How to make videos and do live stream for your direct sales network marketing business

Creating videos for your direct sales network marketing business is a wonderful way to showcase your unique brand, personality and style. Live and recorded videos help you connect with and attract customers, hosts and team members. Most of the social media sites offer live streaming now with Facebook Live being the most used and viewed currently.  Facebook has even shared that it is giving live video a higher priority in the newsfeed. This is great for entrepreneurs! It allows you to showcase your personal marketing mission, share your business and connect authentically with your followers for free!

Many direct sellers and network marketers are not sure how to get started with recording videos or doing live streams. It does not require a lot of expensive equipment or technical skills to create your videos and get them online or to begin doing your own live streamed videos. In this post I will be sharing some simple tips, steps and tools you can use to get started recording videos, doing live streams and marketing your business through video. (Full disclosure this article contains some affiliate links. I only recommend products I personally have used or believe are valuable though.)

Preparing to Record the Video:

Create a nice backdrop that has some visual elements that reflect your brand or at least look clean and inviting.  This can be an area in your home or office. You can also use a backdrop cloth on a curtain rod or even a pretty shower curtain behind you for a budget-friendly option. You do not have to spend a lot of money to create a nice backdrop. Once you are making more money and want to invest in something nicer you can. A bookcase or shelves with some pretty decor items on them or on the wall always look nice.

Make sure you have good lighting in front of you and behind you for your video. Natural lighting is best so if you can record your videos in a room with good sunlight or near a window this will help the quality of the video and is also free. 

You can purchase a desk size ring light like this one that I use on Amazon for around $20.  It’s helpful to have a lamp or light angled behind you when recording or doing livestreams to balance the ring light.

When I’m doing livestreams and sitting at my desk I use the small ring light.  When I’m doing recorded videos where I need to be back from the camera, I use umbrella or box lights.

If you have more space in the area you are shooting or, I recommend the soft box lights like these.   I have 1 at an angle to right and another on the left that points towards my backdrop to create depth and reduce shadows.  

If you are on a budget, you can also purchase the day light bulb at Amazon or your local Lowe’s / Home Depot stores and place  them in your own lamps and have them nearby to bring in a similar natural lighting effect.

Camera and Microphones make a huge difference. The picture and sound should be clear and easy for people to view and hear what you are saying. (I share some suggested cameras, mics and equipment further down in this article.)

Use a camera or phone stand or tripod.  I use this Aibcon Tablet/Phone Stand that was only $8 for my smartphone for videos and also have a portable phone tripod like this one that I use sometimes too that.  There are also some Youtube videos of how to make your own phone stand with household objects like binder clips and paper cups if you can’t afford to buy one right now.

Plan your topics and key talking points in advance. This will help you stay on point, eliminate rambling and help you feel more confident.

Remember to smile and breathe when you speak. People can feel your energy through your videos by your posture and facial expressions.  Relax and get comfortable talking to the camera. Pretend you are having a discussion with a friend. This will definitely make a difference in how people connect you and the message you are sharing.

Recording, Editing & Uploading Videos with your Smartphone:

Smartphones now have excellent cameras and microphones on them. Most will allow you to record for 30 minutes (some longer) so they are great for your shorter videos.

You can record on your phone and then upload directly to your social media network. Some phones allow you to make simple edits to the video too like trimming out the beginning or ending, adding text and titles. There are also several apps you can use for editing videos on mobile devices.

You can also sync your phone with Google Drive/Photos and have all your pictures and videos upload to your Google Photos so you can access the video from a computer. (You can probably do this on iCloud too, I only use Android/Windows based products.)

This will allow you to easily download the video to your computer and use a free video editing program like Movie Maker (Windows), Filmora’s free version or iMovie (Mac) to add images, text, slice out portions of the video where you might have messed up or there was a weird noise in the background and then save and convert it to an mp4 video.

Once the edited video is saved you can then upload it right to the social media network you want to share it on.  You can also upload it to Youtube and grab the code to embed it onto your blog or website if you are wanting to use the video on your website/blog or in a post.  If you want to keep your videos private where they can only be viewed on your website and nowhere else (perhaps for private team training videos), a paid video hosting platform like Vimeo or Wistia is a good, affordable option.

Recording , Editing & Uploading from your Computer:

Facebook now offers the ability to livestream from your desktop and even screenshare straight from your computer through FB live.   You can also use apps like BeLive.tv or Streamyard (free) to stream to FB from your desktop too that has lots of extra features like showing user comments, screenshare, multiple people livestreaming (great for guest trainers), polls and more. If you have a Zoom Pro account with the webinar add on you now use it to Livestream on FB too. This is awesome for having multiple speakers and being able to show your screen as well.

If you want to do live streams or record longer videos or record from your computer, I recommend buying a higher quality webcam like the Logitech C920 Webcam and the Blue Yeti Microphone.  Blue makes some lower end microphones like the Blue Snowball mic that are also good for beginners but you cannot beat the quality of the Yeti. It is the top-rated podcasting mic. I also sometimes will use Lapel Microphones like these for my videos. It’s a small, conveient mic that I will take with me when I am travelling in case I need or want to record any videos or am doing live training.  The Blue microphones and your smartphone mic can usually pick up the audio very clearly as long as you are within 3-4 feet away.

You can also use a digital camera like the Canon Rebel for shooting your videos. They have built-in mic’s and can record really high-quality videos.

If you want to create videos that show a presentation like a powerpoint or go between video of you on camera and a presentation on your computer (like a powerpoint slide show or a program tutorial), I recommend Screencastomatic for that. There is a free version but it only allows for 15 minutes of video. The premium version is only $15 a year. (Which is totally a steal!) This tool works amazing & allows you several options from recording only your screen to only your webcam to your screen with a small window showing your webcam recorded video in the corner too. If you use my Screencastomatic referral link you can save 20% off your first year too!

I mentioned Movie Maker, Filmora & iMovie as free editing software programs to use to edit and make your custom videos earlier but there are a few other premium programs you may want to invest in if you are looking to do highly customized videos. Camtasia and Adobe Premier are the top rated video editing programs.  I personally use Adobe Premier to edit and customize most of my longer videos. You can really do a lot with the free editors though, so I would suggest checking out all the tutorials on Youtube for the free programs first as you may be able to do everything you need in them.  Screencastomatic also offers some limited editing features so if you are using it with your computer and webcam/mic to create videos, you may be able to do all the edits you need within Screencastomatic.

Once you have your videos edited you are ready to upload them to your social media networks or Youtube. Again, you can also upload it to Youtube and grab the code to embed it onto your blog or website if you are wanting to use the video on your website/blog or in a post.  If you want to keep your videos private where they can only be viewed on your website and nowhere else (perhaps for private team training videos), a paid video hosting platform like Vimeo or Wistia is a good, affordable option.

Live Stream Video Creation, Downloading & Uses:

As I mentioned, livestream is very popular right now and a fabulous & free way to authentically connect to your followers. I highly encourage you to start doing some live streams. You can do short ones where you discuss a specific product or your host program or your business opportunity or some problem that your customers might be dealing with that your product solves. You can also do question & answer live streams – your followers will love this!

Remember you can use your smartphone through the FB app for FB Lives or your desktop computer now to livestream and screenshare straight through FB. Other options include Belive.tv and Streamyard (what I currently use) and a Zoom Pro account with the webinar add on and ECamm Live.

Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat all offer the ability to do short live videos now too directly through their app! 

Live stream is also great for doing online parties to increase your orders, get more bookings and recruits. You can create the home party experience right there in the live stream and wow your guests and explode your business all for free with the social media platform. You can get access to my Online / FB Party Training System to learn how to create your own FB parties that rock too.

Once you do a live stream on FB, you can actually download the video and then make edits to it and upload it on your website or blog. It depends on the browser you are in, but some will allow you to right click on the video and click on “Save Video As” and download it directly to your computer. Sometimes you have to open up the livestream in it’s own Facebook window fullscreen, click on the down arrow and then click on Download Video.  Also depending on the smartphone you use, you can often save the video as you live streaming it so it is saved as a video on your phone.  Then you can make your edits and upload it on other pages, Youtube or your own website/blog.

Important things to remember when recording videos or doing live streams:

Be yourself. Video and live streaming is a fabulous way to showcase who you are and connect with your followers. Show off your unique personality, share your perspective, your sense of humor, your passion. Showcase the solutions you & your product offers. Share your “awesomesauce” and create a genuine connection with your community.

Focus on the message. Trust me, I know we all worry about how we look, what others might think of us, if we sound stupid or might mess up our words…  I get it, I really do. I have struggled with my weight all my life and I get 1 good hair day a month if I am lucky.  🙂 I still put myself out there though because I know that serving others is more important than me being self-conscious Remember to focus on the message though, focus on serving people, on connecting, on sharing something of value, on helping people, on providing a solution. The message is way more important than the messenger.

Be a dork & have fun. Don’t worry about messing up, seriously if you do then people will relate to you SO much more than someone who appears perfectly put together and completely professional. People connect with authenticity. Don’t be afraid to be goofy, to laugh at yourself if you do mess up, to make a joke or if your kid or dog comes running through the room and knocks the camera off. (Or if you are like me and talk with your hands and knock the camera off the stand frequently on your own.) 🙂

Be prepared. I mentioned above to have some topics chosen and key points ready to talk about. This really does help you feel more confident. You can also practice by standing in front of a mirror and pretending you are talking to the camera. Think about several different topics you can talk about, frequently asked questions, seasonal ideas, helpful tips and create a list of video ideas.

Keep practicing. As you do more videos and more live streams you will begin to feel more comfortable doing them and will be able to do them without notes or a script. Be consistent with your videos and FB Lives. Make it a goal to create and share at least one video / live stream a week to start then increase as you get more confident.  I love doing FB Live’s now, especially question and answer sessions with my community where I just have to be prepared for anything.  I know it will become easier and even fun for you as you do more of them too.

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I hope this article helps you be able to feel competent and confident to be able to start doing your own videos and live streams.  Keep it simple to begin with and use the tools you already have or the free/low cost options. You can always upgrade to better equipment later on as you earn more money and gain more experience. Your first few videos might be scary and not worthy of an Emmy award but you and your videos will get much better as you do more of them and learn more about speaking and editing.

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