 Friends, if you have not started using video to connect with your meeting planner clients, now is the time to do it. Planners have always needed to visualize what their program would look like in a hotel or destination. And since they can't travel to your destination right now, video is the best way to show off your best assets. Want to learn some great tricks? Stick around. Hey friends, it's Leanne and the way that we sell to meeting planners has really shifted over the past few months. A shift that I feel is actually long overdue in how we present information to meeting planners. And since building relationships and educating our meeting planner clients in person is not an option right now, video is really the best way to communicate with them and show off the assets of our product or our service. And if you have not yet dabbled in video, now is the time to start. And friends, it's perfect for a few reasons. People are not looking for perfection right now. They're also not looking for high budget productions. They are looking for authentic and real experiences through your lens. So now is the time to experiment and try out video on your product or service. In fact, one of the best video series being done right now in our space comes out of beautiful St. John New Brunswick. Victoria Clark with Discover St. John is presenting this amazing series called Sampling St. Awesome and she's showcasing culinary delights from the New Brunswick region. Victoria herself is a delectable delight. She is absolutely captivating and she's bringing you into her story through a simple low production filmed on your iPhone video. Make sure you check out Victoria's videos up here over on the Discover St. John YouTube channel. And while you're on YouTube, don't forget to subscribe to my channel and click on that little bell to be notified of new content each and every week. So let's dive into some simple tips and best practices about using video. And then I'll share some creative ideas with you. Tip number one, simply use your phone to record your video. Now you can use your DSLR camera as well. Of course, it's going to work fantastic. But if you're not ready to take that leap, use your phone. It works perfectly. The production quality is excellent. You can download a multitude of free editing tools on your phone like Movavi or InShot. With an iPhone, you can get iMovie. And these tools are really easy to learn. And if you need tutorials on how to learn those editing apps, you can watch a couple of videos on YouTube and be caught up just like that. Tip number two, when you're filming, make sure you film in horizontal fashion. Similar to what a TV screen would look like in front of you. You can film in portrait, but you'll get a bigger picture of your hotel or your destination by filming horizontally this way. Watch for your finger and make sure it's not in front of the lens. Believe me, I've done this a few times and I've made that mistake a multitude of times. Tip number three, create a quick script before you start filming. Now you don't have to follow the script verbatim. But knowing exactly what your flow would look like will ensure that you don't miss anything that you want to touch on. And it does give some rhyme and reason to your video. Tip number four, let your personality shine through. There's no need for you to take a communications course or broadcasting degree at a university to be in front of the camera or even be behind the camera filming. Let your personality shine through. That is the key to building relationships in the meetings industry. Tip number five, don't overthink it. Video may look daunting at first, but as you get into it and you use it a bit more, you'll get more comfortable. If you overthink it, that's when you're going to come across as stiff and almost too professional. You want to invite your audience into your story. So be real, be honest and be authentic. Tip number six, do not rely on high production to edit your video. The reason that Victoria's series works so well is it was because it was simple and it was effective and it was engaging. And if you do anything too high quality right now, I find people are almost a little leery of it. We're really in this phase, I suppose, of low budget Zoom webinars all the time. And so that's what people are expecting and that's what people are responding to. They're not looking for perfection right now. And finally, tip number six, upload your final product to a platform like YouTube or Vimeo. You may only use this video once and then you'll unlist it when it's on YouTube, but have it on a platform so that it can be used again and again if called upon. So now you have a bit of the how, let's tackle the what. What is it that we can film for our meeting planner clients? If you're in a hotel, there are a plethora of options to choose from. And I would really recommend that you film video through the eyes of a delegate. So one idea is that sense of arrival. When they step out of their car right in front of the front doors, walk through the front doors and come up to the front desk. Perhaps they're passing the lobby bar or restaurant along the way and you can highlight that as they come to the front desk. You'll also want to show them the meeting spaces that they are interested in. And again, to save on time and maybe potential loss of attention from your meeting planner, only film the spaces that would be a good fit for their program. You also want to show off some of your guest rooms and again show them only the guest rooms that they would use for their program, which in most cases includes a standard room, maybe a couple upgrades and potentially a hospitality suite or presidential suite if they're using that. Right now, more importantly than ever, you'll want to showcase the outdoor spaces. People are looking for lots of room. So show them some of the outdoor spaces that can be converted into meeting spaces, reception spaces, even dinner spaces. And for some great fun, maybe film a behind the scenes look. This is when you go into the kitchen areas and kind of show the meeting planner what goes on to create their buffet or their plated dinner. Planners love a look at behind the scenes. Just make sure everyone's cleaned up and wearing a smile when you come through the space. Another great idea is to interview your people, be it your general manager, maybe your director of sales, the director of food and beverage or that crazy bartender in the lobby bar. Interview them, have them bring your meeting planners into the story as well. This isn't all on you to create. And finally, with a little bit more rehearsal, do some edu-tainment. And that is exactly what Victoria was doing with her delectable delights, Sampling St. Awesome's series, is of course she was educating her meeting planners on all the things that can be found in St. John, but she did it in an entertaining fashion. There's something in your hotel or your destination that you can capitalize on to create the same effect. Do some research, talk to your peers and figure out what would work to bring all of your meeting planners into your story. You can find some additional ideas on how to use video in my recent free resource over on my website at liankholderwood.com forward slash creative ideas for hotel sales managers. Friends, if you are trying out video right now and you'd like to share it with the community, please include your links below this video or send it my way, I would love to check it out. And for more sales inspiration and tips, head on over to liankholderwood.com, simply find the sales and service category to find all the advice I have for you on building better relationships with your meeting planner clients. I hope you enjoyed this video and I look forward to seeing your video very soon. Bye for now.