Why Your Videos Aren’t Hooking People

There's so many ways to connect with people and I think we get in our own way so much more than we like to admit. And I think the key is knowing that nobody really cares. Everybody is thinking about themselves. And so don't worry about being too insecure.

Don't be worried about what people will think because there's the all likelihood is not many people are going to see what you put out in the beginning. So you don't have to worry and it doesn't matter. So feel free to just create and just know that people really don't care. They're, they're thinking about themselves, not so much about you.

And if you get out of your own way, then you're on your way to, you know, potentially something great and it can change your life. But you won't know if you don't just hit publish. So good morning, good evening, good afternoon wherever you are and wherever you're watching from. My name is Matt Pearce, host of the Visual Lounge.

And today we're going to be talking about something I think is overlooked in video creation. We're going to be talking about how do you get people interested from the very beginning. And there's probably a lot of ways you can do that, but we've got somebody here to help us talk about and learn about how you can do that visually. We'll probably get into a little bit of auditory how he does it and just learn from an amazing creator.

So let me go ahead and introduce our guest today. Our guest today is a filmmaker, entrepreneur. He's been a professional athlete, he's been a football player, a bobsledder. He's started his own agency, he's got his own YouTube channel.

He has done a spectrum of things across the, the kind of the gamut of what you would expect for being a creator. And he is an amazing person and we're so grateful that he is here with us. So please welcome to the Visual Lounge, Aaron King. Hey, Aaron.

Hey man. How's it going? It is good. Thank you so much for being with me.

You know, I want to start off, I always like to start off with that first question. So the first question is, you know, you're a creator, you've made a lot of, you've done a lot of work in video. What's one tip you, you can give the audience to help them improve their video and what they're creating. Any suggestions for us?

Yeah, it's kind of a two parter in a way, but I think nothing can ruin a good shot faster than bad Audio and so I always say focus on audio and lighting first. So that's like the kind of combined tip and lighting can be in front of a window and audio can be a cheap microphone that plugs into your iPhone and so you don't have to necessarily go over the top on production to get a really high quality content. If you have good audio and focus on your lighting and make sure that you're well lit, can be in your car, something like that.

But those are really like the two almost free things. Like I know a mic's not free but you can also use your iPhone in a creative way as a microphone. I mean your iPhone and whatever smartphone you have. So I tho that's like just a free instant face a window.

Use some sort of a mic and your production goes to another level. Yeah. You know it's funny you say that because we preach that all the time here. And I just made a video.

I was in my walk in closet, right surrounded by these clothes and just to show the sound difference and we part the clothes you can. And I just was using my iPhone, nothing fancy. And it's like an instant difference what the environment can do. So I love that tip.

Well Aaron, you've done a lot of things and you know we're here to talk about creating like these hooks. Let's start kind of high level here because I think it's important with when you're talking about like a hook and you're trying to get somebody into a video, what does that mean for someone who maybe is like, you know, I don't know the lingo, I don't know what I'm doing. I'm just getting started. So how would you describe it?

Well, you know, with vertical content right now and the scrolling nature of it, you have a split second to get someone to invest in, to watch in the rest of the video. And so a lot of people will work on these zoom ins and this fast talking and different animations to try and get that. But those are very commodity driven in my opinion. Like they've anyone can replicate it but what you can't replicate is scenery, a recognizable face and the general curiosity.

And so when I'm trying to get gain the interest of somebody and I'm filming and thinking about what I'm going to start with, I make sure that the opening clip really asks more questions than it has answers. And so that doesn't have to be verbal, it doesn't have to say do you do this? Are you, are you struggling with this? A lot of times it can just be the scenery where someone that is your target audience is your customer, they recognize.

And you can even add things like doing something like cooking, preparing a meal, making a cup of coffee while talking, and including some of the audio. And so those are little things that I think are often overlooked. If you sit here and just do a talking head video, that's great. But, you know, unless I recognize you immediately, it's, I'm less interested in stopping.

However, if you're doing something, if you're like cutting a sandwich, making something, I'm a little bit curious about what you're doing. And so after adding, adding anything to the scenery can go a long way in getting people to pause for a second. So I like to ask a lot of questions in my content's a lot of outdoor stuff. And the question that I always am looking to kind of capture is, where is he?

And so that's the main question I look at. And other things, you know, starting with a face, um, it can be an elder face. For one of our clients, we do these interviews with elders. And so instead of opening with like a drone shot of a farm, we'll open with the face of this old farmer who's weathered by said farm.

And so you want to connect on a level that brings curiosity. You want to film in a setting that's very relatable. So, for example, if you are in a, like a livestock business, for example, don't film in the house, Go film out in the pins. You know, if you are in the sports business, you know, don't film in your office.

Go into the field or the gym. And so being in the environment is another way to add a visual hook that people will stop and immediately say, okay, I, I relate with this person and I'm a little curious about where, where they are at. So that's like, really what I mean. Yeah, no, I, I, I, I really appreciate that because I think it's so easy.

And you know, before we got started, we were talking about just, we want these kind of setups. Like, it's just click and go. My setup is clearly that. But I love that, like, get out to the thing, the place or the location or something that's going to draw them in.

And I can see, I can see two things. Like, that's, that's amazing advice. And like, if you've got those environments, it's easy to do. Like you could, if you're working livestock, for an example, that would be, yeah, get out, get by the pens.

But I imagine, you know, and I Don't know if you have clients that are like this, but a lot of like the people I talk to, they work in a bit. They work at home or they work in a building that looks the same. Every office, every cubicle, it's harder to do that. So, you know, like, where, where do you find the inspiration to do that if you're in an environment that looks similar?

Do you any, any advice for us? Because I love, like, I think you're absolutely right. It makes so much sense. But I imagine there's someone saying like, yeah, that's great.

If you're working in livestock, cool. But I work in accounting. You know, it's kind of not, not as, maybe as sexy or cool or as interesting visually. So what would you suggest to those folks?

I would say pay attention to the backdrop. You know, it goes back to, we start with that lighting, so make sure you're well lit on the face. But, you know, don't be afraid of having things in the background that would seem like distractions. So anything that's your own environment works.

And so, you know, I use a livestock analogy. Of course, that's extreme. But like something like accounting or any sort of software development, if you have people behind you working and moving around and making noise, if you have a mic where they can still hear you clearly, then you still have a little bit of a, of a, like a backdrop that is relatable. And so, you know, that's where set design can come in.

If you have the time and money and everything to invest a little bit in a set design. Obviously I have a certain aesthetic I'm kind of going for here. I'm usually out in nature is where I film most of my stuff. But, you know, I think being able to establish something visually, even if it's stuff that hangs on the wall, you know, it can be degrees, it can be.

If you're a doctor filming in your, your one of your patient rooms, I immediately know you're going to talk about something medical related. And so just trying to be in your environment as much as possible. And if it is too stale of an environment where all you have is a white, white wall, then go into a busier room and just make sure you have some audio. Avoid like an echoey space.

You know, if it's like just ridiculously loud, that's one thing. But I think just allowing a little bit of distractions. You know, I've had shoots where, you know, you're in a gym, for example, and it's loud. Well, people that are used to Gyms are used to that noise.

And so it, it's not as big of a distractor if you're used to copy machines going off and there's a little bit of copy machine ambiance in the video. Well, I, that's my subliminal, like my conscience. My subconscious immediately is comfortable in a way with that. Maybe it's a little irritated or something.

Maybe it brings a different feeling out because, you know, maybe you don't love your job, but you're familiar with it. And so I think that just, I think the moral of the story there is just don't, don't be afraid of, you know, some, some different things in the background, but pay attention to it. You know, look around the office, see what you have to work with. Because we'll go do shoots with these different orgs and you know, we'll spend a little bit of time where we don't have much time, but we have to go find a spot to film.

And it's a corporate environment and we try to set that depth, you know, where you might see people walking. So you know, it's a busier office. So just pay attention to it, don't overlook it. It can help.

I think it can help a lot with, you know, gauging interest and it. And sometimes a noisy background can create a bit of a, like a recognize, like a recognizable like, I don't say brand, but it can be a part of your brand at least. So people recognize quickly if you have access to the same spot, you know, on a regular basis. So.

Yeah, no, no, I think that's, it's. I like the idea of using a background that traditionally we'd probably say in, in filmmaking or video creation like oh, we don't, we don't want all that noise, we don'. People paying attention to what's going on. But there's obviously ways to set up, especially if you learn a little bit about your camera.

You can make, you know, the blur, you know, bokeh effect you can make so you can see the motion. So, so I love that, right, Because I think it all sudden it does create a visual interest that is much, seems much more interesting than a white wall or you know, a plain looking cubicle. So I think that's great advice. And then of course, obviously you got to use good lighting and that's where gear will enable you, you know, so for sure, yeah.

And you don't need a lot because it's amazing what even the cheap gear can do. But you know, I think even with the Sound stuff. Like if someone's cooking, I want to hear the sizzle. If it, you know, like if there should be sizzle or whatever.

I'm curious because that's kind of from a visual aspect. Talk to me a little bit more about the auditory side of things, because I think especially if we're talking vertical, short form video, like, and you said you kind of got this instant, you got to hook them. If the visuals may be okay, maybe it's not, you know, you've got this moving background. It's not outdoors, beautiful mountains or, you know, rolling valleys or whatever it is.

What else can you do with the sound that brings somebody in to a video? What, what, what would you say there? Yeah, I think there can always be something. Every industry is different.

We, we, we've been pulling back a little bit on some of like, music and all the crazy stuff. Sometimes you have to treat music and those types of things, like seasoning, you know, so not every dish needs a lot of seasoning. Sometimes you just want to let it shine. So if it's a good piece of meat, you know, you just want that steak to kind of do its own thing.

You don't need to put five sauces on it. You might ruin it. And so that's where there's a little bit of an artistic element where you just have to use that judgment call. But you can, you can have a hook.

I've seen artists where, you know something, when I'm syncing up my, my mics, for example, you might clap. And so there's an artist who, he's a musician and he would open every, every video, he would just clap. But it was kind of, it had this piece around it and he had very cool, like, lighting and set. And then he would start playing amazing music.

It could be, if you're an accountant, you know, you could be, you know, type in numbers into your calculator where they have those, like that, that noise, you know, where it's constantly printing a receipt right on the fly. And you could be talking over it like, okay, 18 divided by five. Okay, you're paying too much for your car insurance. You know, like, it's just something because I'm like, what is he, what is he adding up?

And so you can get creative. If you're, you know, a personal trainer, maybe you're, you're putting some weight down in that noise. And so just any, any like, movement that has a very relatable sound that's relevant to what you do. Dropping a steak into a frying pan or Some, you know, vegetables in a frying pan and immediately sizzling.

You know, all that stuff can be used as a, like, sound design for an audible hook. And you know, you don't want to copy people because certain, some of that stuff is a commodity in a way. You know, everyone can start copying you. But if you do something that is just unique to you, maybe it's your gym, maybe it's your kitchen, maybe it's your office that has a unique sound.

It could be the water cooler. You know, maybe it's like you fill the water, the bubbles make the sound and it's like, maybe your whole video topic is like, you know, water cooler talk, you know, but like, like right before you talk, there's, there's a lot of ideas you can have. And so you just have to watch your content and pay attention. Sometimes you stumble upon it.

You know, you might, you might have an annoying sound in the background and you might hate it at first, but maybe it becomes the thing people know you for because they comment about it and helps engagement. So, yeah, a lot of different ways to stumble upon it. Well, I love the, the way you're thinking about it from an intrigue standpoint. Right.

It's not just sound for sound sake or sound that pull people in, but it like, like you're talking about the account with the, the calculator and the receipt coming out. You know, it's got the kind of zing, zing, zing, whatever sound. And I love that thinking of like, okay, how does this pull. Thinking about how does this gonna pull someone in?

It's not maybe essential to the story, but it creates curiosity. And if it's a sound that they're familiar with, I love this idea that it's gonna be like, oh, I know that sound. Ah, I'm gonna make. You know, you're connecting because you're looking.

I think this is true. You're looking for your niche. You're looking for your audience in that niche and they're gonna either resonate with that sound or it's going to be like, you know, over their head and maybe they're not the right person. Yeah.

And you're going to, you're going to, you can stumble upon. If you just start putting content out there and paying attention to the comment section, you're going to start noticing things that people are picking up on, stuff that you might take for granted, but other people, it's new or it's refreshing or maybe it's, I don't know, triggering or whatever. But I think that Stuff can be stumbled upon, you can stumble upon it, but it also can be engineered in a lot of different ways.

But I've learned a lot from my comment section, and I've stumbled upon a few things that I didn't think would be a thing, and they turn out to be big things. And so you can't be afraid of any, any, Like, I don't want to, like, any perceived mistakes or errors. Might be. You might be backing into greatness in a lot of ways.

And so just that's where short form is great, because you can. You can, can learn quickly and find out what's. What's working or at least what's resonating with people. Yeah, well, that's also great advice, right?

Like, you got to put stuff out. You can't. You can't wait for perfect. I mean, we know the.

That old song of, you know, for video editors, the work is really never done. You just have to ship it. So I do want to ask you, Aaron, as you know, you've had this journey and if we're okay to go there. Like, you've obviously got some great knowledge about video creation, but you weren't always a video creator.

And I'm just curious what led you down the path of being a creator, because you obviously did some pretty incredible things. Just as an athlete. Sounds like you had a couple businesses. And becoming a creator is obviously, I think there is some natural kind of flow from, like, the things that you were doing.

But share with us, what is it that, like, led you to the point where you are today? Yeah, after. After I wrapped up my. My football career kind of ended because of a series of concussions.

And so I was laying there wondering what to do, and we started a sporting goods company. And at the time, it was. We were really focused on SEO. And I thought it would be a good time to go heavy into YouTube because, you know, it was acquired by Google a few years prior.

And I thought, well, this is going to be the future of search. And there's a couple sides that really made me two things that made me obsessed with video content. One, I could show people. Like, I could teach people in a way where it's like, just let me show you.

And I could reference it over and over again because it's online. Second thing is I can just manifest creativity. So my core, I'm a creator and an artist. I just want to create things.

And when I see something in my head, whether it's photography or video, I can manifest it and I can actually show you that's the power of video, which is so cool. And you know, over the, over the years, not only has video been great for, you know, educating people, educating our audience, but you know, we, we really took a long tail approach and said, well, let's focus heavily on SEO, creating a lot of, a lot of valuable content or we think will be valuable for teaching using our products.

And then now we're more of an educational product on this particular sports brand, King Sports Training. And you know, we, we started with paid search. We're selling like widgets like cones and bungees and stuff like that. So we started with paid search and you know, you spend $5,000 on ads, drive some traffic, try to optimize that and the second you turn it off, it was just done.

Whereas you know, we invested into the SEO and the video and the landing pages and ten years later it's, that was still driving more sales than any of the paid search was, was organic traffic. And we started this back in like 2011 and so we had a head start in a lot of ways and created high quality content. But I just, I just loved being able to reach people and then you start seeing the comments and when you venture into different industries and different, different places you start I think currently, you know, in the, in the, the times we live in and after what we just went through with, with the lockdowns and everything, right now people are, they're just starving for connection.

And you know, for me, I, I lost my business in Covid. You know, I've been in this entrepreneurial, I've been doing entrepreneurship for about a decade and I finally broke through, we finally hit our head, started a new business with a, he was a client at the time. We became partners, started a new business. In 18 months we hit our uh, we had our first million dollar year.

So we were in business for 818 months. But then like 2019 we had a million dollar year and then we're just shut down because we're mostly in live events. And so then I just got into, I just moved into my car and just started driving around, taking pictures and started just creating. I spent a year just learning photography, like relearning some things and then just started throwing stuff out there on TikTok, just, just creative stuff just for fun.

Had nothing to do with anything, just stuff I wanted to create and the connection that I've had with people around the world through content and storytelling and not like even trying to say anything, you know, just more expressing the connection. I mean it, it's blown up and in the last year I've added more, I guess, followers than I thought I ever could or ever would or didn't. Didn't even like what. That wasn't necessarily my goal at the time.

But through content, if you're really, if you just are true to your brand, who you are, you're going to connect with people in a good way. And so if you can really live that and don't try to sell, I think you're going to connect with people in a more authentic way without being salesy, being pushy, gimmicky. I think education is key, you know, part of content. So a big reason why people learn.

But now I am, you know, I started the sports brand, we started purely around education and that's what we're going to keep doing. This other brand started out more as just lifestyle, just art, whatever. And through that now people want to learn how to do certain things related to it like photography and travel and building a car and what kind of gear to get. So that's turning into a different business and is turning into in a lot of ways like a self development and learning platform.

And so you know, when I, when I think about content and just the, the way to approach it is if you're, if you don't pay attention to what everyone else is doing and you just express really what you are like who you are and lean into those, those core values, you're gonna, you're gonna connect with the right people in a more meaningful way. And you know, I think that's where a lot of the value is and that's where why creators are so powerful right now. Because a lot of creators just start creating and have no clue how to monetize and still don't even with the following.

But that's why people are following them, because they know, they know they're not being sold anything. And you know, we've done this with a couple of companies as well where we just talk about stories, we're not selling anything. It's all related to the lifestyle around the product and the service. And now people want to switch their switch from the competitor to them just because they align with the lifestyle and the values, the core values which aren't even being like pushed, they just can sense it through the content.

And so I think just you'll connect with people if you just take the time to express how you're feeling, what you think your opinion, um, might piss some people off, depending on what your opinion is and what the industry is. But that's good because the more people piss off, probably the more people you're gonna be aligned with who are the right person. So not that I try to piss people off, but it can. It can work, can be a strategy.

So, yeah, I just think being, being, don't. Don't manufacture anything, you know, just go with your gut and just see what happens. You know, that's been what worked for me. Yeah, well.

Well, thanks for sharing that journey. I mean, it's impressive, but I love that, that kind of. At the core, you said I'm a creator, I love to create, and I think that resonates with a lot of people that find themselves in this space. Even.

Even if it. Like, I think when we were talking, I mentioned that, you know, I've been at TechSmith a long time, but still see myself as very much a creator type. You know, this is not. This podcast is not high on my list of things that I need to get done, but.

But I choose to keep doing it because, you know, as a creator, this is an outlet that I feel, one, I'm good. I feel like I'm decent at good is debatable, but I'm decent at it. And two, it's. It's something I see value in.

And so, But I, But. And I also love the authenticity part, right? That whether it's you as an individual or a brand, you're representing your company. That being that authentic individual and authentic voice is really powerful.

And I. So I love seeing that come together. And I really appreciate that perspective because I do think it's. It is easy to lose sight of that authenticity because, you know, we've got.

You got this thing I want to sell, I want this thing I got to do. And it's easy to, you know, because you got to make money. Businesses need to stay in business. But so I appreciate that.

Well, Aaron, before we. We're going to jump to our speed round questions in just a second. I guess any last words of wisdom or advice you'd want to give anybody out trying to get going, creating, or they're in the midst of maybe feeling, you know, feeling the pressure to get the job done. Yeah.

Use speed. Speed is a. Is a weapon. And the faster you can get out there, the faster you can iterate and you'll learn.

And so if you can just don't worry about being perfect, be, you know, focused on, you know, finished is better than perfect. And if you can get to get this stuff out there fast, you can iterate quicker and you're gonna. You're gonna learn much Faster, which will make your content bigger, which will you find out what you need to be creating. And so don't overthink it.

Just go. I started with horrible content and it's evolved very rapidly because I had the advantage of speed and I learned quickly. And so I think everyone should just focus on fast iterations and getting stuff out there. That's.

That's one of the biggest advantages. You know, movement is an advantage if you can just get out of your own way. Love it. All right, well, Aaron, we're gonna jump into our Speedrun questions.

These are meant to be Fast Furious kind of. We're gonna roll some dice here. So we're gonna go over to our speed round. So give us just a second.

All right, Aaron, we're gonna bring up the dice. Cam, I. I warned you about this, but we got a 12 sided die. We're gonna roll the die and see where we roll.

We got 12 different questions. Oh, it's just. Camera. Just couldn't.

I couldn't get it quite lined up. So that is a 10. So question number 10 here, Aaron, is, look, you've been a creator. You've actually shifted careers a little bit.

But if you had to shift away from being a creator and what you're doing now and you could do anything, what would you do? You know, I love designing. I love creating experiences. So something like an interior designer or a dj.

I know those are two totally different things, but like designing space, if there's a bridge between those two types of maybe it's an event planner. I don't know. I like, I really like creating an experience for people. So I would say something like that.

I love it. I love it. In fact, I mean, small aside, I've been helping out with events that our company does and starting to learn about how, you know, you go to trade shows, events. And I just watched a video about designing experiences like at a trade show.

So fascinating you say that maybe I need to think about a dj. There's an idea for sure. All right, next die roll here. So let's see is the dots at the bottom.

So it's a nine here. So question number nine. You know, you've done a lot of things. What's the one thing that you're most proud of in your career?

I would probably say failures, because I don't have really any regrets. And I have some successes, some wins, some cool stuff. I was in a YouTube, YouTube Super bowl commercial, which was something really proud of from a creator standpoint. But I just think the failures because it Means that I didn't.

There's no woulda, coulda, shouldas. And so that's the biggest thing, is not having any regrets. Yeah. Love it.

All right, Aaron, one more. One more die roll. Let's see what we get. No duplicates, hopefully.

Question number four. All right, this one's been coming up a lot lately. Four has been very. A popular role.

Maybe I gotta check the die, but what's your guilty pleasure? Song or movie that you secretly love? You got a movie or song that you're like, man, this is my go to. Man, that is a tough one.

That is a tough one. You know, I don't know if this is a guilty pleasure, but it's. It's definitely trending. You know, Taylor Swift's not bad, I think.

Not that I like, listen to a lot of Taylor Swift, but, you know, she's the most. The hottest thing right now. And I got. I got no hate on her.

I think her music's really good. So how about that? I don't know. I think she's got some really good music.

Hey, nothing. Nothing wrong with that. I learned a long time ago. Maybe this is just old man coming out, but like, I was so.

You get so caught in a category like, I've got to be this. Only listen to things. You know what? The world's full of amazing musicians.

And you know what? More power to Taylor Swift because, I mean, obviously she's doing something right. So aren't we. Don't we wish we could all be that successful?

So. Yeah. All right, Aaron, well, I appreciate you spending time with me, sharing your story, sharing your advice. This has been.

Been awesome. You know, obviously, I think people are going to want to continue to learn from you, learn from what you're doing, watch what you're doing. Where can they find you and connect with you? Yeah.

Deep Snap on all social media. DeepSnap.com getting ready to launch a new website. It does have our coffee.

So Grumpy Bear coffee is the hat I'm wearing our new coffee brand, and I am coming out with the show and we have our Grumpy Bear podcast. There's a whole kind of brand thing happening with Grumpy Bear where we're trying to do a lot and you're gonna be putting out a lot of content. But deepsnap.com is going to be a place that has everything perfect.

So everybody gotta go check out Deep Snap, and if you like coffee, go get some coffee, check out the brand. You know, Aaron, as we wrap up the show, we Just like to ask for that, that final take. So, Aaron King, what is your final take? There's so many ways to connect with people, and I think we get in our own way so much more than we like to admit.

And I think the key is knowing that nobody, nobody really cares. Everybody is thinking about themselves. And so don't worry about being too insecure. Don't be worried about what people will think because there's the all likelihood is not many people are going to see what you put out in the beginning.

So you don't have to worry and it doesn't matter. So feel free to just create and just know that people really don't care. They're. They're thinking about themselves, not so much about you.

And if you get out of your own way, then you're on your way to, you know, potentially something great and it can change your life. But you won't know if you don't just hit publish. So just go. Go for it.

Get out of your way. Awesome, awesome advice. Well, Aaron, I want again, thank you for joining me in the Visual Lounge. Hey, man, I appreciate you having me.

You bet. All right, everybody go check out Aaron's stuff. I mean, what an amazing story. His whole journey is actually just so incredible, but the advice he gave is so good.

And I don't care if you're trying to do the solo creator thing. You're in an organization. Wherever you're at on that journey, this is good advice. And I love the advice he gave about speed and movement.

Because if you're learning, you're growing and you're growing, you're getting better, you're going to do more things and that will allow you to focus in. And if you're finding you're not getting traction one way, you can go another. So that fits in with the mantra of the show that we talk about at the end of every show. But before I say it, I'm just going to remind you, hey, like, and subscribe.

You know, if you're. Wherever you're watching this, we'd love to get that vote of confidence that we're making content that is helpful to you, that you're finding it valuable. And if you've got feedback, you got a guest recommendation, email us at the visual loungechecksmith.com or find us on one of the channels that you can find us on.

With that said, what we hope you do is take a little time to level up every single day. Thanks, everybody.