Could video be the missing piece of your personal branding strategy?

By Danielle Mellema, Chief Ghostwriter, Digital Content Manager

We get it—watching a video of yourself speaking can be uncomfortable. Is that actually what my voice sounds like? And why do I keep doing that with my hands?

But for those who want to keep growing in their careers and showing their leadership capabilities, the benefits that video can offer are worth pushing through the discomfort. Every form of communication has its strengths and unique opportunities. An effective personal branding strategy makes good use of multiple forms of digital communication, not just the one that makes you feel most at ease.

Here are a few reasons to give video a try:

Video catches people’s attention.

In a world where ads, headlines, links, alerts, photos, and more are all competing for our attention, our attention still instinctively gravitates toward a person who is talking to us. Sharing a video of yourself telling an inspiring story, sharing a lesson you have learned, or passing along a piece of advice or expertise will stop the scroll more often than not.

Now, that stop is not indefinite—the average attention span when looking at digital content is about 47 seconds, according to the American Psychological Association.[1] Give viewers a reason to keep watching with an interesting hook or a clear statement of the point of your video. Keep the content focused and keep the video runtime to a minimum.

Video helps you play to your strengths.

For some leaders, verbal communication is their most natural form of communication. They feel most like themselves when they are speaking rather than writing, and most clearly articulate their thoughts when they say them out loud rather than trying to put them down on paper. Though it is wise to think through your video content with at least a written bulleted outline, if not a full transcript, for those who are strong, effective verbal communicators, creating a video can take less time and offer more clarity than writing an essay.

Video allows you to communicate on multiple planes.

Videos communicate more than just the words that generate in the closed captions. Just as in-person communication, the nonverbals of a speaker in a video do a lot of “talking” as well. This allows leaders to be relatable and personable in a way that can be harder to accomplish with writing. Tone, pace, facial expressions, posture, environment, mannerisms—all of it can strengthen viewers’ engagement and their impression of you and your message. 

Video presents an opportunity to discover what resonates with your audience.

Social media platforms keep incorporating tools to make video production and posting more accessible, straightforward, and user-friendly for the less-tech-savvy. Because face-to-camera videos, when done simply, can take less time and garner more attention than other forms of digital communication like essays, it can be a great way to experiment with which subjects seem to create the best connection with your audience. With this information in hand, you can more effectively invest your time in longer-form thought leadership essays or more in-depth videos on what your audience really cares about.

[1] https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/attention-spans