, build trust and grow their brand.
Speaker A:Mr. Van de hey, welcome to Humans that Build.
Speaker A:How are you?
Speaker A:First of all, what is ConnectVids?
Speaker A:Before we, I want to go.
Speaker A:We're going to go backwards, but before we'll reverse engineer that, let's talk about what is ConnectVids?
Speaker A:Who are you?
Speaker A:What do you do?
Speaker A:What markets do you serve?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B: a company that we created in: Speaker B:A great time to start a business that, you know, requires in person video production.
Speaker B: my business partners back in: Speaker B:So I started working with them.
Speaker B:I loved what they were doing because they really took care not only of the customers, but using systems and processes that I was just like, these are, these are great.
Speaker B:They're very smart individuals and they help with the distribution aspect.
Speaker B:So actually getting the videos out there, so using paid ads, using, you know, funnels and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker B: And then in: Speaker B:Because Connect Video came out of a company called Connect Marketing, which helped a lot of real estate agents do more like mailers and door knocking and flyers and that kind of thing.
Speaker B:But my business partner Nick quickly, quickly realized that video was the number one communication tool.
Speaker B:I mean, it's how we're communicating right now and that it was becoming more of a necessity for businesses to be doing.
Speaker B:When I got started, you know, 15 years ago, we'd create one video a year for a brand they put on their website and it's all I needed.
Speaker B:But now with TikTok and reels and shorts and Instagram and LinkedIn and X and all this kind of stuff.
Speaker B:We've seen that it's just elaborated into the.
Speaker B:And you know this because you do a lot of video marketing.
Speaker B:It's just like, it's just, it's a way to get out there and get seen because if nobody knows you, nobody knows you.
Speaker B:And it used to be, you know, you get out in front of people 20 times and that was the 20 touches.
Speaker B:Now it's 100, you know, but yeah, so we service the St. Louis metro area in business development and helping like strategy, coming with video ideas, video plans, video funnels, all that kind of stuff.
Speaker B:And we really designed to be working with small businesses because we believe that's the backbone of America.
Speaker B:It's not the corporations.
Speaker B:Yes, because they, you know, they exist and everything like that.
Speaker B:But you know, the individuals, the businesses that, you know, 20 plus, you know, or lower even are the ones that we service best.
Speaker B:We work really well with a lot of trade services because, you know, those things can get seen easily.
Speaker B:They are really good at what they do.
Speaker B:They know how to swing a hammer and a drill and use a drill, but they're not necessarily great at the social media side of things.
Speaker B:And that is so heavily important nowadays to get seen.
Speaker B:Because back in the day, you know, brands like McDonald's and stuff like that, Coca Cola, all those kind of people, they, they had hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend on ad campaigns, right?
Speaker B:And now the small business owner has that same capability to get in front of those people because of social media and because of how technology has changed and stuff like that.
Speaker B:So instead of working with, you know, Amerin or AT&T and that kind of thing, we're more designed to work with small H vac companies, Ascent dealer services, you know, like all these kind of different businesses and that's who we serve best because they need that support and that help.
Speaker B:But they don't have the funds necessarily to, you know, hire somebody on for 100 plus thousand dollars a year internally.
Speaker B:So we designed our services to basically be, you know, 1/10 the price and, and be able to come in and support more regularly and they don't have to manage us.
Speaker B:So that's always a plus.
Speaker B:Right, because they just have to, you know, just do the thing.
Speaker B:They don't have to have an extra employee.
Speaker B:They have a vendor that they're working with that can assist.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So it's kind of like what you guys do, you know, it's, you're a vendor to help a support and do those kind of things.
Speaker B:So I've kind of taken on the moniker of video Coach Chris lately, just because I've found that a lot of people love coaches working with me, and I make video easy for people.
Speaker B:That's our.
Speaker B:That's our big thing, is that we want to make it easy because so many people are afraid to get on camera.
Speaker B: But, you know, with: Speaker B:And, you know, now people are a little bit more.
Speaker B:Less apprehensive to get on camera, but at the same time, it's a big fear of people.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker B:And we just want to make it easy, and I try to make it as easy as possible.
Speaker B:And that's why I call myself Video Coach Chris now, is because that 90% of people, once they're done filming with me are like, you made that way less difficult than I thought it was going to be going into this.
Speaker A:Yeah, I, you know, I had a.
Speaker A:My motivation.
Speaker A:I've got a couple motivations to bring you on the show.
Speaker A:My main motivation is to share kind of some of what my secret sauce in business has been.
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker A:We're going to talk about paid.
Speaker A:And before we go into that, I want to.
Speaker A:We're going to.
Speaker A:We're going to go back in time in a minute.
Speaker A:I want to shift gears, but we're going to nerd out on marketing.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker A:You're kind of like my secret sauce.
Speaker A:And the reason I want to share you a. I mean, I would love to see you grow your business.
Speaker A:You're my friend.
Speaker A: the world, how do you win in: Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And it's everything that you kind of just touched on, and we're going to really dig into that.
Speaker A:I just want to share you with the world.
Speaker A:I don't want you make sure that you're.
Speaker A:You better always have enough time for me.
Speaker A:So with that being said, let's go back in time.
Speaker B:Yeah, let's.
Speaker A:Back in time.
Speaker A:So what was, you know, let's go into junior high.
Speaker A:Let's go to middle school for a minute, you know, like, what.
Speaker A:Did you have dreams and aspirations of being an entrepreneur then?
Speaker A:Were you fascinated with videos then?
Speaker A:What, what.
Speaker B:Where.
Speaker B:What.
Speaker A:What were you.
Speaker A:What was young Chris like?
Speaker A:I'd like to hear that.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So it's actually kind of like twofold.
Speaker B:So I think I've always been an entrepreneur at heart.
Speaker B:I used to go out and dig up nightcrawlers you know, I was, like, five, six, seven years old, whatever it is, and go up to the local post office here, because I live in Morrow, Illinois.
Speaker B:Go up to the local post office and sit out front with, like, a lemonade stand, basically, and hawk nightcrawlers to fishermen.
Speaker B:I was like, hey, do you fish?
Speaker B:And they're like, yeah, of course.
Speaker B:I'm like, okay, cool.
Speaker B:Well, I've got, you know, 12 night crawlers here in this cup that you can have.
Speaker B:You know, I use, like, coffee grounds or whatever.
Speaker B:And you can, you know, give these for a dollar or whatever.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Did that, obviously did the traditional lemonade stand kind of thing.
Speaker B:And then also I remember taking after Halloween all the candy from going around the neighborhood and then putting it in, like, a little, like.
Speaker B:Like, I don't know, like, tray of some kind that I found in my house and going around back to.
Speaker B:And door knocking, you know, at people's houses and selling the candy back to them.
Speaker B:Hey, we're doing this for charity, all this kind of stuff.
Speaker B:So we made, like, $36.
Speaker B:You know, we're.
Speaker B:I'm eight.
Speaker B:So that's a lot of money.
Speaker B:Back in, you know, 90.
Speaker B:Whatever.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And my mom was like, what did you do?
Speaker B:So she.
Speaker B:She took it, and she was like, no, we're giving this to the church.
Speaker B:Like, you're not.
Speaker B:You're just.
Speaker B:That.
Speaker B:No, you can't just do that.
Speaker B:So I kind of always had the entrepreneur spirit, you know, kind of there and just coming up with ideas and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker B:And then I had found my.
Speaker B:Probably 5 years old.
Speaker B:I'd found my parents, like, video camera in a closet one day, and I was like, what's this?
Speaker B:And they're like, it's a video camera.
Speaker B:And I'm like, wait, so this.
Speaker B:Like, you can record things with this?
Speaker B:And they're like, yeah.
Speaker B:So I started off by filming, like, wildlife in my backyard.
Speaker B:Like, you know, grasshoppers and bats, you know, that would fly around in the evening and stuff like that.
Speaker B:And then quickly evolved into, like, making all my, like, neighborhood friends come together and make, like, you know, movies or whatever and be like, okay, we're gonna.
Speaker B:We're gonna create this story, and we're gonna use our toy guns or whatever and make, like, little, you know, cowboy films or whatever, right?
Speaker B:So then I fell in love with film.
Speaker B:And then my dad was a huge film guy, and so I started to learn more about that kind of thing.
Speaker B:And then, you know, going to middle school, I was like, okay, you know, they're trying to make you figure out what you're gonna do for the rest of your life at, you know, 13 years old or whatever.
Speaker B:And it's like, you know, I think even like an 18 year old doesn't know what they're gonna do with the rest of their life.
Speaker B:And, you know, so I started taking, like, more like, classes geared to the.
Speaker B:Geared towards those things.
Speaker B:So, like, whenever I was gearing up for high school, I was like, I'm learning Spanish.
Speaker B:I'm gonna move out to California and be, like, a Hollywood director and a writer and all this kind of stuff.
Speaker B:And then, yeah, I started taking, like, a bunch of English classes.
Speaker B:I could have graduated middle of my junior year in high school, but there were a bunch of elective English classes I wanted to take, like, on mythology and writing and, like, all this kind of stuff.
Speaker B:So I was like, that will help me tell better stories.
Speaker B:And so I did that.
Speaker B:And then when I went to college, I was taking some undergrad stuff at Lewis and Clark before going to Webster and met the video production class.
Speaker B:There's.
Speaker B:They had a video production class there, and I created a video there.
Speaker B:And, you know, Eric Vandiver, did you ever see his Shake Weight video?
Speaker B:Oh, wow.
Speaker B:I'll have to send that to you.
Speaker B:Anyway, so I had this crazy idea.
Speaker B: eight came out, I don't know,: Speaker B:And it was this ridiculous, like, exercise device.
Speaker B:And I'm like, what is this thing?
Speaker B:So I don't know how PG you have to be on this show, but.
Speaker B:Okay, okay.
Speaker B:So I went into a sex shop down in Alton, right next to Fast Eddie's, and bought a dildo.
Speaker A:All right, all right.
Speaker B:And then attached it.
Speaker A:Hey, this is a first for humans to build, by the way, where we're taking this.
Speaker A:This is a.
Speaker A:This is brand new Uncharted waters.
Speaker A:And I'm okay with it.
Speaker B:Yeah, my humor is very much like south park, just ridiculous.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:I'm good with it.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker A:I'm good.
Speaker B:So I attached this dill to the Shake Weight Eric.
Speaker B:You know, he's a.
Speaker B:You know, he's in shape.
Speaker B:And I called him over one day and I was like, hey, I need to make a video for my college class.
Speaker B:Because they wanted us to make a promo commercial, like, basically like an infomercial.
Speaker B:And I was like, I want to do a shot for shot remake of the Shake Weight video or commercial, but there's gonna be a dildo on the end of the.
Speaker B:Of the.
Speaker B:Of the Shake Weight.
Speaker B:And then so he's like, Are you serious?
Speaker B:And I'm like, yes.
Speaker B:So I, I get.
Speaker B:I was working at Home Depot at the time and bought some metal screws, screwed this thing into the Shake Weight and then did that.
Speaker B:And then at the end of the video, it shoots the protein into your mouth.
Speaker B:So after your workout, you want to drink some protein.
Speaker B:So we rigged up a Ryobi air compressor to the back of this thing and it shoots a base of.
Speaker B:We took flour and water and put it together and put it in this tube and shot into Eric's face because it gives you the protein.
Speaker B:You're done with the workout.
Speaker B:Okay, cool.
Speaker B:So obviously that's simulating something that as humans that build know a very interesting, you know, organic thing, but did that.
Speaker B: know, at the time, you know,: Speaker B:And I was like, no, what's that?
Speaker B:So he introduces me to a local video production company that not only was.
Speaker A:It like adult film production company.
Speaker B:No, no, no.
Speaker B:They, they, they did more business style stuff.
Speaker B:They did weddings and.
Speaker B:They did weddings and business.
Speaker B:So, yeah, but they did a lot of stuff like schools and non profits and that kind of thing.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:But then I found out, like, once I got the, the, the internship there, because I was working at Home Depot, going to school, having to do homework and, you know, live a life and, you know, do this internship, you know, so I had a very busiest I ever was in my life.
Speaker B:I mean, it was, I mean, it was, you know, six to midnight every day.
Speaker B:So yeah, it was crazy.
Speaker B:But, you know, because you're working like, go, get off at Home Depot, get out of school, go to Home Depot, go from there, go to, you know, the internship, do the editing there, learn that process, that kind of thing.
Speaker B:And I quickly found out that not only do they support the local business community in the St. Louis metro area, but they also did stuff with like, Tony Robbins, Tim Ferriss, Richard Branson, like, people like that.
Speaker B:And I'm like, how is this little video production company, Alton, like, working with these like, influential people in the, in, you know, the professional development space.
Speaker B:And they were like, it's who, you know, it's what you do.
Speaker B:So, yeah, I found out, you know, did that kind of thing.
Speaker B:So got to work with some pretty high level people really early on.
Speaker B:I filmed with like Gary Vaynerchuk and stuff like that.
Speaker B:So, like, I've done a lot of crazy Things there.
Speaker A:What was that like, what was that like with Gary Vee?
Speaker B:So he's intense, but no, he's, he's a, he's a great person, you know, Like, I, I, I follow.
Speaker B:I've been following him for years.
Speaker B:Outside of Gary Vaynerchuk, the only person I can think of that can see the future more like, clearly is my business partner, Nick, because he's been working with a ton of AI stuff right now.
Speaker B:I just actually introduced him to my friend Jason to do some stuff.
Speaker B:So, yeah, so, yeah, did that.
Speaker B: And then in: Speaker B:I was still doing the internship, started my own live events brand, did weddings, live events for companies like that for about 10 years.
Speaker B:And I just got tired of working six days a week.
Speaker B:So I'm like, you know, you're working Monday through Friday and then Saturdays, there's always a wedding, and it's every good day of the year.
Speaker B:So the only, like, Saturdays I had off were, like, in January and February, you know, and it's just like, okay, I am, I am done working six days a week.
Speaker B:So got out of that.
Speaker B:We created Connect Video.
Speaker B: And then, yeah,: Speaker B:And it's been a climb back, you know, trying to, trying to grind it out.
Speaker B:And then I just decided I want to get off a plane.
Speaker B:I'm tired of flying all over the country.
Speaker B:Like, I'm just, it's not, it's not my thing.
Speaker B:Like, I know you guys do that a lot, and, like, you're literally living tomorrow.
Speaker B:But, you know, it's like I just got, I just got tired because work, travel, and personal travel are vastly different things.
Speaker B:And I just.
Speaker A:Different.
Speaker A:Different things.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And you got to remember, too, like, you're flying with a laptop and a, you know, briefcase.
Speaker B:I'm flying with film gear, you know, so it's even more stuff to actually have to worry about, you know, and I just want to get off a plane.
Speaker B:So I was like, I'm, we're gonna build something here in St. Louis that can help the small business community and work with people in our backyard.
Speaker B:Because I'm, I'm done going to Manhattan.
Speaker B:I'm done going to San Diego.
Speaker B:I'm done going to Orlando.
Speaker B:Like, I'm done going to Houston.
Speaker B:Like, we're, we're, we're going to build something here and support our own community right here.
Speaker B:Because there's such a large business community in the St. Louis market, you know, I mean, there's tons of small businesses, you know, between the trades.
Speaker B:Automotive.
Speaker B:We used to do Stuff with like, Jack Schmidt, like, you know, that kind of stuff.
Speaker B:So, like, there's just a ton here that we can support.
Speaker B:So it's like, let's just focus on that and keep everything tight knit and local.
Speaker B:I'll fly occasionally, go do something for something, but yeah, it's, you know, getting on a plane every other week was not fun to go do those kind of things anymore.
Speaker B:I just got burnt out basically.
Speaker B:So I was like, let's do something local.
Speaker B:I want to sleep in my own bed.
Speaker B:You know, I'm like the Air Force versus the Marines.
Speaker A:I can.
Speaker A:I can relate to everything you said, you know, here.
Speaker A:First of all, I know what it's like to start a business and then Covid shows up.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A: Like, at least I had all of: Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker A: And then early: Speaker A:It forced us to change, it forced us to innovate.
Speaker A:It forced a lot of people out of their comfort zones.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:For those.
Speaker A:For those times, I'm very grateful.
Speaker A:I'm sure you learned quite a bit along the way.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:I want to nerd out with you on marketing.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker A:You know, I was in a Mastermind call earlier with my team with Danelle Delgado's Mastermind.
Speaker A:You know, we were talking about marketing.
Speaker A:We were talking about the importance of showing up often, showing up daily.
Speaker A:I posted a video just last night,.
Speaker B:And I don't know when this work,.
Speaker A:This episode's gonna air, so it's not last last night, but as you and I are talking right now, I posted a video last night.
Speaker B:Made.
Speaker A:No, it made me millions of dollars.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A: And it is a video from: Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker A:And there's some drone footage.
Speaker B:But the special thing about.
Speaker B:I did see that.
Speaker B:Actually, I did see it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:The special thing about that video is.
Speaker A:There's third party validation in it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Testimonies.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:I'm looking back on my businesses that I've built.
Speaker A:There's one common theme in every business.
Speaker A:One common theme name.
Speaker A:It's video marketing.
Speaker A:So let's talk quickly.
Speaker A:So, Kris, let's talk a little bit.
Speaker A:Let's dive into this.
Speaker A:The paid Glenn Lundy, my boy, uses the terms paid organic marketing.
Speaker A:And I'm going to share.
Speaker A:I'm going to turn it to you, Chris, because I want to talk a little bit, but I got some questions for you.
Speaker A:But for entrepreneurs out there that are just getting started, for entrepreneurs that want to get started, for entrepreneurs that are just getting started, for entrepreneurs that have been in the game for a minute and for entrepreneurs that have been in the game for a really long time, you all need to invest in your personal brand, your business brand on a very consistent basis.
Speaker A:What paid organic marketing is for me is this.
Speaker A:I pay Kris company to come into my business to shoot content once a month, and then he takes the content, puts it into marketing that I can use for a month at a time.
Speaker A:That's how we grow and scale our business.
Speaker A:So Chris, what is the most difficult.
Speaker A:Where do you see people falling short when it comes to this?
Speaker A:Like, like, first of all, is there any business that doesn't need your service?
Speaker A:Like, is there anybody out there that doesn't need to do this.
Speaker B:Price CPAs because they are terrible on camera?
Speaker B:No.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker B:I mean, every, every brand needs to be visible.
Speaker B:Like, why does McDonald's do radio ads, television ads, Facebook ads, billboards, you know, like all these kind of different things, Sending out mail pieces, you know, specials and all that kind of stuff because they're, they want to take over their market share because if they don't do that, then Burger King ends up coming in, rallies ends up coming in, you know, so, yes, they're the biggest fast food chain in the world.
Speaker B:But at the same time, it's because they built their brand because they do all those different things.
Speaker B:And it's so important to not only show up consistently, but effectively, right?
Speaker B:So strategy has a lot to do with this.
Speaker B:Like, what do you, what, what is, what is your, your angle?
Speaker B:What's your market?
Speaker B:And you got to find your brand pillars, you know, like, what are the three to five things that we're consistently talking about?
Speaker B:That way we build rapport with people.
Speaker B:It's called a parasocial relationship that we can build nowadays as small businesses.
Speaker B:I always use the analogy, like, everybody loves Robin Williams, right?
Speaker B:Who's met Robin Williams?
Speaker B:Not that many people, but they love him.
Speaker B:And when he passed away, everybody was like sad and they found out from his movies, his interviews and his stand up comedy that who he was as a person.
Speaker B:Small business owners now have that capability to build those parasocial relationships with people more effectively than we ever have in our Life.
Speaker B:It's the 70, 30 rule, right?
Speaker B:70% Of your content you can shoot on your phone, but 30%, you need a professional to come in and do that kind of thing.
Speaker B:So that kind of has that polish and that brand look and everything, right?
Speaker B:And it's just showing up effectively and consistently because it's just like going to the gym.
Speaker B:Consistency is key.
Speaker B:You don't go to the gym one day and meet your goals.
Speaker B:You don't lose 50 pounds in a day.
Speaker B:You don't build your 50 pounds of muscle mass in a day.
Speaker B:You have to show up.
Speaker B:And over time, you see those results.
Speaker B:And that's what people can do nowadays, using social media effectively.
Speaker B:And yes, you can do paid organic, which is, you know, you can run ads or you can do organic posting.
Speaker B:And we're seeing a ton of reels work really effectively right now.
Speaker B:We're actually developing a process, a system which is kind of what we're doing with your podcast, even is developing a system where we can show up for an hour once a month, sit down, have a conversation, and create 20 plus videos in that time that you can post.
Speaker B:And then that does two things.
Speaker B:One, it makes it super easy.
Speaker B:Two, you get something to post very regularly.
Speaker B:And three, it takes up like none of your time to really necessarily have to do these kind of things.
Speaker B:And it's, it's the most effective way to kind of create these things.
Speaker B:Plus, these, these platforms are all in direct competition with each other right now, so they want you to stay there.
Speaker B:So the more you're posting and the algorithm sees that and promoting that content to people because they want to keep people on their platforms, because their whole idea is to sell ad space to people, right?
Speaker B:So TikTok, LinkedIn, X, you know, Instagram, Facebook, like all of them are in direct competition with each other to keep people on their platform.
Speaker B:So if you're posting good content regularly, they're going to promote that much higher.
Speaker B:Which, I mean, we're getting ten plus thousand views in some cases on some of these accounts.
Speaker B:And it's like, you know, it's not viral, but like, can you take on 10,000 clients right now, Adam?
Speaker A:No.
Speaker B:Yeah, so it's just like the more you're showing up and you're showing up in front of the right people, guess what?
Speaker B:Because the content is dictated towards who it's meant for, right?
Speaker B:Because the algorithms will read.
Speaker B:It'll listen to the transcript, right?
Speaker B:It'll listen to the audio and say like, oh, this is meant for this person.
Speaker B:This is meant for this person.
Speaker B:And depending on what those people are engaging with.
Speaker B:So for like your company dealers, you know, auto dealers, you know, if you're talking about these things constantly and they're engaging with it, guess who that content's gonna get shown to?
Speaker B:Those exact people.
Speaker B:And that's just organically.
Speaker B:That's not.
Speaker B:You don't have to do like the actual paid ads and stuff like that.
Speaker B:Those work in combination Great.
Speaker B:But, you know, showing these people organically, you know, this stuff that is just highly effective right now because all these platforms are in direct competition with each other because they want to keep people on there.
Speaker B:Facebook doesn't care what movie you like or where you check in, but it uses that information to find out about who the user is so they know what content to serve up to them so that they stay on their platform longer.
Speaker B:And that's why it's very important to upload directly to the individual platforms versus taking a YouTube link and posting on Facebook.
Speaker B:Facebook got serious about their video platform probably a little over 10 years ago.
Speaker B:So they're like, yeah, we're not going to show YouTube links to people.
Speaker B:Like that takes them off our site.
Speaker A:So let me ask.
Speaker A:Let's unpack a few things here.
Speaker A:So let's pretend for a minute that you do not.
Speaker A:I'm not your client.
Speaker A:You know, I reach out to you online.
Speaker A:Hey, I'm a new business.
Speaker A:I'm a startup.
Speaker A:I need to.
Speaker A:And I have a tight budget.
Speaker A:I'm sure you hear that a lot.
Speaker A:All startups.
Speaker A:I mean, here, startups are startups, right?
Speaker A:So we're tight budget.
Speaker A:Where do you start with me?
Speaker A:You know, obviously I know you're going to, you're going to interview me, find out what my products and my services are, get a little bit of information there.
Speaker A:But after that, what does that first couple of months look like for my business?
Speaker A:For any business, really?
Speaker A:What does it look like?
Speaker A:What should we be doing?
Speaker B:Yeah, it's a couple of things.
Speaker B:We're one of the very few video production companies that have transparent pricing.
Speaker B:So you can really go to our website and see our prices, which most video production companies don't do that because they try to get as much as they can for each deal.
Speaker B:Where we went through and said, okay, what are the types of videos that we're getting contacted about consistently?
Speaker B:Let's create a system and a process around this.
Speaker B:That way we can charge the same price every single time, you know, depending on how far away it is or whatever it might be a travel fee or something involved.
Speaker B:But, you know, it's just like, what can we do to not only support the small business community, but create these types of videos at a price point using a system that is effective.
Speaker B:So we're wasting less time.
Speaker B:That means we can lower the price.
Speaker B: got rid of our studio back in: Speaker B:I guess it was what, March?
Speaker B:No, no, March.
Speaker B:April.
Speaker B:Yeah, so it was March.
Speaker B:And our, our lease was coming up in April.
Speaker B:And we were like, my buddy or my co founder Nick was like, I've been following this Corona thing since 20, since October and I don't think it's going to be three weeks.
Speaker B:So let's forego the lease, let's get rid of the studio, let's move all the equipment out and we'll, you know, see what happens with the commercial space after.
Speaker B:Because we thought commercial real estate was going to basically be dead afterwards, which it kind of did.
Speaker B:Because, you know, just of everything, I mean, everybody got sent home, they got an office in a box, right?
Speaker B:But commercial, we were like, let's, let's just, let's just, let's just forego the lease and we'll see what happens after when the dust settles, right?
Speaker B:And he was right because it took a freaking year.
Speaker B:And, and yeah, and then that actually led us to developing something called a, we called it at the time, mobile studio shoot where we basically have a whole production studio that fits in the back of my Toyota RAV4 that I can take just about anywhere and set up.
Speaker B:So we found a bunch of satellite locations, libraries or hotels or whatever other businesses to set these things up in.
Speaker B:So it actually made us innovative to create something where we could lower the price on a video that we used to charge $600 for and now we can charge 397 for that because we don't have the overhead.
Speaker B:So we were like, okay, cool, that makes us lighter.
Speaker B:So the first couple of months, to answer your question, it looks like finding out the right products that fit the budget to make it most effective and I'll work with people sometime on pricing too, is like, hey, as we grow we'll kind of, you know, increase the price and stuff like that because I know we're worth.
Speaker B:But sometimes those business don't have that.
Speaker B:And if I believe in the brand, then I will work with some people.
Speaker B:So the first couple of months is about strategy.
Speaker B:It's about finding out the brand pillars.
Speaker B:It's about identifying your customer avatar, which your customer avatar is who you like to work with the best, who you best serve and then coming up with all the video ideas and then filming, editing, and then if we're doing distribution, then we do the distribution side of things.
Speaker B:So yeah, I mean it's all about just getting in there.
Speaker B:And we have a product that can fit just about any brand.
Speaker B:Like, I mean we have stuff that's all a couple hundred dollars to make a video.
Speaker A:This Chris.
Speaker A:So I'm a business owner.
Speaker A:I want to get started you know, let's.
Speaker A:Let's pretend I'm a solopreneur out the gate and I'm kind of awkward.
Speaker A:I just don't, like.
Speaker A:I feel like I suck on video and I don't like the sound of my voice.
Speaker A:I feel like I look silly.
Speaker A:What do you.
Speaker A:What do you do then?
Speaker A:What do you.
Speaker B:Yeah, well, that's, that's kind of why I have, like I said, I've kind of taken on the moniker of video coach Chris because.
Speaker B:So nobody likes the sound of their voice because you sound different to yourself than you do on it out there, because of how your, how the audio in your nasal cavities and all that kind of stuff reverberates.
Speaker B:You sound different to yourself than you do in the real world.
Speaker B:Johnny Depp doesn't even watch his own movies because he hates, like, himself, like, his.
Speaker B:The takes and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker B:So he's just like, yeah, I'm a great actor, but I'm not watching my own movies because I will sit there and self analyze like a mofo.
Speaker B:So a lot of people just need to get out of their own way.
Speaker B:That's the biggest thing is just do it.
Speaker B:Because if you're not, then somebody else is and you want to lose that market share.
Speaker B:I did a video with a chiropractor and she was terrified about doing the video.
Speaker B:And she was like, I don't know who's going to be there, like, what's going to.
Speaker B:What's going to do, what's going to look like.
Speaker B:We literally shot the video afterwards.
Speaker B:Like I said, 90% of the time, people were like, you made that way easier.
Speaker B:I thought it was going to be.
Speaker B:And then she, she's an action taker, which is great.
Speaker B:I love action takers.
Speaker B:And she takes the video, runs a Facebook ad within like a, you know, 20 mile radius of her office or whatever for like 50 bucks and gets 10 new clients out of it.
Speaker B:She then comes back and does three more videos.
Speaker B:So I'm like, I said, I'm really good at coaching people to be on camera and doing the best takes and knowing like, hey, let's three do that again.
Speaker B:Like, you're great on camera, but not everybody else is.
Speaker B:So it's just like, hey, let's get you comfortable.
Speaker B:Let's, you know, to kind of make this really easy process.
Speaker B:Let's talk through this.
Speaker B:Let's use a teleprompter if need be so you don't have to worry about what you're saying.
Speaker B:I'm gonna make you look good, I'm gonna light you, right?
Speaker B:All that kind of stuff.
Speaker B:You know, wear good, you know, get some makeup done if you're, you know, want to wear makeup or whatever.
Speaker B:And we'll just knock this out.
Speaker B:But yeah, I mean, as far as that goes, like, I mean, I get, I, like, I said like 90% of the people I work with just literally say, like, you made that way easier than I thought it was going to be.
Speaker B:And a lot of these times, these are first time people, you know, so like I'm taking their video virginity.
Speaker B:So it's like.
Speaker B:But like, you know, so it's just like, hey, I'm really, I'm really terrified of this.
Speaker B:I hate filming myself.
Speaker B:You know, I don't like doing this.
Speaker B:You know, it looks and sounds weird, but the biggest thing is just getting out of your own way and actually taking the action.
Speaker B:Because if you're not doing it, then somebody else is and you're going to lose over time if you're not showing up more consistently.
Speaker B:Because the dude down the street that has an H Vac company that's creating content and you have an H Vac company over here.
Speaker B:Yes, you can get great reviews, yes, you can have good SEO.
Speaker B:But if you're not showing up more consistently than them, who's going to get the call whenever the time comes?
Speaker B:Because, you know, for H Vac, it's, you know, outside of like service call, like, you know, like the, you know, like doing the, you know, your fall and winter, like cleaning checks.
Speaker B:You know, like when something breaks, that's when somebody needs that service.
Speaker B:And who is going to get the call?
Speaker B:The person who shows up the most.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:I mean, Tiger is like a terrible, like H Vac company, but because they have such a high marketing budget, they get calls.
Speaker B:You know, I work with King Air Conditioning out in Godfrey, you know, and we built out an entire funnel.
Speaker B:I think we spent $700 on ads and they got like 60 calls.
Speaker B:Well, H Vac is a pretty high ticket item, so they, they have roi.
Speaker A:So let me ask this.
Speaker A:How.
Speaker A:How often should a business owner be like, sharing a video?
Speaker A:Like, should.
Speaker A:Is it okay to reshare the same video?
Speaker A:How often do you reshare it?
Speaker A:How often should a business owner be posted?
Speaker A:I'm curious on your take on that.
Speaker B:Yeah, so my business partner Nick and I were actually, we have a, we have a weekly meeting on Mondays and we were talking about this yesterday and we actually shoot a fake podcast.
Speaker B:Like we sit down once a month at a podcast studio.
Speaker B:I built for a real estate company out in Chesterfield.
Speaker B:And we just film for an hour or so and just talk and we're like, if we can post three to five times a day, then like we're gonna blow it up.
Speaker B:But I would say at the bare minimum, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, like at the bare minimum, Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
Speaker B:Yeah, at the bare minimum.
Speaker B:Like that should be like time.
Speaker A:Is there a certain time people should post?
Speaker B:So it used to be, you know, around like noon or one o', clock, but everything's so algorithmic now that like if you post something today, it might not show to somebody until Saturday.
Speaker B:So like there's times when like people like, hey, I have free blues tickets tonight, who wants them?
Speaker B:And it's two days later the by the time I see it, you know.
Speaker B:So everything's so much more algorithmic now that it doesn't matter as much as it used to.
Speaker B:But yeah, it used to be noon or one, but now the platforms just kind of serve it up as it is, so it's not as important as timing goes.
Speaker B:But yeah, three times a week at a minimum.
Speaker B:And then you had another question there, which I just forgot,.
Speaker A:As far as resharing the same video.
Speaker B:Oh yeah.
Speaker B:So that's called the content library.
Speaker B:And we talk about this at our.
Speaker B:We teach a monthly training class called Strategy lab, famous in St Lucia, you can come to it.
Speaker B:But we talk about.
Speaker B:It's called a video content library.
Speaker B:So like whenever a brand like Coca Cola or something like that makes a video for the super bowl, they don't just show it at the super bowl, it's shared everywhere, you know, and it's all about frequency too, you know.
Speaker B:So like for that air conditioning company in Godfrey I was talking about, we actually built out a video funnel.
Speaker B:So funnel is basically awareness, consideration, conversion and you take them through those steps.
Speaker B:So like I have the ad set up that like it shows this many people in this area, the awareness video, this many times, after they've seen it that many times, it takes them to the consideration video shows them that many times and that takes them to conversion email or email, the conversion video.
Speaker B:And either at that point we can re advertise to them.
Speaker B:We've got a lead form set up so they can contact them and they can do some email marketing on the back end, you know, to stay in touch with them, all that kind of stuff.
Speaker B:Or we've got a call and we've got, we've got an actual client we've got, right?
Speaker B:So those kind of things.
Speaker B:So a video content library, especially because, like, you're always adding new people on Facebook, you're always getting new followers, all that kind of thing.
Speaker B:So sharing a video one time is not effective.
Speaker B:So I'd say, like, I mean, like you just said you.
Speaker B: You shared a video from what,: Speaker B: ,: Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I mean, you just reshared a video and it got a bunch of attraction, right?
Speaker B:So, like, you know, building out a video content library is great, especially if it's evergreen content, which evergreen is basically something that doesn't change in your business.
Speaker B:Like, for me, I made a video about B roll, which I don't know if you know, B roll is, but it's a supplementary shot you use over, like the talking.
Speaker B:So, like, if.
Speaker B:If we're.
Speaker B:I'm talking about like a fire and I'm on the camera talking about that, we cut to the fire.
Speaker B:We cut to a shot of the fire, right?
Speaker B: a video about B roll back in: Speaker B:And that is evergreen.
Speaker B:Because B roll doesn't change.
Speaker B:So I can use that video as many times as possible.
Speaker B:H Vac cleaning checks, right?
Speaker B:So, like doing your, you know, your fall and winter stuff, we built out a bunch of content for them.
Speaker B:So that way we know, hey, in, you know, you know, August, we're going to start sharing this video.
Speaker B:So it gets in front of these people to be like, hey, make sure you're doing your fall clean and check, you know, that way you can do that, right?
Speaker B:And now that video is already created, so we've actually saved time, right?
Speaker B:And then frequently asked question videos are amazing.
Speaker B:Like, those are some of my favorite videos to make is FAQs, is like, hey, if you can automate some of this stuff, I work with a title company out in Kirkwood, and we are literally taking all the products on his website and creating videos around those.
Speaker B:So that way when customers come onto the website, they can watch the video that explains the same exact thing, but that also creates content that we can share on social so that, you know, because they're, you know, talking about the services or the FAQ or whatever, you know, because they work with investors and realtors and then regular, you know, people that just buy houses to get in front of those people.
Speaker B:So, yeah, so I've got a, you.
Speaker A:Know, I'm sitting here thinking, you know, I'm in lots of AI conversations.
Speaker A:How does AI impact or enhance the, the industry that you're In, Yeah, so.
Speaker B:A couple different things.
Speaker B:One, my co founder, Nick, he creates a bunch of AI tools.
Speaker B:So each strategy lab that we do, the monthly marketing, branding, branding event that we create, that we have, we.
Speaker B:We create an AI.
Speaker B:He creates an AI tool that does the thing.
Speaker B:So like, this month's one was about storytelling.
Speaker B:So he created an AI tool that just asked a bunch of questions.
Speaker B:You put in the information and it spits out a bunch of video scripts.
Speaker B:And I think people had like 19 pages of stuff to work with.
Speaker B:It was a really intense tool.
Speaker B:So we're using it in our business to make things easier and faster and to do things like that helps with script writing.
Speaker B:That's a huge one.
Speaker B:Coming up with ideas.
Speaker B:That's a big one.
Speaker B:I take a lot of the videos that I post for my clients and transcribe everything that's in the actual, like, video.
Speaker B:And that way I can track, hey, this is all the concepts we're talking about.
Speaker B:Let's create more videos like that and then we can track the performance of those videos because, you know, all the socials give you data, so you can say, hey, this one really performed well.
Speaker B:We need to make more videos like this.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:So we utilize it a lot there.
Speaker B:Editing, it's becoming a thing that's, that's going to be a thing.
Speaker B:It's probably going to destroy my industry.
Speaker B:Like, I'm probably have to go make a plumbing company or something at some point.
Speaker B:But, you know, editing it helps with.
Speaker B:Because like, you can, you can pop in like an entire long, like video from a transcription and say, hey, these, these moments in this, in this thing is, is.
Speaker B:Is good to use, like this podcast, for example.
Speaker B:I'll transcribe it, throw it through AI and it'll say, hey, pull these sections of that because they're high performance.
Speaker B:Like they're good to post and everything like that.
Speaker B:So editing, it's good for script writing, coming up with ideas.
Speaker B:We use the tool that Nick creates, you know, each month to, to create things.
Speaker B:And then obviously on the social side, the AI is working behind the background to push these videos to see what's going on with them, you know, inside the video, because it'll transcribe it internally, like on Facebook or whatever and say, hey, this person interacts with this kind of content.
Speaker B:So let's promote that to these people.
Speaker B:So, yeah, I mean, it's, it's, it's, it's huge.
Speaker B:It's, you know, it's.
Speaker B:I mean, yeah, well, yeah, it's, it's.
Speaker A:I mean, I'M geeked out on it.
Speaker A:I mean, yeah, I'm totally nerded out now here.
Speaker A:I do this, I'm gonna throw kind of.
Speaker A:Kind of a curveball as we kind of end our.
Speaker A:Our time together today.
Speaker A:You and I could sit and talk 45 hours, let alone 45, keep this show down too.
Speaker A:So I'm gonna do something.
Speaker A:I call it the build code.
Speaker A:And I, I, I, I have you finish my short sentence, so I'm gonna.
Speaker A:I'm gonna blurt something out, and I want you to take it and complete it.
Speaker A:So entrepreneurship.
Speaker A:You know, there's.
Speaker A:There's times where it's all unicorns and rainbows, but then there's times where things aren't easy.
Speaker A:We get stuck.
Speaker A:Sometimes.
Speaker B:Those times seem to last longer.
Speaker B:It feels like, yeah, right.
Speaker A:So I'm gonna be finished this sentence.
Speaker B: So I hit a wall, win: Speaker B:That or my cameras got stolen.
Speaker B:That could also be another one.
Speaker A:Well, let's talk through that for a minute.
Speaker A:I hit a wall when.
Speaker A: So, like,: Speaker A:Well, what did you do?
Speaker A:What did you do to pivot?
Speaker A:What did you do?
Speaker A:What was the.
Speaker A:When you hit that wall?
Speaker A:What was.
Speaker A:What did.
Speaker A:How did you react?
Speaker B:Yeah, so we just created an editing editing service.
Speaker B:We said, hey, if you can sit down at your computer and use zoom and film this, we can edit your video for you.
Speaker B:Or if you want to sit down with your camera or your smartphone and film a video, we'll edit it for you.
Speaker B:So we just pivoted to saying, like, well, if there's nothing else we can do, we can at least edit.
Speaker B:Like, if we can't be in person, which, looking back now, I would.
Speaker B:I would probably be less apprehensive.
Speaker B:I would be.
Speaker B:I would probably do more in person at the time, now that we have more data on the whole situation.
Speaker B:But at the time, you know, I was believing the science and what the government was saying, and it was just like, ah, geez.
Speaker B:So, but, yeah, I mean, hindsight's 20 20, but, yeah, we created an editing service.
Speaker B:We just said, hey, like, we can at least still edit.
Speaker B:If they can sit down with their smartphone and film a video, this realtor, whoever, we can still edit the footage.
Speaker A:That's real.
Speaker A:And that's the thing too, you know, like, pivoting.
Speaker A:You know, that's what we do.
Speaker A:We have to pivot.
Speaker A:Yeah, we can sit still all we want.
Speaker A:We could sit still and let the world happen to us, or we can go take advantage of the situation and create opportunities.
Speaker A:Yes, that's Entrepreneurship.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker B:Creating opportunities is the most important thing.
Speaker B:And that's kind of the whole idea of what we do with this video stuff is literally try to get you into the.
Speaker B:Get people in the best position to create opportunities, because that's where.
Speaker B:That's where everything is seized.
Speaker A:Now we're talking about change.
Speaker A:The first thing I changed was my attitude.
Speaker B:My attitude.
Speaker B:Yeah, because I had to evolve as a person as I grew, because I started my company at 21, so I've been doing this for quite a long time.
Speaker B:But I had to change my attitude about how I viewed not only business, but people and relationships and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker B:So networking, you know, that kind of thing.
Speaker B:So, yeah, I changed my attitude.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:I love that.
Speaker A:Non negotiables.
Speaker A:Non negotiables.
Speaker A:I know we all have them, you know, as entrepreneurs, but.
Speaker A:So the first one is now, I don't.
Speaker B:Now I don't turn down conversations because of where somebody else is at.
Speaker B:I don't view them just because, like, oh, hey, you're a startup skincare brand, you have no money.
Speaker B:It's okay.
Speaker B:What problem can we solve here and figure out to help grow this?
Speaker B:I'd say that.
Speaker B:And not flying as much.
Speaker A:I really love what you said.
Speaker A:I mean, yeah, startups are startups.
Speaker A:Everybody needs some love and help.
Speaker A:I really love that.
Speaker A:Okay, here, last one.
Speaker A:And I always.
Speaker B:I always follow through.
Speaker B:I always follow through because if.
Speaker B:If you say you're gonna do something, you do something.
Speaker B:And the only time that I've ever had to, like, cancel a shoot or miss something or anything like that is either with I'm sick or.
Speaker B:When my mom passed away, I was literally in Chicago to film a wedding and got a call at like, 10pm it's like a Friday night when the wedding's on Saturday.
Speaker B:Get a call at 10pm My brother's like, hey, just found mom dead in the garage.
Speaker B:And I was like, oh, Jesus.
Speaker B:So I had to, you know, drive back down south, like, that night, because even, like, my second shooter, Joe, he was just like.
Speaker B:I'm like, what do we do?
Speaker B:And he was like, it's your mom.
Speaker B:We're leaving.
Speaker B:And I'm like, okay.
Speaker B:Because I was gonna follow through.
Speaker B:I was gonna film the wedding, but my brother needed me.
Speaker B:So I was like, okay, we're going.
Speaker B:So had to call them the next day and be like, hey, this crazy thing just happened.
Speaker B:So we're refunding your money, but, yeah, we can't shoot your wedding, so hopefully you can find somebody on the fly.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:So, yeah, I love that.
Speaker A:So young entrepreneurs and, you know, I challenge because this show's designed obviously for those that just want to do more, that want to be more, that want to make a larger impact.
Speaker A:And I love the younger generation.
Speaker A:I always talk about how, you know, the view from top is beautiful, but it's much prettier when you share with.
Speaker B:Others and, you know, 100% success.
Speaker A:Being able to lend a hand and to pull others up.
Speaker A:That's what this is about.
Speaker A:It's about giving back.
Speaker A:It's about pulling people up with you.
Speaker A:That's what this is about.
Speaker A:So I appreciate this conversation has been very impactful.
Speaker A:You know, I. Oh, nice.
Speaker A:I appreciate your time.
Speaker B:I appreciate your time.
Speaker B:Thank you for having me on.
Speaker A:How can people find you?
Speaker A:How can people follow you?
Speaker B:Yeah, so connect video.
Speaker B:You can find us on the socials.
Speaker B:You can email me at chris connectvids.com c o n N E C T v I d s.com and reach out there and then socials.
Speaker B:Yeah, I love connecting with people.
Speaker B:I still have quite a few number of abilities to add people.
Speaker B: I think it's like: Speaker B: I'm like: Speaker B: o I've got, you know, another: Speaker B:So add me there.
Speaker B:I'm a millennial, so I still use Facebook.
Speaker B:I'm with the boomers.
Speaker B:But yeah, socials is great.
Speaker B:And yeah, you can reach out to my email or you can give me a phone call and I'm sure there'll be some information in the show notes here.
Speaker B:So I love it.
Speaker A:This was great.
Speaker A:And I'm going to echo one thing you said.
Speaker A:Follow through.
Speaker A:Your word is everything.
Speaker A:In business.
Speaker A:It is.
Speaker A:And there's doers, okay?
Speaker A:Be a doer, hold your word, do what's right, and it always pays off long term.
Speaker A:Again, thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for tuning into another episode of Humans that Build.
Speaker A:As always, my job is to bring super achievers to you to share some words of wisdom to hopefully advance your life, make an impact.
Speaker A:So tomorrow will be a little bit better than today.
Speaker A:That's my mindset.
Speaker A:You guys have a wonderful day.
Speaker A:Thanks.
Speaker A:Chris Van De Hee.
Speaker A:Humans that build.
Speaker A:Real people, real work.
Speaker A:See you next time.
Speaker A:Sat.
