I did a post earlier in the week about how how to create videos that are actually speaking to your core target audience, and I mentioned the Problem-Solution-Problem Call-to-Action Formula. I had a few people message me about struggling with how to articulate the problem in a video, and I thought it would be worthwhile just to make a little video describing this to you because it’s a very common problem.

We live in the space of the “solution,” and we’re used to talking to people about the benefits we provide, why we are going to be good to work with, and our services. But if people do not know they have a problem, we cannot sell the solution. We can’t sell something to someone that we know they need if they don’t know they need it. So we have to sell them what they want in order to earn the opportunity to even talk to them about what we believe they need. Because that’s when they’ll have ears to hear it.

Problem-Solution-Problem

When you create a video, describe the way it feels to have a problem. Every question your avatar asks you implies that they have a problem. Every question has a problem that is the launching place for that question. We want to tap into how it feels for that Avatar to be in the mindset where that question is impacting them. Climb inside their head and heart and think about what it feels like to have that problem. Then spend the first half of the video describing the way it feels, and the second half of the video can be your solution to that problem. At the tail end of the video, you then tee up yet another problem, planting the seed that says “Hey, this is where you’re going to find a lot of great information like this,” which implies that they’re going to want to stay engaged. Problem-Solution-Problem (PSP).

Call to Action

At the end of your video is your Call to Action.

For most videos, you can use your Call to Action to build up your social media platforms. You want it to be more about them than it is about you. Rather than saying, “Hey, stay tuned because I cover tips and strategies like this all the time, and you’re not going to want to miss them so follow me on Facebook.” That’s more about you. If you said “We are starting a movement in our Facebook community, and you are going to want to be a part of it. Can’t wait to see you there.” That’s more about them. Then you would rotate between Instagram, LinkedIn, all of the platforms you’re trying to develop that helps you grow your reach.

The bottom line, you are trying to sell something. So for every 4th, 5th, or 6th video, you want to actually have a Call to Action that implies, “Buy from me,” which may mean book a call with me or check out my free video course — any way that you can lead them to make a purchase. But you don’t want to do that every time in your social media posts, because that can feel like you’re clubbing them over the head. And we want to make sure that they still feel like you’re providing amazing value. In our social media video content, remember we’re giving away the “what” so that you can become their go-to person in this space, and they’re going to want the “how.” They’re going to want your organization. They’re going to want you to hold their hand through the process.

Giving Words to the Problem

Now let’s focus a little bit more on how do you give words to the very first problem of the Problem-Solution-Problem Call-to-Action Formula. Once you have a question that your avatar would ask, think of it in three different ways:

• What does it feel like to have this problem for your avatar?
• What is the possible ripple effect — how is it impacting the people you love, the people you work with, the people that you are in direct contact with? Put another way, how is the problem affecting your life?
• What are the possible consequences if this problem remains unresolved?

In essence, every question could be three separate videos. Hopefully, that gives you some ideas about how to give words to the problem so that people can see themselves in that story. And then they will be keyed up and ready for you to be the solution to their problem.

Happy video creation. One more tip. If you’re not blocking time for your video creation, it’s probably not going to happen. So maybe Friday afternoons are your video creation day so that you can make your 52 videos for the 52 questions from your avatar that would give you a social media schedule for an entire year! Happy posting.