What’s holding you back in business right now? Don’t like your voice/look, imposter syndrome, time, perfection syndrome, fear of haters? Maybe a few of these?
Video is one of the most powerful ways to show up online because you can really show off your personality and expertise at the same time. And video can be incredibly entertaining too!
Just ask the guest of today’s episode! I originally started following her because her camera confidence showed through and her videos were incredibly entertaining and educational. She really makes video look easy!
Shana Yurko knows what she’s talking about, and she’s even turned some really negative comments into fuel for future content. (What’s wrong with people that they send hurtful comments to others!?)
Tune into this episode as we talk outsourcing some of your video, what’s holding people back, how to be more confident on video, and the most important thing when creating video for your business. (It’s not killer editing skills or trendy Reels!)
Mentioned In This Episode
About Shana Yurko:
Shana is a 12-year veteran video producer, photographer, brand-builder, and marketer who helps business owners grow their biz with content that stands out and creates connection.
You’ll typically see her with a camera or a coffee in my hand…working in video production for 10+ years will do that to ya. She’s produced, shot and edited video content for big brands like GoDaddy, Paramount Animation, Hydrafacial, InStyler, CBDistillery, and more.
Now more than ever, business owners are growing their income using platforms like Instagram – for zero dollars. And the crazy thing about it? It’s easy when you break it down into a simple repeatable system.
Creating content should be simple, fast, and efficient. (Blame Shana’s obsession on the years of planning 12-hour shoots scheduled down to the minute.) Bottom line… small business owners don’t have time to waste on systems that aren’t effective.
And you can use these systems to make all types of videos that convert followers to customers – even if they’re uncomfortable on-camera and have never made a video before.
Transcript:
Abby Herman 0:08
Hey there, and welcome to episode 164 of the content experiment podcast, a podcast that supports the idea that content and marketing are ever moving targets in any business. And it’s okay if you don’t feel like you’re doing it. All right all of the time, you have permission to experiment with little tweaks and changes in your content, to find what works for you, what increases value for your audience, and what grows your business, and most importantly, what feels good for you. I’m Abby Herman, content strategist and consultant for online business owners who are ready to make a bigger impact online. And I’m CEO and creative director of the content experiment, a content marketing agency that offers full service content marketing, and podcast management. I firmly believe that success isn’t about what big marketing brands and so called gurus think is the right thing. It’s about you and your business, your lifestyle, and frankly, your values and belief systems. You get to do business in a way that works for you. And that message to do what works for you is just part of the message in today’s episode.
Abby Herman 1:18
Let me ask you, How many times have you heard that video is the place to be than what you need to do in your business? You’ve probably heard that more than you can count more times than you can count, but maybe you’re avoiding it for some of the same reasons that I have. One of which is time. Another is not wanting to learn the tools to get the video right. And of course, there’s the vanity factor. Well, today I’m talking to Shana Yurko, a video producer, photographer, Brand Builder and marketer. I found her on Instagram a few months ago and loved the videos that she was posting. Then she posted something that left me a little speechless. She posted a video showcasing some of the awful horrible things that people had said about her in her content, like real personal attacks. I can’t believe how awful people are when they’re hiding behind computer screens. I know that that’s nothing new, but I was still in shock. But Shana kept on going, and I reached out to her to talk about it. Now on today’s episode, we talk about a lot more than just rude, obnoxious people. Shana shares some really great tips for saving time in your videos, she shares the four things you need to consider when creating video, which some of the biggest mistakes that people make in their content. Maybe we talk a little bit about some pet peeves, and we talk about how to be more confident on camera and so much more. Before we get into the interview. Let me tell you a little more about Shana Yurko.
Abby Herman 2:57
She is a 12 year veteran video producer, photographer, a Brand Builder and marketer who helps business owners grow their businesses with content, that sound that stands out and creates connection. You’ll typically see her with a camera or a coffee in her hand. Working in video production will do that too. Yes, she says she’s produced shot and edited video for big brands like GoDaddy, Paramount animation, HydraFacial InStyler, CBD, distillery and more. Now more than ever, business owners are growing their income using platforms like Instagram for $0. And the crazy thing about it, it’s easy when you break it down into simple and repeatable systems. Creating content should be simple, fast and efficient. And you can blame China’s obsession on the years of planning 12 hour shoots scheduled down to the minute the bottom line, small business owners don’t have time to waste on systems that aren’t effective. And you can use these systems to make all types of videos that convert followers to customers, even if they’re uncomfortable on camera, and have never made a video before. So she covers this and so much more in today’s conversation. So listen in.
Abby Herman 4:17
Shana, thank you so much for joining me. I’m so excited to chat and get to know you because this was a random reach out that I made to get you on the podcast. So thank you for saying yes,
Shana Yurko 4:30
absolutely. I love the random reach outs usually that’s like the best conversations that we get to have.
Abby Herman 4:37
Yeah, absolutely. Yes. For people who don’t know you can you share what you do and who you do it for?
Unknown Speaker 4:45
I guess I’m showing your go I have been working in video production for I think it’s like 12 years now. I’m really bad at backwards math, but I’ve been working in video for a lot of years helping business owners get visible and I started out in infomercials, surprisingly enough, when I was working out in Los Angeles, and I learned how to make videos just beautiful, and also how to connect with customers, but then, over the years, social media has completely taken over the commercial landscape. And so the majority of my professional career over the last like, seven ish years has been in social media and helping businesses get visible. And lately, it’s all about like being the face of your business, because it’s, that’s what can establishes connections with people. So that’s a little bit about me.
Abby Herman 5:37
So I have to ask about the infomercials, anything that can you share, like one of the infomercials that you shot,
Unknown Speaker 5:44
of course, so starting out, I was a production assistant. So I got thrown in and basically learned how to do like everything from the ground level. And I worked with InStyler. The so if you’ve ever seen like the rotating barrel hair, iron, I was like they’re on set and in house production assistant. So I understood exactly how all their hair tools work like. And I would help with models and getting things done on days of shoots, planning shoots. And then from there that was like, where I learned how to craft an infomercial, or even just a full well rounded commercial. And from there, I worked with several boutique agencies and big brands, like one of the big brands I’ve worked with, I’ve worked with GoDaddy, I’ve worked with HydraFacial Best Western and all of those things. Were not infomercials, but getting my start off in infomercials makes me I love it. It’s so
Abby Herman 6:39
fun, it makes you that much more interesting, right? I love it. So can you share a little bit about how you work with clients today? And how the way you’ve structured your business and your client work to help you live the lifestyle that you want?
Unknown Speaker 6:57
Oh, my God, I love this question. So the way that I work with clients and business owners around the world, I have several digital courses that help business owners show up on video in a way that will help them convert their followers into customers. And I’m a really big believer in structuring your business and your content plans around the life that you want to live. So I love that that’s part of this question. Because there are so many people out there that really push for you to just do all the things, all the things all the time. And I actually did that for a little while. And I felt like I was burning out. And it all kind of came to a head when I very first got COVID actually like back during the first year when it was around before the vaccine, all the things and like, I was like, Dude, I gotta slow down. And so since then I’ve been more about structuring what I teach business owners, and the way that I operate myself, to do things in a way that you can manage it, and to do the amount of work that you can manage with content, like if you have time to post one reel per week. Great. You have time to show up on stories once per week. Great. Do you have time to post two YouTube videos a month? Great. Like it doesn’t take a ton to get visible in this day and age? Because there’s a lot of ways that your content can be evergreen, as well.
Abby Herman 8:23
Mm hmm. Yes, I agree. I’m all about what do you have the bandwidth for figure out what that is. And then be consistent with that. You don’t have to be in all the places you don’t have to do all of the things and you don’t have to do it every day or even every week to be consistent and to grow your audience. So yes, I’m so glad we’re on the same wavelength on that. So video is a great way to make a connection, a great way for people to see you and to look at you face to face. And a lot of people are doing it but there are still a lot of people who are resistant. I am one of those people and I’m going to share why in just a few minutes. But first I want to know from you. What do you think or what have you heard are some of the reasons why people are not doing video and not you know, putting themselves themselves out there as much.
Unknown Speaker 9:16
Absolutely. The biggest thing, honestly, that holds business owners especially back who want to show up on video, but they just can’t bring themselves to do it is a lack of confidence. People are not confident on camera, like they’re afraid of rejection. They don’t like the way they look that they look or that they sound on video. They’re afraid of the haters coming out of the woodwork to control their content. They’re afraid of looking or sounding stupid, they can’t get past their imposter syndrome. And when you think about it as a business owner all of these things, these insecurities. They do make sense, because we want to stick to what we know. And we want to just kind of stay behind the scenes stay hidden. We don’t want to get on camera because We’re used to being the ones who are pulling the strings behind the scenes in our business, our customers and our clients are the stars. And we’re used to that dynamic, we’re not used to being the one. Not saying that you should make yourself a star by making content. But like, we don’t want to be that person that people are paying attention to. We want the results to speak for themselves, right. So it’s really natural that people feel weird showing up and making videos featuring themselves. But if anyone takes anything from our conversation that we’re having today, I hope that they take this confidence on camera is not just something that people are born with, it isn’t something you either have, or you don’t confidence on camera is a skill that can be learned. Like even working in the video production industry. In Los Angeles, you’ll see models and actors who are used to being in front of the camera, who still need a little bit of coaching or like hyping up to get into their best self and their best performance. And understanding that, for me really helped understanding that even the pros sometimes are like, super nervous with cameras in their face. And that makes me feel less incompetent, when it takes me a little bit to get into my element. So I think that those are some things that hold people back. What do you think?
Abby Herman 11:18
Yeah, I know, I have to agree. And I gotta say that your videos are so fun. Yeah. And so to think that you might have confidence, you know, some challenges with confidence is like mind blowing to me, because you have so much fun with your videos, and they’re so well done. So, so I’ll share I promised I would share why I haven’t been doing video. So I have a few. So as I as I was, you know, preparing for this conversation, I sat down and wrote down some of the things. So one of them is time, which I know that you’ll share, like some easy tips on how to get these videos out quickly. Vanity, fan, vanity and age which go together, because I think I’m older. I don’t think I necessarily look older than your average online business owner, but I am. And then the other one is just not really wanting to learn the skills that are involved in creating reels and tic TOCs, and all of that, or just nice videos. And so not wanting to learn, and then just not knowing how to outsource something like that, because I’ve tried a little bit and what you just, it wasn’t really what I was looking for. And so I don’t know how to do that part. So those are my reasons. So if anybody out there listening has similar reasons, then yeah, we’re all not alone.
Unknown Speaker 12:41
You’re definitely not alone with any of those, like time is huge. That is a big thing that holds people back. They’re like, Oh, well, I really love to make some videos like it’s really great way to connect with people. But ain’t nobody got time for that. So that’s a really big objection that we all come across. Did you want me to share tips right now
Abby Herman 12:59
that would be awesome. Yeah.
Unknown Speaker 13:02
So obviously, the very first thing that you want to do like whenever you’re thinking about making a video is walking in with a plan, because that makes it go faster, like the second that you push record on your camera. It’s like this stage fright takes over no matter who you are, or there’s at least an added level of pressure, because you see that red record button or you see yourself looking back at you with the frickin screen right there. And it adds this level of stress that if you don’t have a plan, and just try and riff, it’s not going to go well, like there have been shoots that I did, like $50,000 shoots, where we wanted people to come in and just be natural, and I was like, Ooh, we really should have like a script, or at least a guided list of bullets, we need something. And they ended up not going with that decision. And it caused the shoot to be kind of a disaster. And it made editing a lot longer. So when you walk in with a plan of specifically what you’re going to say or cover in your video, whether it’s a reel where you’re like, displaying stuff with graphics, or if it’s a video where you’re speaking directly to the camera, you want to plan for what you’re trying to accomplish. Otherwise, you end up rambling, you end up looking like a deer in the headlights, you end up just not seeming your best confident self. And it takes forever to edit those together to be something seamless and half the time you won’t end up posting it anyway. So in order to that’s like literally my biggest tip for saving time. If and I’ve listened to a couple of your episodes, and there was one thing that you mentioned like some people aren’t about batching and I think that’s fine. But if you can batch like the different steps like maybe you scroll, let’s say we’re talking about reels, you scroll through reels you find some inspo or some good sound bites that you want to do and you save that that’s bad that one task, then later on, when you go to, you can go in and like look at them and see how you’re going to adapt those specific sounds to the reel that you want to shoot, like what you’re actually going to have in your graphics, and then also the caption, you can do that all at once, and then it’ll save you time. And then if you are able to, you can shoot those really quickly, if you have that plan laid out beforehand. So
Abby Herman 15:31
and you can, I mean, one of the things that I’ve talked about before too, is in when I was doing a lot of YouTube videos, I would have you know, you get ready once you do your hair and your makeup, I would have, you know, six or eight shirts in my closet, I would sit down, I would do a video I would stand up, I would switch shirts, sit down, do another video and just and I would get through so many so quickly by batching. And yes, and it took some time to plan ahead and to know exactly what I was going to talk about for those six to eight videos. But I oh my god, it was so nice to get them all done. And then I didn’t have to worry about my hair for a couple of weeks.
Unknown Speaker 16:08
Absolutely, like one of the reasons that we like to work from home, we don’t have to get ready and go somewhere every day. Yes, that’s me as a mom, like, I love the fact that I can just go up to my office messy been sweatpants, crushed the workday. So I’m totally here for that. And that’s actually how I shoot my YouTube videos as well. And like, I use a teleprompter app. Whenever I’m speaking to a camera, like not right now we’re doing a podcast talking to each other. But I use a teleprompter app, whether it’s on my phone or with my big DSLR camera. Because when you’re shooting a video of yourself speaking to the camera, you’re trying to teach someone something or help them solve a problem. And you want to save a lot of time having a script literally saves your life and hours and hours of your time and then also editing time. You don’t have to edit out these three minute times where you’re like, Okay, how do I want to say this? Like, what is it that I’m trying to communicate here? It saves you so much time. So and I love the changing the shirts in between? Because it looks like you shot them at different times. Right?
Abby Herman 17:13
Yeah. Yes, yeah. So talk to me about not wanting to learn the skills to actually create. So let’s talk specifically about reels tic TOCs. And, you know, the the transitions and all of those tricks that and all of those things that people are using within those apps. Is it something that that a business owner has to learn how to do themselves? Is it easy to outsource something like that, as we’re all working virtually? And we have virtual teams? What does that look like?
Unknown Speaker 17:43
I love that question. So there’s certain aspects that yes, you could absolutely outsource. But when it comes to making reels they’re most effective when it’s your face. So you probably need to learn how to do the shooting, at least you could outsource your editing. But sometimes, when you’re shooting reels, most times, I usually just shoot them within the app. And so I do the editing as I’m shooting. Once you understand the different functionalities of the different tools, and the reels camera itself, it’s pretty easy. I actually have a YouTube video that shows you exactly how to do the transitions. So if that’s something that’s holding you back like it’s, it makes your reels look super interesting if you just use one transition, but going back to the initial question of like, do business owners need to learn how to do all of these things themselves? It can be very easy if you have someone who’s guiding you on exactly how to do it. Or if you just dive in and try and learn it yourself. I know that that’s something that not a lot of people want to do. But my transition tutorial on YouTube basically shows you how to make a reel. So if people want to look at that, if you’re comfortable sharing that, go for it like that. I’m game.
Abby Herman 19:05
Okay, I will make sure to get that link from you and include the link in the show notes for everybody.
Unknown Speaker 19:10
Cool. Talking about tech stuff like that. Sorry. It’s it’s hard to explain exactly how to do things through audio like Oh, totally.
Abby Herman 19:19
Yeah, totally. I was watching one of your videos earlier today, where you walk through how to do the sticker, it looks like you were in the airport or something and doing that sticker post and you’d like literally walk through and show it how to do it. But yeah, I can it’s very difficult to do.
Unknown Speaker 19:35
So that one yes. That one was really complicated and no real has to be that complicated. I got a lot of requests for that tutorial. And I was like, Okay, I’ll teach people how to make this. I don’t think they’re gonna like it. Because it’s hard, but I figured I’d post it because people wanted to know, yeah, hopefully someone does a really cool sticker video. And I can share that one day. That’d be awesome.
Abby Herman 20:03
I love it. Alright, so camera confidence and just being a little more you on camera? How would you, you know you talked about before, it’s not really, it’s not something we’re born with, it’s something that we have to work on. So what do we need to do to be more confident on camera and to be more ourselves on camera?
Unknown Speaker 20:23
Absolutely. So one of the biggest things to just kind of like get your brain around and to embed in it is understanding that there are people out there on social media who would want to hang out with you for exactly who you are, like showing up 100% As you they don’t care if you have makeup on, they don’t care if you are wearing your pajamas, like they like you for your personality, for what you bring to the table and for your presence as a human. And it’s like, it’s like when you make friends in real life. You don’t want to have friends who are they kind of like you, but not really, you want friends who are there for you because of exactly who you are. And so it’s really important that you don’t try to be someone else. When you’re making your videos, I know it can be really easy to like, see these influencers are these huge creators and try and mimic their style or their personality. But it’s so important not to do that. Because that does your brand a huge disservice. It misrepresents who you are. And then like you have to stick with that for from now until forever. Like, I want to be someone else. Yeah, it’s like, and I’m not saying don’t use other people’s content, to find inspiration, I think that that’s okay. But there’s a big difference between trying to, like, mimic some of the cool video tricks or like a transition style or something like that, that someone uses. And there’s a big difference between that and adopting someone else’s on gamma personality. Yeah, the best way to be authentic online is to act and speak like you’re having a conversation with your best friend, if you can embody that. It’s similar I’m sure to podcasting. Like if you can truly speak like you’re having a conversation envision a human behind that camera lens. Because most times it’s going to be one person sitting on their couch watch, like in their living room by themselves, watching your content scrolling. And so you are having a conversation with one person. And if you can do that, act like you’re talking to your best friend, you’ll be able to be 100% and wholeheartedly you like use the same phrases you would use in real life, use your actual sense of humor, be as dry or as witty, or sarcastic or as sweet, or as big or as reserved or snarky as you are in real life. Because there’s only one you I really am truly a big believer in the fact that like everyone is so unique, and no one else has your same exact life experiences. And yeah, so I have other tips that can also help you get more comfortable in your own skin that involve like making sure that your video looks as best as it can, so that you have that added layer of confidence like okay, I’m actually making a quality video it doesn’t suck. And I have my plan I’m walking in, I know what I’m going to talk about. So some of those I always like to tell people to focus on their light, look sound and message. So you always want to find good light. Because whether you want to look a little bit younger, or you just like don’t want to look quite as harsh, flattering light does a lot so you want to find that good selfie lighting, whether you’re facing toward a window or using a ring light or maybe you have a big cinematic setup but most people don’t find good light and record with good quality light and it will make you feel fabulous. And then with your look, you don’t have to be a makeup vlogger on YouTube to look good on camera. I always recommend like getting ready. Like you would want to get ready. If you were going to brunch with your judgey neighbors and you don’t want to feel like Get ready like you would going out to run errands going to brunch and like bump it up a level. That’s what I like to say. So like if I have curled hair maybe I’ll like add a little extra hairspray a little extra volume. If I’m doing my makeup, I’ll add a tiny bit of extra like pizzazz but ultimately at the end of the day you want to look like you so a natural look. Not like natural no makeup but looking like yourself is what is best on video and feeling like yourself and that applies to your makeup and your wardrobe and your hair. So you just want to feel like you and something that represents the brand that you’re trying to accomplish in your videos or that you’re trying to represent sorry. So that lightened look, go ahead.
Abby Herman 25:08
Uh huh. Well, I was just gonna say, as far as look goes, I always say, put in a little bit of effort, I know that a lot of business owners are, they really like their, you know, they’re buttons, and they’re, you know, no makeup and just being super casual, and all of that, which is great. At the same time, you’re trying to put off a certain image, you know, you want to attract the right people to you, and you want them to think that you care, and that you try to little to look good until, like, you know, to look at yourself, your normal self, you’re going out on a date, self, you know, I mean, I think that that’s kind of a pet peeve of mine.
Shana Yurko 25:48
People don’t wear the makeup, just,
Abby Herman 25:51
yeah, they want it, they make want to make a point that I just crawled out of bed and I’m recording this, it was so important for me to get this information to you that I couldn’t be bothered to do anything. Now just take a shower, do something with your hair, put on a little bit of makeup, it doesn’t have to be anything fancy. But try.
Unknown Speaker 26:07
I love that. Honestly, video can be used so intentionally and your look can be used so intentionally to tell a story or to like talk about a pain point that your audience faces. So you can see a lot of reels where there’s these transitions where people go from messy been just rolled out of bed to boom, I’m like, in a good place with myself. And I think that those can be effective. Yeah, I do agree with you. If you’re trying to assert yourself as an expert, you want to show up like you would to an important client meeting and you wouldn’t just roll out of bed. Do your messy bun, no makeup will go out and your sweatpants and your Uggs Yes, like that is your job is to sell sweatpants. And it’s like, you want to show up like you would in a professional setting.
Abby Herman 26:59
Yeah, absolutely. Yes. Thank you. Okay, so sounds so you’re talking about light and luck. Now sound and message.
Unknown Speaker 27:07
Yes, sound and message. So sound. Yeah, it’s like a microphone. But that’s not what I mean. When I talk about sound, it’s more so about like your speaking performance. So we already talked about one good tip talk to the camera like you would a friend, talk to a friend. It’ll give you the most natural approach. And honestly, when I was very first starting out, sometimes I would have my husband stand behind the camera like in the same eyeline not above, not below, literally directly behind so to have the same eyeline. But that way I could envision a real person, a human on the other side of the conversation. And I’m not just like, I’m talking to a camera, hello. And so that helped me feel a little bit more natural speaking to the camera. And then if you struggle with arms and us or likes, you just have to keep practicing with that. Everyone struggles with those items. And as at first, that’s not a reason not to start, it does get better with time and practice. And you do become more well spoken and better at just speaking to a camera lens, it becomes more natural with practice. And then if you struggle with remembering what to say teleprompter app, always. So it you plug in your script, you record your short video there, and then you upload it to social media. And when you’re recording on a teleprompter app, you always want to write your script in the way that you speak. And that’s very different than the way you would write an email or write a blog. So that’s really important. Make sure it sounds like your actual voice, including slang or like short, incomplete sentences, that kind of thing. And then the other advice is to start small and work your way up. I found that starting with like a story on Instagram or Facebook, it disappears after 24 hours. So there’s very little pressure. And you’re but you’re still hitting posts. And so it’s an accomplishment. You’re getting it out in front of people, and people love stories. It’s truly an intimate look at your business and at you as a human because you’re just sitting there, you’re talking to a camera, and you’re either sharing value, showing people behind the scenes of your business, sharing a deal that’s going on. There’s a bajillion things you could talk about on stories, but it’s always brand building and it’s so low pressure because it does disappear after that 24 hours. So that is your sound.
Abby Herman 29:38
Mm hmm. I love it. Yes, I yeah, I so many great tips and and then the message
Abby Herman 29:45
message. Alright, so the key to being confident on camera, and like the number one thing that you need to have a successful video we’ve talked about is making your plan but it’s your message and whether that means your gripping your whole video out. Or if you’re just using bullet points, it’s all about figuring out what you’re going to say. And what the message of your video is. This looks different for different people like, I don’t love when people claim there’s a one size fits all, to anything. And I’m sure you can agree,
Abby Herman 30:18
I totally agree.
Unknown Speaker 30:21
Of course. But what I have found both for myself and for a lot of people who have taken my courses have taken, I’ve watched my YouTube videos, whatever, they notice a big difference. When they start out on a teleprompter, eventually, you might not need a prompt, or you might be able to just record on the spot be super natural, like, but I have news. Even in Hollywood, like the You’re a freak of nature, if you can just be completely off the cuff, and perfect every single time like they exist for sure. But most people need a script, or they memorize a script. And like we don’t have time for that, as business owners. I don’t want to do that. I remember before I discovered the teleprompter app, I was actually filming my very first iteration of my mini course. And I was like, oh, I need to get this done. It took me like two days to film these three videos because I was trying to memorize them. And then I’d be like, Oh, that sounded really bad. Did I say it right? took forever. And then thank God teleprompter,
Abby Herman 31:26
I used to use. So I would create my script in a Google Doc. And I would I would line it up like really close to where my camera was. And I would sit there. And I would record I would look at the lines and read. Okay, that’s what I’m going to say. And then I would look at my camera, I would say the couple of lines. And then I would hold really still and I would look into the corner of my eye at the script again. And then I would just go back and forth. And then we just edit out the awkward pauses and the side I that I was giving the script and all that it was so ridiculous. And I was using a really cheap app for for doing the editing before I hired an editor. And it was it was ridiculous. So such a waste of time. It took forever and it was so awkward. I should have used well, I didn’t know that there was a teleprompter teleprompter app I can use on my phone.
Shana Yurko 32:16
So my gosh, the greatest they’re the absolute greatest. And at first it feels kind of awkward, because you’re like, how do I not look like I’m reading? Right? But if you can read the words that are at the very top of the screen, directly underneath the camera that keeps your eyeline basically on the camera and people can’t tell that you’re reading. So it’s very cool. It’s very cool.
Abby Herman 32:38
Yes. So I want to talk about where some of the ideas come from, for good, you have really great tic TOCs, and reels and Instagram stories. And I know from personal experience that a lot of times, so the information comes from mistakes that you’re seeing, or maybe pet peeves that you just want to address that in a really nice way. In some content. Can you share a little bit about maybe some of the mistakes or some of the pet peeves that you have around video and how we might be able to correct those?
Unknown Speaker 33:13
Absolutely. So we’re talking about mistakes that content creators make?
Abby Herman 33:19
Yes, yeah, when they’re creating video.
Unknown Speaker 33:22
Number one is not showing your face if you’re a business owner, like just expecting your reel to go viral if you’re not like including a human in it. Because that’s what people expect when they’re looking at reels or tic TOCs they expect a person there is an exception, of course, as there always will be. Like if you have a great product video or a really cool transition. Like if you can grab attention. You could get past using a human as the subject in a real or tick tock video. But that’s like the number one mistake that I see. Or people going on camera. And this is small but not smiling. Unless there’s a point for you to not be smiling in your videos. You should smile because that creates the most approachable version of yourself. And it makes people want to actually stay on your face while they’re watching your video.
Abby Herman 34:21
What are some good ones? Yes, I like
Unknown Speaker 34:25
Thank you. Those are really simple, but it also helps when you’re recording your videos. If you smile while you speak, it affects your tone. It affects your body language, it affects your posture, it affects your confidence, and like your mood. It truly is a big deal. Because the last thing you want is a video where you’re just concentrating on what you’re saying and you get like your furrowed eyebrows. People are gonna be like, what’s wrong with this girl? Why is she upset?
Abby Herman 34:58
Yes, I know Totally agree. So, so I originally reached out to you because you had a tick tock or an Instagram story or something where you posted some pretty obnoxious things that people have said to you. So this kind of goes back to the original, what we were originally talking about at the beginning, where one of the things that holds people back is fear of what other people are gonna say, and just, you know, being self conscious about putting yourself out there. But you actually listed some of the things that people have said, and they were totally, totally obnoxious, and were had absolutely nothing to do with your content. They were, they were direct hits on you, as a person, a lot of them. So I think that it’s easy to say that you just have to ignore the haters. But it’s really hard to do that. I mean, we talked before I hit record about and I’m not just email that I got. And I said, you know, first, like, hurt my feelings. But then I was like, this person wasted so much time to put together this obnoxious email to me, you know, forget it. Like, obviously, they don’t have, you know, anything better to do with their time. So, so I kind of was able to get past it, but it wasn’t a personal job. I don’t feel like it was really a personal job. You’ve had those, how do you get past those? How do you? How do you get past those and still, you know, become or stay confident and still continue to put content out there? yourself your video?
Unknown Speaker 36:31
Such a good question. It is always a little bit like surprising, upsetting when you do get those comments that make you want to crawl under the table or like throw your phone against the wall. I mean, I’ve been told to get a nose job, that my outfits are stupid, get a life you loser, you’re thirsty for attention been called a clown. Someone told me you need a doctor.
Abby Herman 36:57
Oh my god.
Unknown Speaker 36:59
Like, for me, I can laugh pretty easily about those things. But not everyone could not. What you have to get back to and stand firm and in your mind in your heart is that ultimately, at the end of the day, the people who are actually going to take the time out of their schedule, to send you these things to send you these notes that basically you’re just like spreading hate and making trying to make you feel worse about yourself. Those people at the end of the day don’t matter. Even though those comments suck, they don’t matter. And the reason why is because if someone is willing to go out of their way to make those comments to me, they’re clearly not my people. Like they’re not my ideal customer. My ideal customer is nice to other humans on this planet. Like I’ve defined that. And like I those people can go on by I don’t want them to buy from me. That’s like the reason in the context of my business that they don’t matter. But also, like, you can hear, you’ve heard a lot of people, I’m sure say like, you know, you’ve made it when you have haters. That’s a funny thing that can kind of make you be like, Well, alright, well, I’ve made it. And then you just kind of move on mind. When you’re posting videos in general, and you’re putting yourself out there, you just have to keep two things in mind. Putting yourself out on video doesn’t only open you up to negative or judgy, or hurtful words and comments, it also opens you up to 1000s, or even millions of new people every single day. So being like getting my visit, boom, getting my business visible in front of those 1000s and millions of people is totally worth a troll comment or two. And the benefit of getting visible with video will always come with haters, the trolls, the idiots who have an opinion, just because they’re hiding behind a screen. And I actually was scrolling I read something like right before this podcast and it was it really resonated with me it was like most times when someone the things that someone says to you have nothing to do with you. Yeah, most times, it’s about that person. And at the end of the day, trolls opinions don’t matter. So instead of focusing on the negative and hurtful comments that you get, I like to do these things. You can acknowledge the rude comment mentally, like don’t reply. And I think it’s important to allow yourself to have your emotional reaction to it if you are going to say otherwise those get bottled up, whatever. So acknowledge the comment in your mind. Have your emotional reaction. Then inhale and tell yourself out loud this is really powerful. What this person is saying about me is not the truth. I think that that can be really powerful. Because when people are saying lies about you sure, you might Want to like defend yourself or whatever. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t affect your worth or your value as a human, and it doesn’t affect, like your ability to show up and do a great job at what you love to do. And I mean, people can think I need a nose job, I don’t care. Like, they can think I need a doctor cool the things that make them think that I’m over the top or too much, or exactly why my ideal customers, and my ideal audience loves me. And so it’s like, you can’t be for everyone. Now, that doesn’t excuse other people making really awful comments, of course. But it can, it helps you a little bit to know that you can’t be for everyone. But basically, after you have any old said, what this person is saying about me is not the truth. Exhale, and delete the comment. Nothing wrong.
Abby Herman 40:55
Okay, I was just gonna ask you, if you delete it, if you delete the comment, I almost would want to like keep it up there so that other people can see what a jerky
Unknown Speaker 41:05
will like. But if you find yourself going back to that comment and like ruminating on it, it’s only if it bothers you. For me, I don’t really care that much. And I haven’t deleted many comments, because the times when I’ve gotten the worst comments is on like reels that are doing really well and going really viral. So the algorithm is like spitting it to some people who probably won’t like my stuff. And so I’m like, and whatever. Like there’s 10 other comments that are better than that. But that’s just my experience. And I think that there’s nothing wrong with deleting a comment if it’s bothering your mentality, if it’s affecting your mentality. Celebrate the fact that you’ve made it and you have haters now. Yeah, we mentioned maybe it was before we hit record, but I’m keeping, if you want to, you can keep a folder of like hate mail or whatever. I got a response one time to from my email list. And it was someone who subscribed for one of my things. And it was like, stop spamming my inbox. And they called me horrible names, like the C word. It was not Oh, oh, my, oh, I read it. I was like, and then unsubscribe.
Abby Herman 42:23
What is wrong with people? I just don’t understand. But I love your approach. I think that that’s such a healthy way to, to approach it. And to think about it, you know, they’re not your people. And you were you said that it’s has nothing to do with you. It has everything to do with them. So you can’t so and I’ve heard to something similar, like, you can only control how you react to something you can’t control how somebody else thinks and feels. So you can control how you react. And I love the idea of just Yeah, I have haters. And I’ve arrived I’m here now, so everybody else can just Yeah, no, I love that. That’s such a great way to think about it.
Unknown Speaker 43:05
You can also keep a folder of all the amazing comments and uplifting things that I like, I like to keep a folder of the things that are negative that people say to me because this is something that my audience deals with. So I want them to see that it’s not something that you can’t get past. So I like to use that to show in my content. And that’s getting a little bit into like content strategy of like topics that I choose. Yeah, but for me and for my personal well being and my mentality and my positive outlook on my self as a human and my confidence. I do like to keep a folder of amazing comments, whether it’s testimonials from people you work with, or just really kind things that people say to you that speak truth about exactly who you are. I think that that’s so important to keep that handy because there are times when you’re not feeling confident that you need a reminder. And sometimes you need a friend to step in and say hey, let me like remind you of who you are. You’ve got this like, it’s like after a breakup where your best friend tells you look, you are a bad word that I won’t say like I’m being that takes no crap. Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. Good.
Abby Herman 44:29
Good way to keep that claim. Thank you. But I know exactly what you mean.
Unknown Speaker 44:34
If a substitute word. I don’t know. I don’t have one. No. So it’s like when your best friend comes in reminds you who you are piggy back up and helps you move along. You can be that for yourself, when you just have these actual proof, like these comments or actual proof these testimonials of the good work that you’re doing. And so you can just laugh when people are like you need a nose job. Like think I’m not gonna Do you
Abby Herman 45:04
owe this has been such a great conversation I want to before we go, if listeners were only to take away two actionable things from the whole interview, and they can, you know, take two things away and just do it, or what would you want them to take away,
Unknown Speaker 45:20
understand that confidence can be learned. And no matter what your experience level is with video, just start start doing it and you will get better with time, your first video will never be your best video, but they will get better each and every time. And as you are going to record your videos. The second thing, do not allow yourself to pick apart your videos, choose one thing you want to do better. And try that in the next one. You don’t talk about all the 15 million things you change that for every single commercial for every single video YouTube video that I’ve ever finished, whether it was producing or editing, there’s always something that can be changed, but you have to put it out into the world for it to make a difference for your business.
Abby Herman 46:06
Yes, Done is better than perfect. And I’ve actually seen reels before of someone saying, you know, it’s like a 32nd reel. And it took them three and a half hours, four hours to put together and I’m like, oh my god, no. No. So just get it out there. It doesn’t have to be perfect. I love. Shauna, thank you so much for being here. And for sharing. You have a free downloadable and to help people with their camera confidence. Can you talk a little bit about that and where people can find that?
Unknown Speaker 46:36
Absolutely. So I have a free mini course that is designed to help you redefine your relationship with video and get you confident on camera so that you can start showing up for your business. And basically, you get a camera confidence gameplan we’ve talked about very specific ways to uplevel your confidence in the way that you look and your videos, look. Then you talk we talked about how to get brave and feel less awkward on camera, and how to move past your fear of rejection and judgment and to get over your imposter syndrome. And they can find that. Shawna yercaud.com forward slash confident.
Abby Herman 47:12
Thank you so much for being here. I would where else can people find you online so they can see your amazing videos too.
Unknown Speaker 47:20
And follow me on Instagram and YouTube. Oh my gosh, I’m getting ready to jump back into YouTube and I’m so pumped. It’s gonna be so fun. Thank you so much for having me. I love this conversation. You’re wonderful. Thank you.
Abby Herman 47:34
I hope this conversation helped you feel like video is something that yes, you can do. It’s such a great way to connect with your audience and really put yourself out there. And Shana has right the haters don’t matter. As much as it hurts. They don’t matter. Someone who takes the time to post a hurtful comment clearly doesn’t have enough good in their lives. And you do so keep at it. If you found value in what you learned here today, be sure to share it on social media. Take a screenshot of the episode on your phone and share it over on Instagram stories. You can tag me @thecontentexperiment and tag Shana at ShanaYurko It’s sh ANAYURKO. The more you share it, the more we can get the podcast into the hands of more business owners just like you who need to hear the message that they are not alone. Until next time, take care
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
