It’s gear, right Amy? I knew it. I need a better camera. The brand of my organization is at stake here.

Oh, wouldn’t that be nice? If we just suddenly had the best content on the web simply because we spent a little more cash on a camera? Or if we played basketball like an NBA All-Star because we bought the right sneakers?

Although video can be a tough nut to crack for marketing departments around the world, it’s amazing the consensus that exists around the gear as the problem. Unfortunately, no. Improving the equipment you use—no matter how fancy—will not fix the problem you’re having with video.

Improving your communication skills will.

Getting Back to Basics

While we’re all sitting here trying to figure out how to react to the latest attack of a social media algorithm or discover a hot trend we can ride on for all of two hours max, the most important piece to developing content that works has gone completely missing.

We’re in our own heads so much when it comes to the next great campaign that we forget how much marketing is just the start and continuation of a conversation… with people. Not algorithms. Not bots. Not tools. Real live people.

It happens to all of us. We let the pressures from above impact how we approach our customers. That’s not doing anyone any favors and it’s the brands that stick to what they know about whom they’re talking to that rise up.

Focus on Your Customer

Whom are you talking to? Who are they? Who are you? How are you similar? Where do your paths cross? What matters to them? Why do they want to feel heard?

Now we’re getting somewhere with what it means to create meaningful and exciting content. You’re actually trying to step into their shoes and understand them.

A botched attempt at marketing starts with being in the wrong frame of mind. One that is focused solely on your product and not on your customer at all.

When you reframe that thinking to focus on the customer and the story you can tell that will relate, they get closer to your product and create their own desire for it.

I’m commonly asked a question by people in my audience after I give a talk (this is your heads up if you ask me the same thing after I speak at Conex this August… it’s been done) about whether vlogging is right for companies, brands, or anyone that may have more at stake than an individual personal brand on YouTube.

I’m sorry if you don’t like the word “vlogging” because it sounds funny. I’m sorry if you think YouTube is for kids. I’m not sorry that these mediums are incredibly valuable and important for even the biggest brands in the world. The smart ones will not think of themselves as different from those savvy kids online but instead, consider themselves as part of that culture.

Speaking to One Person

What is the biggest mistake to make with video? Only thinking about that camera. Or only thinking about the bottom line. Or only thinking about the people watching who won’t understand.

When you shift your focus and deliver a great story to the one person that matters in this scenario—your customer—your content will be far and away better than many of the millions of minutes of video uploaded to the Internet every day.

You’ll speak to them differently. You’ll be more present. You’ll deliver the most effective ideas and guidance.

Fix your videos by looking at the lens of the camera (the one you have in your pocket is just fine) like it is the face of that person you’re doing this for. You’ll have content that beats the competition every day of the week, no matter what you’re up against.

The camera is recording. You’re prepared. It’s time to be “on.” Whom are you talking to? Look at them and share your story.