How to Do Videos Like a Pro

social amplification engine course presentation v1.7 2023 0607 3 1

Do you want to create excellent video content but are unsure where to start?

In this episode we have invited Ryan Magin who does videos for Alex Hermozi and who is getting millions of views a month with his own content, building his own brand. 

He has a lot of great ideas. He also does Grant Cardone videos, growing Grant Cardone’s from zero to 1.6 million on TikTok year half long, and has 17 others that are equally as impressive when it comes to these scales of people, and today, he will be sharing the secrets to Winner TikTok Contents.

So how did he become the guy–the first one to do “It” and everyone’s trying to copy it?

The 1st thing he wants us to realize is to understand that the subtitles play so much in how good a video is going to be but it’s just the icing on the cake. 

It’s not the cake itself and so we need to take a shift from thinking that copying the style of viral videos is the way to go when it’s not. 

What’s a lot more beneficial than just trying to get the style? 

It’s the person speaking and not the effects and if there was a hierarchy, it is:

1. The topic of the video

Does anybody care about what’s being said? 

Most people really don’t know what the app wants. What does the app want? 

Understand the person that’s watching your videos. Maybe they are under the age of 25, they are broke, they are angry, they’re lonely, they’re depressed, and they don’t trust anyone. 

And I know that just makes the whole app sound like a terrible place, but everybody is skeptical. Everybody doesn’t trust you. They’re watching videos day in and day out and being sold over and over by people like 18-year-old business coaches, and 18-year-old relationship coaches. They don’t trust anybody. 

So understanding that and knowing what you’re up against because whether you want to admit it or not, you’re also up against that hot chick that just dances and looks pretty. When you are not a hot chick, can you win? 

Yes, you can win by offering advice. Make a video that helps people. And when I say that, it’s for lawyers and doctors and they can help by answering the common questions of people– What’s better for me? Advil or Tylenol, and why? What? Should I believe Wikipedia? Do I really have cancer? If I have a swarth throat, what should I do?  

Regular everyday people problems. And that’s all the videos that Ryan has made that have gone viral. It’s helping somebody do something– a relatable problem that any large number of people would have. 

As for lawyers, Law by Mike does a great job at this and is a great account for answering questions like, “How to talk your way out of a speeding ticket.”, “How to read the fined prints on your apartment rental agreements.”

All these are things that a large majority of people encounter on in their life so solve those problems. 

2. The hook

 What is said in the first one to three seconds? That has to stop people. So it’s all direct-to-face or interview styles.

How do you go about testing all the different hooks and processes?

Ryan and the team are usually filming five hooks for every video they post and post all five videos back-to-back.

Most people just talk and give really good advice, but there are no hooks, there is no context, and there’s no what am I watching?

So a better strategy for most people would be to do a long-form video, watch it, pull out the clips that you think are good, and then ask yourself, “Do we need hooks?” And if you say yes, you go film a hook for that podcast, and you put it in front and you don’t have to be in the same clothes, you don’t have to be in the same situation. TikTok doesn’t care. I don’t think YouTube does either. Nobody cares. They just wanna know what the fuck they’re watching. That’s usually just like a three-second that you put at the beginning of that clip. So that could be another job. 

Like with Ryan, they have two people that are doing timestamps and all they watch are the client’s YouTube videos all day long and they pull out clips. They also let Ryan know which clips they think are the strongest, and if there is a need to reach out to a client and say, “Film these videos really quick with your phone.” then Ryan is there to do it for them.

3. How the Video is Filmed

What has been seen as most successful are:

  1. Constant good lighting is a hundred percent crucial. 

Like phone versus camera, In my opinion, it doesn’t matter. Although Ryan is partial to a camera and that’s not because it’s better, but because it’s more convenient for him. Memory card to his computer is way faster than airdropping and sorting through the phone.

  1. Don’t film anything at 4K until 10, all should be 10-80. 

Everything that Ryan does in his operation is streamlined for vertical video. 

So he has optimized for what he would consider the best. Even the lens he chooses for his camera is 16 millimeters. He uses the crop sensor DSLR. And the reason he uses the 16 millimeters is that it’s equal to a 24 millimeter on an iPhone so it makes the video look like an iPhone, but filmed in super mode. 

And another thing he believes is that there’s an air on the side of professionalism when it comes to using a camera versus a phone.

  1. Look at the camera

You want to look through the eye of the camera because it makes the video more trustworthy. 

At the end of the day, what is being said on the video is far more important than what’s filming it. And as long as it’s clear, it’s all that matters. 

Need more help with how you can get those video content started? Check out the One  Minute Video Course!

4. How the video is spoken

Does it hold attention from beginning to end? And this is where an editor does come into play because you may speak something really good, but you say it in a way that doesn’t hold somebody’s attention, and it’s the editor’s job to hold somebody’s attention. 

And when looking for a VA or an Editor, look for the following:

  1. They should be good at watching  Zoom videos and pulling a clip out. 
  2. Understand what they need to know to get attention because that’s usually hard. 
  3. If you are working with anybody overseas, watch out for Language Barrier. 
  4. Remember, you get what you paid for. 

I know everybody’s going overseas to save money and there’s a gap in what people want to pay their video editors but remember that you get what you pay for. 

“Something we do in my company is that all my video editors make $50 a video and they edit four videos a day, five days a week. We pay per video and not per hour and the reason we don’t do anything per hour is that I don’t care if it takes them an hour or five hours to edit a video but I want them to not crank out videos fast, to not attach the video to the time. I also give a bonus on videos. So every editor based on the account that they’re working on, and the views those videos get, gets a hundred bonus because what tends to happen is editors become robots when it comes to video. If you’re editing somebody, the same person, 30 videos a month, maybe two videos a day, 60 videos a month, you are like a robot. Like you’re not thinking anymore but if you get an extra hundred on that video, then that will change the situation”.

So like the Fiverr videos you can buy, you can probably get $10/video but I can assure you there’s a massive quality difference when you pay somebody 10 versus 50.

How do you screen when hiring? 

Ryan has a site called paidtoedit.com and he encourages editors to come in. They will be given full access to all the raw files and they are paid for views. 

So they are not paid for the video, but if they take any of the footage, create a TikTok account, and post the videos on another account, and those get 10,000, they will be paid a certain amount for those views. 

They just need to send Ryan the screenshot proof, and that’s how he got to hire my people. The views prove it. Like the views are the only proof he needs. It doesn’t matter what account they post under.

Do you think tools like Descript can bridge to some degree?

It’s not the tools, It’s the athlete. 

Understand the basics of filmmaking. 

80% is how the video is pieced together– how it’s actually arranged like in any video, that should go viral without any sound effects, or any cool graphics, that by just the audio of the video alone should be able to go viral by itself.

Everything else is just putting lipstick in, just making it look pretty which is great for presentation.

Content wins. 

4. How you want the audience to react to your video

You have the full power to manipulate the video depending on how you want people to behave, and react, and what comments they will leave.

When you manipulate the narrative of the video. You’re like, “I want this response. Therefore I will start by…” That’s how you or your editor should think 

How will you trigger your viewers? 

Need help with the type of Audiences? Here is an article that can help clear it out for you.

5. What your objectives are going to be and be able to cover them to the best of your ability

What drives people to engage in your content?

For sure you will never know a hundred percent but at least you have an idea of what you think your audience want.

 6. How to Test

Post the same videos and see which one performed the best.

Include the titles in your testing as well and try different angles. 

And if we post it once and it flops, it’s not necessarily a bad video. Most of the time, it’s just the intro. It’s like no one cares about who you are, so you have to give something to the viewer. So what’s in it for them? 

 7. What will be the right angle

What does your audience want, what pain point are you trying to solve? Or what promise are you giving? Don’t just introduce yourself. 

“…but I don’t have the charisma be able to walk up one of these other people.” “I’m afraid they’ll think I’m not important enough.”

You do not need charisma. You just need to stop overthinking it.

And then that’s it. If you nail those things, then you put the sprinkles on, and you will have your own viral video. 

Want to take advantage of all the resources that we have including the full video of this Event? With just $297/Month, you Get Private Access to One of The Most Sought-After Digital Marketing Experts In The World+full access to the Academy, and a weekly one-hour session with Dennis where you can ask anything you want. 

Dennis Yu

About the Author

Dennis Yu
Dennis Yu is co-author of the #1 best-selling book on Amazon in social media, The Definitive Guide to TikTok Ads.  He has spent a billion dollars on Facebook ads across his agencies and agencies he advises. Mr. Yu is the "million jobs" guy-- on a mission to create one million jobs via hands-on social media training, partnering with universities and professional organizations.You can find him quoted in major publications and on television such as CNN, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, NPR, and LA Times. Clients have included Nike, Red Bull, the Golden State Warriors, Ashley Furniture, Quiznos-- down to local service businesses like real estate agents and dentists. He's spoken at over 750 conferences in 20 countries, having flown over 6 million miles in the last 30 years to train up young adults and business owners. He speaks for free as long as the organization believes in the job-creation mission and covers business class travel.You can find him hiking tall mountains, eating chicken wings, and taking Kaqun oxygen baths-- likely in a city near you.