Talking Head Video Production | Videography Agency London

What Are The Pros and Cons Of Making Talking Head Videos

You have seen thousands of talking head videos on YouTube and all over Facebook. Why are people making so many of these videos, while other people avoid them? Let's take a look at the pros and cons of this type of video.

But first, we should make sure we are all on the same page. A talking head video is simply a video of someone talking. It might be more than their head, but it does not include the extensive use of visual aids. Now, let's jump into our discussion.

We will start with a few of the cons.

Fear - Yes, fear is the biggest con almost every business owner and entrepreneur cites as their number one reason for not doing talking head videos. They are afraid they will look bad. They are sure they will sound bad. They are not sure what to say.

Those fears can be overcome quickly with a little practice and by working with someone to write their script.

Everyone Is Doing It - Yes, this does seem to be a con at first glance, but we need to look at it realistically. Talking head videos are big for some industries, but most small businesses never use them. Which category do you fall into?

If you are in a local market where no one is doing them, they could help you stand-out as a leader. If your industry is packed with people making talking videos, then a different approach might work better.

I'm Ugly On Cam - Yes, that is a very common concern. Now, do yourself a quick favor. Check out a lot of the very successful people talking on their camera everyday. How many of them are actually good-looking? Most of them are average people just like you and me. They overcame those fears and did it anyway. If you are still worried, consider doing a slide-show style video with your face only showing as a small image in the corner. You still get the live camera advantage without putting every freckle on display.

What are some of the pros of making your talking head videos?

Name Recognition - Think about this for a moment. I'll bet you can name half a dozen people off the top of your head who do videos. You probably follow a few of them closely. Why? Because they have created a position of authority by using content. They are most likely leaders in written content, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube because they do what most people are too timid to do.

What would it do for your business if people instantly recognized your name? How easy could you make that happen in a local market? It can happen in just a few weeks if you produce content and publish it regularly.

Increased Sales - Why do so many people continue to do talking head videos? They get results. Customers trust someone they know. What better way is there to get to know you than see you talking directly to them on camera?

What industries work great for talking head videos? Real Estate, Auto Sales, Insurance, Financial Advisors. Florists, Restaurants and many others. Stop and think how powerfully you can connect with people if you sit down and tell them about your specials for the week. What would happen if a florist talked about his business on camera while he was putting together an amazing floral arrangement?

More Referral Business - People remember your name when you talk to them. When friends ask them who they recommend your name will be on their mind. You can probably imagine what they will say, "Well, I never used him, but there is this guy on Facebook who did a video and he sure seems smart about..."

Builds Your Confidence - Let's flip that fear con around. Imagine how much more confident you will be speaking on a live video chat, in front of a group or anywhere, if you have been doing videos on a regular basis. Talking about yourself, your business and products will become second nature.

Quick To Market - How long does it take you to have an advertisement written, the graphics made and to get it out to print? Even if you are doing it for your website it might take a couple days. How fast can you make a product announcement with a video? Yes, that's right, you could do it right now. You could use your phone start talking, show the product, discuss its features and benefits, and tell people to call you. You could do the video live and then post the recording. In other words, you could be showcasing a product while your competitors are picking up the phone to call their advertising person.

Inexpensive - How cheaply can you start making videos?Your first talking head video can be done with any smart phone. You can shoot the video, edit the video and upload it all from your phone. That means zero added cost to get started.

As you start seeing results, you can upgrade to a better camera and microphone to make higher quality videos, but why wait?

Better Rankings For Your Website - Yes, you can improve your website rankings on Google by doing videos. You will have links to your website for more information with every video. Your YouTube, Facebook and Instagram profiles all point to your website. Your videos can be used for more content on your website with descriptions optimized for keywords you want to rank for.

Combine all of those factors and you can expect to see more traffic to your website, which equates to more opportunities to make sales.

As you are probably starting to see, most of the cons can be quickly overcome. The pros of doing talking head videos, and other videos, far outweigh the cons. The biggest tragedy would be to ignore the opportunity in video and watch as one of your competitors steps into the role of leader in your market. Grab your phone and make that first video today.

Matt Gardner spent 10 years in television news before setting up in corporate video production in 2003. Matt enjoys exploring different ideas and concepts withing the video production world vebu.co.uk