Navigating Authenticity in the Age of AI and Video Communication

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Are you leveraging video to expand your audience reach and better communicate your services? Video remains the most effective medium for showcasing your brand and conveying authenticity, allowing potential clients to feel connected to you before purchasing your services. Today's featured guest began building his brand through video back in 2009 and has since accumulated millions of views.

He shares strategies for developing your approach to video, current effective practices, and the transformative impact of AI on video production. While AI offers significant benefits—reducing both production costs and time investments—he acknowledges that fully AI-generated videos often lack the genuine authenticity that resonates with audiences. Where exactly is the balance between efficiency and authenticity? Join us to discover how to effectively harness video's power to enhance both your business performance and personal fulfillment.

Carl Kwan is the owner of Kwan Multimedia, a video marketing agency with over a decade of experience. He shares his journey into the world of video, how a request from Korean Airlines sparked his passion for creating educational content online, and emphasizes the importance of video for businesses seeking to enhance their reach and profitability.

In this episode, we’ll discuss:

• Where to start your video strategy.

• Will AI ruin the results you get with personalized videos?

• How video helps validate your expertise.

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E2M Solutions: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by E2M Solutions, a web design, and development agency that has provided white-label services for the past 10 years to agencies all over the world. Check out e2msolutions.com/smartagency and get 10% off for the first three months of service.

Turning a Successful YouTube Channel into a Thriving Video Agency

Carl launched his career creating YouTube videos in 2009 while working as an executive presentations coach in South Korea. When a client requested online coaching videos for their students, he recognized an opportunity to develop this content himself. What began as a solution for a single client evolved into a thriving YouTube channel boasting over 120,000 subscribers and 16 million views.

Drawing on his unique combination of presentation expertise, MBA education, and broadcast TV and radio experience, Carl integrated these diverse skills into his video production work. During a time when internet communication remained predominantly text-based, he recognized video's powerful potential for businesses across all sectors, prompting him to establish a company focused on helping clients leverage video to transform their outreach strategies.

Today, video has become integral to all major platforms—even professionally-oriented LinkedIn has recently begun prioritizing video content and actively encouraging users to incorporate it into their engagement strategies.

5 Videos You Need to Incorporate Into Your Video Strategy

1. An Introduction Video: An “About me” short introduction video that outlines who you are, what your business does, and what sets you apart from competitors. This video serves as a personal touchpoint for potential clients, allowing them to connect with the brand on a human level and should be focused on your ideal client and the problems you can solve for them.

2. FAQs: Make a “frequently asked questions” to ensure you answer your audiences pressing needs about the services and results you provide. Carl also recommends thinking about the questions clients should be asking and aren’t.

3. Client testimonials: If possible, Carl recommends using video for your case studies instead of asking people to write a Google review. It’ll be great social proof for your services and a way to showcase satisfied customers who can speak to the quality of your products or services.

4. Repurposed content: Start reusing your own text content in video form to get ball rolling and get the hang of this form of communication and storytelling.

5. Personalized approach: According to Carl, a really successful video that’s won him a lot of business is one he emails them after a meeting saying “It was great talking to you, X. I loved hearing about X. I look forward to talk to you again and discuss how I can help your business”. It is customized, it takes less than a minute to create, and clients love it because they can see it is personalized.

If you want to get started adding video to you strategy start with these suggestions and you’ll build a great foundation to build authority and thought leadership.

Will AI Ruin the Effect of Personalized Videos?

The proliferation of AI video creation tools presents a challenge for agencies that invest time in filming personalized client videos. As these AI applications become more widespread, clients may increasingly dismiss even genuine personalized messages as just another automated communication embedded in agency workflows.

While Carl fully embraces AI as a transformative tool—recently using it to create a brand song rather than hiring a professional songwriter, thereby saving money, maintaining greater creative control, and accelerating production—he maintains a nuanced perspective on its limitations. Despite acknowledging that AI-generated content will inevitably become normalized, he firmly believes the human element remains irreplaceable for creating authentic content that truly resonates with audiences.

In Carl's assessment, regardless of how sophisticated AI technology becomes, people will always discern genuine human involvement. Moreover, he contends that agency owners with genuine passion for their work won't willingly surrender their creative roles entirely to artificial intelligence.

How AI Tools for Video Can Help You Expand Your Outreach to International Audiences

AI technology has revolutionized the process for creating a podcast. You can now create a professional-sounding podcast by researching your topic, compiling relevant articles into a Google document, using ChatGPT to transform this material into a polished script, and finally employing podcast creation platforms to produce a natural-sounding show in your own voice.

These same technological advancements enhance video content creation beyond just script development. AI tools can effectively correct pronunciation issues or script errors that traditional editing cannot fix.

Perhaps most significantly, AI voice replication technology now enables creators to reach international audiences by reproducing their voice in multiple languages. These sophisticated programs can even adjust your modulation to create the impression that you're naturally speaking the target language.

This technological breakthrough creates unprecedented opportunities for content creators to expand beyond local markets and connect with Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, and other language-speaking audiences worldwide, dramatically increasing potential reach and influence.

Validating Your Expertise and Building Trust with Video

Drawing from his experiences with agency partners, Carl strongly urges agency owners not to underestimate video's crucial role in brand development. He observed that clients often hesitated to work with his recommended partners after conducting quick online searches that revealed only basic website information. Today's clients seek more—they want to see and hear agency owners and team members personally discussing their services and the unique value they deliver.

This reflects the modern decision-making process for professional services. Potential clients prioritize making authentic connections, and video serves as an exceptional medium for conveying your message while demonstrating genuine authenticity and relatability. That is why your agency needs a YouTube channel which is home to content that highlights your expertise. The true value lies not in accumulating subscribers or views, but in establishing a professional presence that validates your capabilities and knowledge. A thoughtful video presence serves as powerful evidence of your competence and approach, often becoming the deciding factor for prospective clients.

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