Brandmerry Blog Archives

brandmerry 5/29/19 brandmerry 5/29/19

5 Easy Steps to Be More Confident on Video

Video is necessary IF you are building an online brand and business.There are so many options now with Facebook Live, Youtube, IGTV, Instagram Live and Insta Stories just to name a few. Basically video is non negotiable when it comes to an online business, but what do you do if you don’t feel confident to add video to your business? I’m sharing 5 easy steps to be more confident on video.

5 Easy Steps to Be More Confident on Video

May 30, 2019

Prefer to watch, instead of read? I’ve got you boo. Scroll down to watch a quick 6 minute video!

Video is necessary IF you are building an online brand and business. Nope, not an option don't even try to convince me otherwise.

There are so many options now with Facebook Live, Youtube, IGTV, Instagram Live and Insta Stories just to name a few. Basically video is non negotiable when it comes to an online business.

The #1 question I get from my audience around video is How to Build Confidence.

So, today I’m sharing five easy steps to be more confident on video. I’ve used these techniques and have now shared them with my clients to support them in gaining confidence, feeling natural and totally rocking it on video (both live and pre-recorded).

But, before we dive into the steps I have a quick question to bring some reality to the whole video thing. Is every single person that is showing up on video confident from the start?

Absolutely NOT, sure some people are, but even myself with years on stage, having been on the news and television before, I still freaked out during my first live video.

Give yourself some grace and know from the get go it's going to suck at the beginning. Seriously, your first time isn't going to be smooth, so just know that going in and be confident in the fact that you will improve with time.

So aside from just going for it, what can you do. Here's a simple do this then that strategy to get you started.

1. SCHEDULE IT

This is going to be the easiest part for you, but it’s going to aid in the whole ripping off a bandaid and with step two coming up next. When you make the commitment and put it on the calendar it's a hell of a lot harder to skip it. I actually use this strategy anytime I’m doing something out of my comfort zone; I put it in writing and make the commitment to myself that it’s going to happen.

2. PRACTICE

Now that you've got it scheduled it's time to carve out at least 3 days to practice before hitting that live or record button. This will help work out any kinks or uncertainty and make you feel more confident with the content. You won't always have to do this, remember consistency is key, but in the beginning it's a great tool.

Another great tool is to practice on Instagram Stories - there short, don’t take a lot of time, and your less likely to overthink a 15 second video as opposed to a 5-minute video. Insta Stories are a great was to get you more comfortable with the camera.

3. MAP IT OUT

As you practice you're going to find your groove. Pay attention to what you enjoy talking about, where you get a little lost and which areas you want to emphasis (a pitch or call to action perhaps). Now map those out in a notebook or document so you have a clear outline for your video.

Bonus Tip: If recording a video record 1-2 sentences, stop, look at notes and start again. If going live be super transparent with your audience and just tell them that you have notes to help you out and might be looking at them from time to time.

4. TAP INTO YOUR AUTHENTICITY

Be inspired by those around you and bring out your special characteristics with confidence. So often we try to hide our quirks, but those can make your videos even better. Write down 5 quirks you are proud of that you want to bring out in your videos to play up your authenticity. For instance, I love to talk with my hands so I make sure I have the room to talk naturally and I'm not holding the camera (p.s. You’re going to notice this every time I make a video now)!

5. EXUDE CONFIDENCE

There are things that make you feel better no matter the situation. Is it a specific outfit, making sure you've got some lipstick on, being in a particular setting? If you feel confident going into it, as your most bold badass self you'll deliver better content.

I know how easy it can be to think that everything needs to be perfect, especially when it comes to video. If you identify yourself as a perfectionist watch this video here.

But please know that you'll only improve by doing. I hope these 5 tips were SUPER helpful. If you’re feeling confident and ready to do this thing, then you probably need some help organizing your content ideas.

Download my free content calendar and planner if you want If help organizing your content, social media strategy and when you'll post videos.

Please share your biggest takeaways from this blog post and how you’re going to implement this information in your own business!

Branding and Business Coach | Michelle Knight of Brandmerry

P.S. Are we connected on Instagram? No? Well lady what’s happening here we’ve got to fix that. Come hang out with me on my favorite social media platform. Follow for inspiration and send me a DM to know we’re connected.

brandmerry 1/27/19 brandmerry 1/27/19

Three Key Pieces to Sell Anything (yes, even a house)!

Three Key Pieces to Sell Anything
(yes, even a house)!

January 27, 2019

Using the Brand Foundations, just 3 key pieces, I believe you can sell anything. I’ve used this framework to scale my own business to six-figures selling services and helping my clients sell services and products.

I really put my Brand Foundations to the test when selling our home and watched as our home was sold in just 48 hours! Crazy, I know!

I wanted to walk you through the exact process I used, while selling our house, to further explain the Brand Foundations and how you can use it in your own business.

Watch the full video below ↡ ↡

IMPORTANT TIME STAMPS

2:12 - Life update and back story on me and my journey
5:41 - Brand Foundation #1
9:14 - "We knew this was for a specific market and we marketed it that way, by doing that we separated ourselves from every other house in the industry."
10:30 - Brand Foundation #2
15:02 - Brand Foundation #3
16:15 - "It's basically saying our house is like every house on the market, you should definitely make it a priority to check it out - How many times have you done that with your content?"
19:20 - Struggle with specific messaging? Watch this!
21:37 - Spots open for 1:1 support for 30 days
25:30 - Bonus!

I love sharing tips and tools on Facebook and Instagram Live to help you create your profitable brand. I don’t want you to miss a thing…sign up for notifications here ↠

And as always please share and comment on this blog post, I love connecting with you!

brandmerry 1/14/19 brandmerry 1/14/19

PART TWO: 6 Marketing Trends For Your Brand in 2019

January 17, 2019

Welcome back lady for Part Two of 6 Marketing Trends For Your Brand in 2019. Today we are diving right into the final three marketing trends we are seeing for brands in 2019. If you missed Part One you can check it out here.

To recap we chatted about the importance of Story, Video and Consistency in marketing your brand online. The focus in 2019 us all about building trust and making that the main focus for your brand in the New Year.

Now, we’re going a step further with an emphasis on that exact community. How can you show up in 2019, market your business and build a mission-driven brand?

Check out the final three marketing trends below.

#4 Giving Back

This one is HUGE!! A movement has been happening over the past couple of years with online businesses and now entrepreneurs adding in a community-giving component. One of my predictions for 2019 is that this is going to only be heightened, as more and more brand collaborations become popular, your audience is going to want to see how you are giving back.

Again, it all comes back to building trust with your audience and they want to see more of what you’re doing with the success of your business and the impact you’re making. With a focus on mission-driven work and businesses, you’ll only be able to engage your audience on a deeper level. We’re continuing our partnership with CJ’s Journey to raise money for childhood-cancer research.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Start finding nonprofits you want to collaborate with and build a relationship with them. Invite your audience in and share why you’ve chosen this particular organization and movement. Aside from donating profits from your business at the end of the year, consider donating a portion of sales of a particular program to the mission as well.

TIP: Don’t be shy about talking about the work and impact you are doing. Remember this is a marketing trend, after all, if you don’t share that you do this kind of work then your audience won’t know.

#5 Community

I’m most excited about this because I’ve seen how powerful creating a community has been for my own profitable brand. The focus in 2019 is all about community and building not only a community of “right-now” buyers but also potential buyers. One of the best things brands can do this year is focusing on the bigger picture and mission of their brand and how they can use that to create a community.

This exact community, through trust, nurturing and consistency, is the community that will engage and buy from you. Building community is not just about the place in which you connect, but HOW you connect, which is why story and vulnerability are important.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Focus on building community through your social media profiles and lead generation. You should always have the next step for your audience on social media (think Instagram, Facebook and Youtube) for people who are interested in being part of your inner circle. Creating Facebook Groups, consistently emailing your list and opening your DM’s are just a few of my favorite ways.

TIP: Community is about YOU showing up, just as much as it is about the size. In fact, I’m going to argue that I’d rather you have an engaged community rather than a BIG community. Focus on showing up for the people you have and building trust there without obsessing over the vanity metrics.

#6 Collaborate

For too long online entrepreneurs have been living in their own little bubble, and I’m 100% guilty of this as anyone else. So often when we get started we are afraid of the “competition,” you know those women online that do what feels like EXACTLY what you do? Well, we’ve entered an exciting time where collaborations are going to move our business forward.

It’s not just about the community you create around your brand, but also the community you create with collaborators. Focusing more on supporting one another in 2019 is where it’s at and once again, you probably see a theme here, it’s all about building trust.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Start looking for friends! Seriously, stop living in your own little bubble and start reaching out to other entrepreneurs and brands you love and look for opportunities to collaborate. If someone you admire is launching a program, think of how you can come in as a guest expert. If someone you admire is amazing at an area of business you don’t feel 100% confident in or isn’t your niche, reach out to see if they will provide a guest training. The possibilities are endless here.

TIP: We’re going a step further at Brandmerry and just simply shouting out women we love. Every Friday I’m sharing women I truly admire on Insta Stories as a way to build deeper relationships and introduce my audience to some really cool women. Think of ways you can create collaborations and community without getting anything in return.

As you can see with Part One and Part Two, there’s a clear underlying theme around building trust online. Your brand is a beautiful way for you to do just that, but it has to be focused on the brand and mission and not just the business.

What do I mean by this? Focusing on the mission and message of your brand is different than the programs and services/products you offer. When you build a brand over just a business, you get to the heart of your audience and therefore build a deeper connection.

Did you love these tips? Head over to Instagram and let me know if you loved this post and which of these tips you’re most interested in integrating.

Find me on Instagram at @brandmerrycoaching.

brandmerry 1/10/19 brandmerry 1/10/19

PART ONE: 6 Marketing Trends For Your Brand in 2019

January 10, 2019

I’m sorry where the heck did 2018 go?! Seriously, can’t believe we are already strong into 2019 with so many exciting things in store for the year ahead. I’m a big nerd and love staying on top of marketing trends and research and thought, what better way to kick of 2019 than with some marketing/ entrepreneur predictions.

I’ve been in business for almost three years now (2.5 of which where I was actually making money) and I’ve got to say I’m so excited for what’s on the horizon in 2019. We’re seeing a massive shift in terms of transparency, relationships and possibilities and it’s one of the coolest times to be an online entrepreneur, educator and course creator.

So to kick off blog #1 of 2019, I’m sharing Part One of 6 Marketing Trends For Your Brand in 2019 with three non-negotiables for brands this year.

#1 StORY

Well, we all know this one is hands down my favorite! Story has always been there, engrained at the core of so many successful brands, but now in 2019, it’s more important than ever. Audiences are looking for deeper audience connection and nothing does that better than personal story. Story builds trust and as Zig Ziglar said, “If people like you they’ll listen and if they trust you they’ll do business with you!”

We’re seeing this increase mostly on platforms like Instagram, where audiences are looking for more storytelling type posts in real time than too much pre-scheduled and generic content.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Start right now in getting clear on what parts of your story will engage your audience. Hint: You’ve really got to know your audience so it doesn’t feel like you’re just writing in your diary. Get clear on what parts of your story resonate most with your audience and start sharing them piece by piece and repeat. You can never share a story too many times, seriously, you should always be on a mission to attract new people and if someone hears it more than once it just drives the message home.

TIP: Include at least one sentence of story in each post, but do your best to work in 2 pieces of a long-form story every single week. An example is while this blog post isn’t focused heavily on story I do mention a few lines in the beginning, then I can use that to expand further on social media to connect with my audience and drive them to this post.

#2 Video

My absolute favorite way to share my message with my audience, hey that’s you, is through video. If you’re not already using video for your business NOW IS THE TIME! Seriously, brands not using video for their business are going to quickly get surpassed by those that are. The shift that we are seeing in 2019 is that it’s not as much about live video, although still super helpful to have in your marketing plan, but more about evergreen options like Youtube, pre-recorded video on Facebook and IGTV.

Audiences are looking for content they can consume on their own time and stuff that doesn’t require an hour to watch!

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Start working video into your content creation strategy with at least one video a month, more if you can. Some of my favorite ways to do it are through Insta Stories, especially if you are just starting out, as a way to invite your audience in and work your way up to a longer video. Utilize Instagram Highlights to keep you important messages there for your audience to rewatch after they expire.

TIP: Shorter videos are performing better, hint why Insta Stories are being watched by over 400 million people and growing. If recording content for Youtube and IGTV videos under 15 minutes tend to perform better.

#3 Consistency

If your goal in 2019 is to create a profitable brand then consistency needs to be your word! Remember that trust quote from above? Well, consistency is needed to stay at the front of mind for your audience and nothing breaks trust like freaking disappearing on your audience.

We’re seeing an increase in themes of the week and consistency in posting so your audience knows when your content will be live. We’ve always released blogs on Thursdays and podcast episodes on Tuesday, but we are taking it a step further in 2019 with Youtube videos, specific days of the week for Facebook content and even themed Insta Stories so my audience knows when to watch (hint it’s Monday and Thursday ;))

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Content calendars are a must in business, but there is no one size fits all approach for everyone. Some of my favorite ways to plan content are through Trello, Google Spreadsheets, and a physical planner. What you want to look for here is a clear schedule of when you will be posting your content (remember consistent days is important) and what you’ll be sharing so you can plan.

TIP: I like to plan my content on paper first and then move it to a digital planner to share with my team. I’m also trying something new this year where I have a specific journal for content ideas, since they're always coming to me, and I can go back and pull from that when needed.

See what I mean an exciting year ahead! Next week I’m sharing Part Two and the final three Marketing Trends For Your Brand in 2019 and trust me you don’t want to miss it. This is what I’m most excited about with the year ahead and can’t wait for you to start doing them too.

Head over to Instagram and let me know if you loved this post and which of the top three you’re most interested in integrating.

Find me on Instagram at @brandmerrycoaching.

brandmerry 4/26/18 brandmerry 4/26/18

3 Steps to structure your content for your next FB live and how to make an offer on the back of it with confidence

3 Steps to structure your content for your next FB live and how to make an offer on the back of it with confidence

BY MICHELLE KNIGHT

First off, I want to start by saying your live does not need to be perfect. You don't need to have your hair and makeup perfectly done. You don't have to have the perfect background. You don't have to have perfect lighting. Don't let those things stop you from going live, but if those things make you feel more confident, then I say go for it! But don't let it stop you.

There are a few things that I love to have for my own live videos because they make me feel more confident in my own live videos. The first is a tripod, and the other is a mini ring light that attaches right to your phone. You can get both of these things for very cheap on Amazon. Again, these are things that make me feel more confident, but if I don't have them, I'm not going to let that stop me from doing an epic live video I have planned. The third thing that I absolutely love to have is a notebook! This helps me feel super confident having an outline of my live video right by my side.

A question I get a lot is: "What do you use to go live?" And the answer is, I use my phone! You don't have to have the perfect equipment. A phone works great and you can go live from anywhere!

Step 1: Prework

You have to understand what your audience wants, and I know I saw this a lot, but it's going to help you with the most important pieces of your live video including the title, the bullets/benefits and any story you want to share to go along with that. Tying in story and having bullet points is super important when you are going live to a cold audience.

Also, make sure your live video topic matches up with your offer, otherwise it's not going to work.

Announce before you go live, so people know and can show up to watch! Don't be afraid to send an email to your audience and post on your other social platforms to get people on your live.

Step 2: It's all about value and engagement

Engagement is such an important part of Facebook Live! As you're focusing on giving value, also check in with your audience and focus on engagement. This also takes the pressure off of you because your less in structure mode and more in conversation mode. Have people give you thumbs ups if that makes sense or ask them every so often if they have any questions!

When you're first starting out, you may not have anyone on your live videos. When I first started out, I had my mom watch all of my lives so I had someone on who can engage with me. You an also get your entrepreneur friends to do this or your husband. However, people will watch your replay, so if no one is on, you can speak to your replay watchers and say things like "If you're watching the replay, where are you watching from?" Always include your live viewers and your replay viewers. Check in frequently, so you'll have the confidence at the end to offer them something.

When it comes to giving value, don't focus so much on over delivering. Were wanting to give value, but we're not wanting to give everything away.

Step 3: The recap

Recap your live because people are hopping in later in the video, so those people will go back and watch from the beginning. You're also refreshing your audiences memory of the value you gave them. But you also need to answer these 3 very important questions:

What did they learn?
Why is it important?
What else needs to happen? (This should most likely be your offer).

Presenting your offer with confidence

You have to be confident in your offer in order for it to sell. You need to really understand the benefits of your offer, so if you have to remind yourself of that before going into the actual live video, do that. Also, it needs to make sense. Does the offer go with what you talked about throughout the live video? You'll gain more confidence with every single live video you do. Practice definitely helps, but also having someone who can go back and watch your video and give your tips to improve. This could be a friend, family member or mentor.

You can watch the whole video for a more in-depth version of this and several bonus tips below!

Head over to my Facebook Page and be sure to like and comment on the video while you are over there to help more people see this information ↠ https://www.facebook.com/brandmerrycoaching/videos/1651987714837558/

And as always please share and comment on this blog post, I love connecting with you!