When it comes to automating LinkedIn, it can be hard to not feel robotic and stiff. How can you connect to another person when you don’t have time to handwrite each message?
And as a smart business owner trying to find leverage, you don’t want to stumble over cold lead generation and prospecting that is low converting. You want to be better than the rest and have conversion rates that will make your momma proud (while minimizing the workload needed – of course). So, How do you stand out when your email and social media outreach looks the same as every other marketer out there?
There’s a way to put your best foot forward and have the best of both worlds. Automation and outreach can equal engagement if you know how to do the math.
Allow us to present…
The Introduction Video
The eyes are the windows to the soul, so why send a brick wall? Instead of trying to sell yourself through a wall of text, why not show them who you are with a more personal touch.
By using an Introduction Video, you can connect with whomever is on the other side of the screen. You can cut through the online noise just by recording a simple hello. 👋
Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean you have to make a new video for every email you send. A fairly generic video will do just as well, although you might want to consider have a few more specific ones in your back pocket. If you’re trying to reach a specific sector or clientele, it might be in your best interest to have a separate video dedicated just for them. It’ll be more effective, and you’ll make that bigger impact you’ve been looking for.
Now this doesn’t mean you should run off and hire a Hollywood film crew. No one has the budget for that anyway. If you have a laptop with a camera, you’re already 90% done.
The other 10% is actually recording the video and putting it up. This can be intimidating for many business owners. But there’s an incredibly simple way to get exactly what you need without a ton of technological know-how.
Using Loom
My go-to recording choice is Loom, a Google Chrome app that you can use straight from your browser. There’s no messy storage involved, since it uses Cloud technology. There are many competitors out there just like it, but it’s been my preferred choice for all of my Introduction Videos.
It also gives you a range of options beyond just taping. You can make a video by sharing just your screen, just your camera, or your screen and your camera at the same time. For a personal Introduction Video, I use camera only and make it big so you can see me starting from my shoulders to the top of my head. When you’re ready to film, make sure your computer is in a well lit room with your chair directly in front of it. Try and make whatever we can see behind you neat and uncluttered so we can focus on you. Maybe if there’s a bookshelf behind you, you can display your favorite book. Hang your diploma. Whatever best represents who you are or your business!
When you’re all settled, open Google Chrome and click on Loom. Double check that you’re fully in frame, and start recording. In my video, I basically just introduced myself, talked about what type of clients I work with, and gave a breakdown of my business. It’s the same kind of thing you’d write in your LinkedIn message, just more personable.
Afterwards, your video is stored in the Cloud, ready to share for the next step.
Spreading the Word
To the side of the video you just made, you’ll see the option to send your video with a link! If you already guessed that you’re going to copy and paste that link, you’re ahead of the game.
Don’t be nervous that this is just a random link. Loom is great simply because once you paste the link into a LinkedIn message, it’ll show essentially a snapshot of the video. It’ll show up that way no matter where you put it, whether that’s messages or an email. You’re already standing out from the big wordy cold emails others are sending.
When someone clicks that video, it’ll take them to the Loom page and they can start watching the video. You’d be amazed at how many people actually do click and watch. I get a lot of responses on LinkedIn saying “Hey, this is a really cool touch.”
That’s the kind of thing you want to hear from your cold emails! Now, it’s time to take that video to the next level.
Going Fully Automated
We can send out the individual link, wasting hours better spent on the business. It’ll do the job, but it won’t be the most efficient process. Instead, let’s take it one step further: automation.
You may remember a video I posted before on how to use Octopus to automate your LinkedIn (How to Automate LinkedIn Lead Generation with Octopus CRM). I highly recommend you check out that video so you can get the full idea of what it does, but I’ll still touch on it here.
Octopus is a website that allows you to automatically connect with people on LinkedIn and send the automated messages I’ve been talking about. This is where our two programs collide. I can link the video in the automated message so that when a few different people connect with me, I’m able to select all of them and send the video. Each person will receive it individually.
Octopus really makes it easy to send a cool personal touch in an automated way. Sign Up for Octopus CRM HERE
In Summary
All you need to do is record the video once. You copy that link and automate it, making it easy to send your introduction to hundreds of people quickly and easily. Although there are many competitors, I recommend Loom and Octopus since I’ve always found them the easiest to use for my prospecting needs.
If you’re interested in seeing what exactly this process looks like, my video, How to Personalize Cold Email or LinkedIn Messages Using Loom Videos, is up on my Youtube page (PulleyFP). Subscribe to us there for more valuable content. Are you ready to get your time back?