Video can seem so daunting to any business, never mind the solopreneur Interior Designer. It takes time to learn how to make great videos, and then it takes time to shoot and edit them. But, as our guest on today’s episode tells us, it’s not as hard as it looks, and it’s worth it. Today’s episode tackles the basic equipment you may need, whether your smartphone can do the trick, and how to turn simple video shoots into content resources that can last you months on numerous different platforms. We’re unlocking the social media video toolbox today on the Wingnut Social Podcast.

Tori Toth joins Natalie and Darla on this week’s episode. Tori is a renowned home stager and lifestyle authority, visibility strategist, educator, YouTuber, blogger and international speaker whose clientele spans the globe. Her peers recently recognized her as one of RESA 2018 Top 100 Most Influential People in Real Estate Staging. Her how-to videos on YouTube have reeled in more than a million views, thanks in no small part to her former career as a TV reporter.

• [4:54] How Tori became convinced that video was the way to go

• Tori Toth

• South Park’s report on gingervitis

While not everyone is going to be a natural when it comes to using video on social media, it’s worth it to take the time to learn, because as Tori says in this episode, the video is just the beginning. Once you make a video, you can pull the audio to use elsewhere, you can use still images on your social media, you can pull quotes and make graphics out of them.

That doesn’t mean you have to be on camera for an hour at a time. Think of how you can make short, entertaining videos for your social media. Not only will it help get you out there as an expert in an area, it’ll provide a wealth of content for you to use down the line.

You don’t need to be a professional cinematographer to make great videos for social media. As Tori says, the first step is to just set up a video camera in the corner, set it and forget it. Just let it record what you’re doing in the house, to get sort of “behind the scenes” footage. From there you can do more close-ups, some reaction shots from clients, scripting etc. But videos are really constructed out of various components, so all you have to do is make each individual component, to make it feel less overwhelming.

Tori gave some basic equipment recommendations for making your first social media videos, and one vital piece of advice: Make sure your camera has a flip screen. If you’re shooting yourself, you’re going to want to make sure that you’re not cutting off your own head, and that the shot is framed the way you want it. But Tori also advised against letting equipment stand in your way. Start using what you have today. And if that means using your iPhone, use your iPhone.

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