In one of my last blogs, I talked about the importance of sizzle reels and everything you should know about them. It’s quite an extensive blog because it has all you need to get started, but I’m a practical gal and if there’s a short and simple guide to learn something, I’ll go for that one first. That’s why I wanted to dedicate this bite-size article to talking about sizzle reel essentials.
Here’s a question for you: when was the last time you saw a video on your computer?
The last video I saw was an Instagram reel of a salad recipe that had a message saying “please, put your phone in horizontal” And I thought “really? Is it necessary to have a warning like that? I’m not a child” But then I asked myself the same question I’m asking you. And the fact was that most of the videos I see, I see them on my phone, and they are vertical. More times than not, I scroll down if the video is not comfortable for me to watch.
So I came to a realization: people — including myself— will often choose the path with the least resistance, very much like electricity. We actually do need easy-to-follow messages that make our lives simpler because most of the time, we get distracted and something as simple as a salad recipe can get lost.
That’s the first thing we need our sizzles reels to be: simple and easy to follow.
So, what are the sizzle reel essentials for us busy people?
Introduction
Tell people who are you and how you can help them. Leave that clear in the first couple of seconds and maybe even support that information with graphics of your name and logo.
Tagline and topics you cover
Your potential clients will appreciate you taking their time into consideration and tell them right away if you are the speaker they are looking for. Remember they are as busy as you are! Here you could also add the benefits for your potential clients and listeners.
B-Roll or complementary footage
One of the most underrated sizzle reel essentials: B-Roll. This can be videos of you on your presentations, footage of your audience, or even stock material if you don’t have any footage yourself.
Contrary to what you might think, people will be more motivated to hear you if you add a couple of B-Roll footage as a “break” rather than having a long video featuring you talking to the camera.
Call To Action
If you’ve managed to retain people’s attention to this point, a Call To Action is the perfect way to encourage clients to see more of you. Could be a simple “Hey, share it with someone who wants to eat a salad that’s more than lettuce and vinegar” — If we take the salad example from before— Or maybe promote a freebie and invite people to go to your website to download it.
Of course, these are just the essentials for an introductory sizzle reel, but there are other kinds of reels that you can do. I’ll cover them in another post. Meanwhile, let’s create simpler and useful videos with these sizzle reel essentials.
