Finding New Clients Online - How to make them know, like and trust you!

Video transcript - Recorded talk for Momentum

There’s an old adage that people buy from people that they know, like and trust and one of the vital elements of drawing new learners into your world is showing people who you are.

They need to see you (Know), they need to warm to you in a personal way and want to spend time with you (Like) and they need to believe that you’re credible (Trust) and one of the best ways to do this is through video. So keep watching and I’ll give you some ideas for how you can leverage video to bring more people to your door and have more of them reaching into their pockets. Are you ready? Let’s go…

If this is the first time we’re meeting, I’m Jo Gakonga and I’ve been in ELT for over 30 years as a teacher, a CELTA trainer and assessor, an MA TESOL tutor and now with my own business at ELT-Training.com where I make and sell video based training material for teachers at all stages of their careers. As well as the self-access courses I sell, I also run an eight week Video Creation for Educators programme that helps teachers learn to make high quality video and make money with the skills they’ve got and I’m passionate about this because I’ve seen, in my own case and with other teachers, that this can be such a positive way to bring people into your world.

OK, let’s start by talking a bit about video in general and how it out-performs image or text. You can just try googling this and you’ll find lots of examples of marketing organisations who’ve done like for like comparisons of video-based ads vs image-based ads and while they’re always quick to say that image has a place, the statistics ALWAYS point to video. Look at some of these stats. People pay more attention to video than text or images, they spend longer watching video, video makes things clearer and it’s more likely to generate leads.

If we look at a comparison on Instagram, the engagement levels are also really different.

This probably isn’t all that surprising to you. Think about what you prefer… Text can be very persuasive and it’s great for SEO BUT someone’s got to spend the time and effort to read it and in this scroll-happy world, you’re often not going to get people to give you that much. How many text blogs do you read? Images can be great and they can draw people in, especially if the pictures are of you when you’re selling a service…BUT… video is the one. And YOU in a video, when you’re trying to get new customers to teach is the real key.

In our industry, we tend to be selling on a very personal level. People are going to choose a teacher who they feel comfortable with and even when they’re buying an online pre-recorded course where they won’t have any interaction with the teacher, they’re buying into the fact that they want to spend time with you on some level. If you can show them who you are, you’re much more likely to win their trust and make them want to buy from you.

OK, let’s assume that you’re with me on the point that video is king… you might be thinking that not ALL video is King and you’d be right. So what is it about the videos you make that’s going to ENGAGE your viewer- make them keep watching and want to spend more time with you?

Stop me for a minute. Think of ONE thing that makes YOU want to keep watching. Do it now!

Got one? Well, I’ve got FIVE ideas for you here- so see if these resonate with you and if I mention the idea YOU had.

Number 1 is The quality of your video
It’s easy to say that we shouldn’t judge by appearances, but the truth is that as people, we all do. You’ve got literally milliseconds to make that first impression and if you’re selling a service, people will very quickly judge how professional you ARE by how professional you LOOK. Is your video high quality including the elements of image, text and other video that people have grown to expect?

The good news is this is easy to achieve using editing software –I’ve used Camtasia for over a decade and I really like it but there are lots of free options like Capcut or iMovie if you’re a Mac user. I’d also really recommend Canva for making wonderfully professional thumbnails and title pages. It’s got a fabulous range of images and video too, especially if you get the Pro version.

2. The content
So, your video has to look the part, because otherwise it’s likely that people won’t give you their attention for more than a few seconds. BUT however good it looks they won’t give you their attention for any amount of time if the CONTENT isn’t useful for them. You need to think about three things here.

The first is how you’re going to hook them in at the beginning, what can you say that’ll make them keep watching?

Next, you need to think about what will they leave with that’s useful. What’s the ‘meat’ of the lesson? What are you actually trying to get across? This might be the message that you’re a fantastic teacher, but it might also be useful material that’s going to make them want to follow you on IG/ TikTok, FB or LinkedIn so that they think about YOU first when they need the kind of services you’re offering. A really useful thing to think about here is that NARRATIVE, a storyline is very powerful for getting people to engage. This might be as simple as ‘five ideas for making good video’, for example, but a cohesive structure is key.

Finally, you want a call to action at the end. Tell them what you want them to DO? Follow you? Visit your website? Sign up for your course? Be clear about this.

3. Your personality showing through.
My next thought is this: you need to find a way to show YOU through the camera lens. The best you you can be- you on a good day. Some people like to imagine that they’re meeting someone for the first time who they want to impress- like in a job interview or on a first date. Think about what that looks like … you’ve paid some attention to your appearance, you’re bright and attentive, you’re probably a bit more animated than you are in normal life. These things tend to make people want to keep watching and there are good psychological reasons for this. You know that feeling when you’re watching some of those horrible accidents on YouTube and you actually wince? That’s the handiwork of mirror neurons, specialized information messengers in our brains that activate when we watch someone experience an emotion. If you convey excitement, hope, fun, and anticipation in your video content, it’s literally contagious and it’s going to inspire that Like and Trust that we want.

You might also want to put some thought into how close you are to the camera. If you’re very close it gives a more intimate feeling. If you’re further away, they can see more of you and your background and it can make for a more relaxed feeling. Remember that what you wear and your background also says something about you. There’s no right or wrong here, but it's worth thinking about the impression you want to make and making conscious, informed decisions.

4. Your authenticity
This relates to the point before, I guess, but if you want to relate to your audience and bring them into your world, authenticity shows. You have to be yourself because it’s going to be VERY obvious to your audience if you don’t sound and look genuine. This sounds easy, but it’s actually not. When we’re confronted with a camera, it’s easy to go into ‘performance mode’ and that doesn’t work so well to make people like and trust you. You need to be confident and clear but also the real YOU!

A trick here is to look into the camera and really believe they’re there. Know that they WILL be- there’s just a small matter of a time lag!. Think about the people you watch on YouTube. What engages you about them? There are a few that I watch, not because I’m interested in what they say, but just because I LIKE THEM. That’s what you’re aiming for.

5. Consistency
Finally, having said all of this, the truth of this game is that Consistency Beats Quality. Every time. It’s not enough to do it once – you need to keep doing it. Week on week, month after month. People have short memories and you need to remind them again and again! Hopefully you’ll find that making video is creative and interesting and you’re going to want to make more and more… I do!!

So, there are my five ideas. Were yours in there? Did you have anything else? Anything there that resonates or gives you a bit of an ‘aha’ moment?

I hope I’ve convinced you, but I KNOW that there’s a huge barrier for most people between knowing that this is a good idea and actually putting yourself out there on video. I can almost see you squirming in your chair at the idea.

Trust me, I know about this. If there’s something that you don’t really want to do, we all tend to keep kicking it down the road… I’ll do it tomorrow… and tomorrow never comes.

There are a couple of things that it’s worth remembering that help a bit. The first is my favourite: done is better than perfect- and in fact, you’re never going to make that perfect video. There are some that I look back on and I’m happier with than others. Others I still cringe at! But it’s NEVER perfect. The other thing to remember is that ANYTHING you do repeatedly and mindfully, you’ll get better at. So it doesn’t matter how rubbish you think your videos are at first, they’ll get better. But you HAVE to learn so you HAVE to keep making more. If you look at all of the Big YTer names, their videos look so professional, but if you scroll down to the beginning of their careers, they look a lot less polished- trust me!

Even with these thoughts, it can be hard to get going and if you’re feeling overwhelmed, or stuck, I can help. As I mentioned at the beginning, I run an eight week group programme called Video Creation for Educators which pretty much does what it says on the tin– it helps educators like you make video so that you can make more money from the skills you’ve already got. It’s a supportive, motivating atmosphere that’ll give you the skills to feel confident in front of the camera, to make fantastic video and to edit it to make it look really professional. Every week, you’ll make a new video- very short- 1-2 mins- and we’ll discuss it in small groups: what went well? what do you want to work on? You’ll learn from and be inspired by your peers (you honestly will!) and it’s tailored to your context, so that by the end you’ll have video that you can actually use: whether that’s for explaining to new students how you can help them, drawing them in with content marketing on social media, or making online courses that sell while you sleep. It’s all possible.

I hope that’s been useful and I’ve convinced you that video can be a really powerful way to bring in new learners and look forward to seeing you at ELT-Training.