There has been a lot of complaining happening about the changes happening with Instagram on the heels of TikTok gaining popularity. Here’s my response … either jump on board or be left in the dust.

A little harsh, I know.

With the dawn of the Internet where people complained about having a website or jumping on Twitter to promote your business in the mid-2000s – those who jumped forward without complaint.

If you’re sick of complaining, ready to get to work, and become an early adopter to short form video marketing, here are some steps you can take to get started even without any experience with video.

Curate a List of Topics That Build Authority

The best place to start is with topics to discuss in last week’s post, I gave six ideas to get started which can be replicated each week. And I may sound like a broken record (this isn’t the first time I’ve said this), keep track of what your customers are asking and use those questions as content. Make sure you keep this list. We’ll use it later.

Practice with Social Media Stories & Lives

No, I won’t have you jump right into Reels or TikTok. Open up Instagram or Facebook and play around with the Stories feature. I love this feature because they disappoint but also give a great sandbox for practicing your authority muscle. Use that feature to talk and show your face. This will help you build that comfortability muscle to eventually make the plunge to short form video. Don’t worry about backgrounds, what you look like, tools – just go for it.

Live is another way to build confidence in video. Bonus tip: post your lives to YouTube or repurpose content into Reels and TikToks.

Block Your Calendar & Do the Work

Building the creator mindset involves doing the work so block out time in your calendar and do the work. Make the time non-negotiable for meetings, appointments. This is how you can keep your commitment to video marketing.

After 30 days, Build Another List of Topics

Evaluate what worked for you and didn’t work for you but also don’t get stuck on what didn’t work. Then write down another set of topics. I’m also going to guess that as you were making videos, more ideas came up. Make sure you keep this list. We’ll use it later.

Repeat Steps 2-3

Keep it going! Block the time, do the work.

After 60 days of making videos, get unforgettable and make some reels

You had some time to practice, now it is time to open the Reels feature on Instagram or TikTok and start over. Take the content over the last 60 days and start making short form videos.

Ready to take the next step and start thinking like a creator? On September 12, join me for a 3 day training “think like a creator” to get your head in the game and baby step you into short-form video creation.

The challenge is FREE but if you need an extra push? Join my VIP experience. The VIP experience receives a seat in the Zoom call and an extra hour of help each day to ask me anything plus a bonus training on September 19 at 3 pm Pacific. The cost is $19.