Featured: The Power of Video Marketing with Approved Senior Network

Here is a breakdown of the episode...

• Introduction of Nick Bonitatibus as the owner and founder of Digital Champions
• How Nick helps people to be comfortable in front of the camera (doing it on repeat, not caring about what other people think)
• In creating videos and talking to people, message is more important than looks
• People’s willingness to do a video
• Advantages of having your face/personality in a video to have a connection with your viewers/listeners
• Nick’s tips and tricks in recording and creating videos
• Nick’s ideal client (home care business owners)
• Nick’s coaching program (Lead Machine Academy)
• Importance of education in the industry
• Repurposing content
• Referral sources
• Nick’s free training

Quotes from the episode:

• “The common misconception when it comes to video and really anything that we do is that we have this expectation that it’s going to be so And so, when we actually accept that it’s not going to be perfect and that the only way for it to get good is to work at it.”

• “Through video and through education, we have the potential to help so many more And so, if we can get over our own fears and worries and judgment and focus on that one person that watches your videos that you can help that makes a difference, then it becomes worth it.”

• “That one video alone has so much impact being on your website, being on that first featured video, on your YouTube channel; to just continue to get you referrals and generate business for ”

• “And that’s the thing when it comes to senior care too, is understanding, you don’t need to know Your audience knows nothing. And so, whatever you do know is going to be valuable for those that don’t know anything. And so, don’t feel like you need to know more, learn more, or be in the industry longer to be able to start educating people. You have everything you need right now to start educating people and helping people and building up your library.”

Full Transcript 

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:

This is Valerie VanBooven with The Senior Care Industry Netcast, where leaders with three or more years of experience share their advice. So, let’s get to it. In a few sentences, tell us who you are and what you do.

Nick Bonitatibus:

Excellent. Well, first off, thanks for having me. My name is Nick Bonitatibus, and I’m the owner and founder of Digital Champions, and I specialize in helping home care businesses to generate more leads using video and social media.

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:

Awesome. So, let’s talk about the video part of this. I think that most of the folks that we work with, and probably most folks you work with, aren’t really excited about getting in front of a camera and talking just like that. That’s not… Unless you do it all the time and you don’t care anymore, or you’ve just been doing it for a really long time. This is a hard thing to do. So, tell us how you help folks feel more comfortable in front of the camera, and what you do.

Nick Bonitatibus:

Yeah. So, the first thing is really thinking about anything that you’ve ever done in your entire life. When you did it for the first time, were you really good at it? Did you just hop on a bike and start riding it, two wheels, doing pop a wheelies? No. And so, the common misconception when it comes to video and really anything that we do is that we have this expectation that it’s going to be so good. And so, when we actually accept that it’s not going to be perfect and that the only way for it to get good is to work at it.

Nick Bonitatibus:

My favorite quote is, “In order to be great, we need to first be good. In order to first be good, we need to first be bad.” And when I first started with video, I was terrible. Oh, my gosh. It took me so long to film one video. I was up in front the camera just starting and stopping. I would talk for three seconds, I could barely get a sentence out, and then I just pieced together and with some editing magic I was able to make somewhat of it work.

Nick Bonitatibus:

But it wasn’t until I started doing it on repeat where I was doing video every single week, just going live, and that’s how I got my start. And I just started doing it consistently, consistently, and I got more comfortable on camera, things start to flow better. And so, that’s the key is being okay with being bad, and being willing to be seen bad.

Nick Bonitatibus:

And like what you said too, I think a big part of it is really not caring so much about what other people think. And at the end of the day, specifically in this industry, right, is you have a positive message that you want to share. And what you’re sharing has the potential to not only impact your business, but all the people that you’re looking to help and serve. And through video and through education, we have the potential to help so many more people. And so, if we can get over our own fears and worries and judgment and focus on that one person that watches your videos that you can help that makes a difference, then it becomes worth it.

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:

Absolutely. You’re totally right. The startup is challenging, and I have some videos… Well, I’m going to rewind about me for a second. First of all, public speaking, if this is like public speaking, but it’s different in that if you’ve ever been in front of an audience of 1000 people or 100 people or even 10 people, it’s nerve wracking to stand up the and give a talk.

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:

I went to a specific training to speak, long time ago when I was a puppy, about a long-term care insurance. And my job was to give a presentation to government employees, federal employees, all across the country. So, I traveled all over the country to bases and secret places, it was weird, like the NSA… and military bases and all kinds of stuff. And I would give this presentation about their opportunity to buy long-term care insurance through the federal government.

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:

Well, anyway, I was terrible. Terrible the first couple times I had to go to remedial speaker training. I had to go through one set of training and then go back. And so, nobody starts out being able to just, woo, get up in front of an audience and speak like it’s a no big deal, or in front of a camera. It just doesn’t happen that way. And I would say I’m totally out of practice as far as speaking in front of an audience now, because I haven’t done it in a couple years. So, everybody goes like this.

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:

And I also want to say that if you’ve ever watched a Reel long Instagram, a TikTok video, some YouTube videos, Facebook videos; people don’t care as much about their appearance anymore. They really have a message that they’re passionate about. It’s not about looking like a million bucks on camera, it’s just speaking their message or telling their story, and they really don’t care what they look like, and it’s refreshing. You don’t have to be made up like a model or supermodel in order to get your message across. You’re a real human person.

Nick Bonitatibus:

Yeah, and that’s exactly it is, people do business with people and that’s what you want to do. When you look at, and I’m sure you’re creating a lot of these websites for these businesses is, you want this from them. It’s like, “I want more of you on your website.” If they don’t give it to you, then you can’t use it. And so, it’s just such a powerful tool in showcasing your own personal self where someone goes, “Oh, that’s the person that I’m working with. That’s the owner of the company,” or, “That’s the team members.” That’s what people want to connect with. That’s what makes you different. Because if you don’t have that, then you look like everyone else, and so it’s a huge differentiator.

Nick Bonitatibus:

Especially again, thinking about from a video perspective, if you’re listening or watching right now and you’re thinking, “Oh, man, there’s no way I’ll do video.” Well, guess what? The person that is willing to do it is going to have more success because they’re willing to do it. And so, if you think about all the other people that aren’t willing to do it, and you are willing to do it; now, again, you’re going to stand out. You’re going to make an impact.

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:

Absolutely. I think that about us video or those short… I tell people this, “Look,” even if doing an interview like this with a client, they can take a video like this. It’s about them, it’s about their passion for what they do, why got into the business; and we can put it, or they can put it on their website. We do interviews with clients, with non-clients. But I say, “Use this somewhere. You did a great job. Use this somewhere on your website, put it on Facebook.”

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:

And I always say this, “Come out from behind your website. Come out behind from behind your Facebook.” People want to know who you are and what you have to offer. So, you’re exactly right about that. Even if it’s six questions and just a few minutes, or answer one frequently asked question that you get. You don’t have to make an hour long video. It can be five minutes or less. Those are often more digestible than talking about home care for an hour.

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:

So yeah, I think people just… It’s rough, but if just give yourself a little bit of lighting in front of your face and not behind you, and talk to the camera like you would be talking to someone who potentially has questions about your business.

Nick Bonitatibus:

Yeah, and that’s the big thing, right? And that’s a tip in itself is, when you’re in a live audience, it’s a lot easier because you’re getting feedback. You’re getting direct feedback and you don’t have a chance to be like, “Oh, let me try again.” You’re not in front of a live audience and being like, “Hold on, let me try that line again.” You’re forced to do that live in person. And so, we want to try and treat video in same aspect of, we’re talking to a human person.

Nick Bonitatibus:

I have all these little tricks. One of them is having somebody help you film, because then you feel obligated to not waste their time so you actually perform better. Another aspect is that when you prerecord your videos, you can actually take the best piece and film the video piece by piece, and so then you’re not trying to do it all in one take. You don’t have to film a three minute video all without stopping.

Nick Bonitatibus:

I mean, it’s funny because I hear people, they’re like, “Oh, I filmed it eight times.” I’m like, “Why did you film it so many times? You could have just taken the best parts of it. If you did a good intro, you shouldn’t have to keep doing the intro over again.” And so, there’s all these little tips and tricks that you can do, and this is what I help a lot of my clients with, to make video easier, to make it more simplify. When you have a plan, when you have a strategy around what you’re doing, it becomes easier. So, the more that we think about these things, then the easier it becomes. And then again, the more we do it, the easier it becomes.

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:

Tell us who your ideal client is, and what kind of things that you do as a consultant and as a coach for video.

Nick Bonitatibus:

Yeah, absolutely. So, basically my ideal client is home care business owners who want to be seen as leaders in the industry, who want to stand out and they want to make a greater impact utilizing the power of video. And it’s not just for marketing clients, but referral sources and caregivers. There’s all these different avenues that once you start to develop these skills within social media as well in video marketing, then it can help you across so many different tools within your business and what you’re doing.

Nick Bonitatibus:

And so, what I do is I basically have a coaching program called Lead Machine Academy, and that’s all about getting the training from my courses that I have and getting coaching and support from me so that I’m working with you. “Oh, I’m having trouble with this. What are the next steps?” And we just work small increments, little steps at a time.

Nick Bonitatibus:

It’s not this big thing. All of a sudden you jump in, it’s like; sprint, sprint, sprint. None of that works. We take things one step at of time, each person doing what they need to do to accomplish the goals they want to do so that they can have a bigger online presence, be seen, and make an impact. Because, I truly believe that education is one of the most impactful thing that you can do in this home care industry.

Nick Bonitatibus:

The example that I love to share comes with fall prevention. And for me, the example came when my grandmother needed help and my dad called me and he said, “Hey, we got some home care for your grandmother,” and the first thing I said was, “You didn’t ask me? You didn’t talk to me? You already got somebody? I’m in this industry. I know so many people.” And the first thing I said to him was… Well, the second thing I said to him, “Did we get rid of that two inch thick carpet in her living room?” And he said, “Oh, no. We need to do that.”

Nick Bonitatibus:

And so, one, unfortunately the company didn’t do a safety inspection, but two, I can’t blame my dad for not knowing that. And when we’re in this industry, a lot of times we think, “Oh, of course. Of course this is a tripping hazard. Duh, anyone would see that.” But we don’t. When you’re not in this, you’re not seeing that. And so, a simple video talking about fall prevention can actually save lives, because falls is one of the top 10 leading causes of death. And just by putting out a video, regardless of whether or not they see it and sign up with services with you, you can literally save lives with this type of content. And that’s the type of content that people want to share. That’s type of content that really makes an impact. And so, that’s really where I help my clients do is, “Hey, let’s grow business, let’s generate more leads for you, but let’s also create an impact at the same time.”

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:

That’s awesome, and I would agree. People will say things like, “I don’t like how I sound. I don’t like how I look,” and everyone is their… I mean, we all are fighting with how we look on camera and what we sound like, our voices. We’re like, “… I don’t like hearing my own voice.” Other people don’t see it that way. It’s really much more important than how you think you sound or how you think you look. They’re so happy to have an expert talking to them through a video.

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:

Even if it’s a short tip or piece of advice, folks are just so happy that someone took the time to tell them about the two inch rug on the floor or whatever, the clutter that needs to be moved out of the walkway. Those kinds of little things, you’re so overwhelmed as an adult child of an aging parent that you can’t see the forest for the tree sometimes, and these little bitty reminders. And I would say this too, you might talk about this in a way that I don’t talk about this, but repurposing content. Talk about using the video in more than one way. I’m sure you do this.

Nick Bonitatibus:

Yeah, absolutely, and there’s a lot of different avenues of this. So, what a lot of my students are doing right now is… Basically, I’m teaching either starting a video series or a podcast. And so, if the choice is a podcast, which has its own so many benefits in generating referrals because you can bring on referral sources and then it becomes a whole networking event.

Nick Bonitatibus:

And so, a lot of this strategy that I’m teaching is, one, you’re creating this show. Now you’re reaching out to referral sources. They’re coming to you, or you’re going to them, and you’re making these connections which is only going to increase more referrals from those potential referral sources. Then you’re interviewing them about their most frequently asked by questions that they’re getting that someone would type into Google, right? This is a very important part of the SEO aspect.

Nick Bonitatibus:

And so then you have this, let’s say, 30 minute video where you have three to five questions that they’re answering. Now you take this 30 minute video that somebody may watch the full 30 minute, but what we really want to do is break it up into each individual question being asked. And then now when you’re putting it on YouTube and someone’s searching for “How to prevent falls in the home?” or “What is home care?”, now you’re coming up because somebody’s answering that.

Nick Bonitatibus:

And what’s so cool about this is, you don’t have to do any of the work because the referral sources and the people that you’re bringing on your show are doing the content for you, you’re just asking the questions. And then they’re sharing it on their social so now you’re getting in front of more people using that collaboration. And so, it’s this full scale marketing approach where you’re getting the show, you’re getting all of this content that you can continue to use.

Nick Bonitatibus:

And then you can even take it even one step further in turning your videos into blog posts, and then turning those blog posts into quote cards. And so, there’s just this ever flowing content when it comes to, “Oh, my gosh, there’s so much content to create.” No, it’s not. If you have a video show or a podcast, it does all the content you need. You just keep repurposing it, and it’s literally the only marketing that you need because then it’s used in your email marketing strategy too. You’re sending it out to your newsletter list, all of these different pieces, and it becomes a full scale marketing effort, not like a social media strategy. This is a full scale, digital marketing, arguably just marketing strategy that you can leverage and utilize.

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:

Yeah. So, you hit on so many important topics. If you look at this interview we’re doing right now in the format that we use for this netcast, and I call it a netcast because we do it on video, but it is also a podcast on every podcast thing that we could get it on and pretty much everywhere. It is also transcribed. The whole thing is transcribed. So, we use a system called Rev.com, which I know a lot of people know about.

Nick Bonitatibus:

Love Rev.

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:

There’s many of them out there, and it’s transcribed. Then we take quotes from that transcription. So, I have somebody go through and pull out unique quotes from either you, things you said, or things I said; one or the other, and then we have those quote cards made up. If it’s Nick’s quote, it’s Nick’s picture. If it’s my quote, it’s my picture. And we use Nick’s branding on his stuff and my branding on my stuff, and so we’ve got… Usually we can come up, and then you have to remember that there’s also the ability to make 30 second sound bites or 10 second sound bites or whatever you want.

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:

There’s all these programs and systems out there that will automatically take a podcast or a netcast or whatever you do and just divide it. You can pick the time where you want it to start, and it’ll do a 30 second little mini video or whatever, and you can post those on TikTok and Instagram, and they don’t have to show your face. It can just be a picture and a clip of the audio just to get people interested in what else you might have to say.

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:

So, you could probably create somewhere around 50 pieces of content, if you work really hard, from one 15 minute video. And you don’t have to do 15 minute videos, but these are short interviews that we can repurpose, and these are evergreen. So, you and I may be talking about this today, but your episode might come up five months from now as something we put repost over and over again, and someone else might find value in it. So, you can use these evergreen videos for a long time.

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:

So, coming back to the referral sources, because I know this is a big issue for a lot of people. It is the main way that home care agencies get their leads is referral sources, right? So, doing something like this, you don’t have to be a Joe Rogan. You don’t have to be a superstar. You can just interview your local referral sources, or people you would love to get to know more that you haven’t been able to get to know, and do a lot of networking on LinkedIn.

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:

I send out a note on LinkedIn, I send out a note in some of the groups. I send out a note and say, “Hey, who wants to be on?” And it could be a person who also markets to home care, or it could be a home care agency owner who really just wants to talk about… or assisted living, or any senior care business. So, you developed those relationships.

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:

And I can tell you from the first day we did this netcast, I just interviewed someone yesterday who we’ve already interviewed, but she has new things to say. She wrote a book, she has a new group, she’s… So, these relationships last for a long, long time. And if they become a great referral source, that’s awesome. If they don’t, keep going. You can interview them every three or four months and find out what’s new.

Nick Bonitatibus:

Yeah, and I love what you said about the consistency of the evergreen aspect of it. Because when you look at video marketing and you think, “All right, I need to make a video,” and let’s say you make that why video or about video. That one video alone has so much impact being on your website, being on that first featured video, on your YouTube channel; to just continue to get you referrals and generate business for you.

Nick Bonitatibus:

And then the other aspect of this is, when you start creating video consistently and you do it and it’s just one video either once a week, once a month; again, as long as it’s consistent, before you know it the videos start to pile up and you just have more and more and more. And now when someone’s coming and looking at your business and they’re going, “Oh, wow.” And now they binge watch you like they’re binge watching Netflix, and they’re watching all of the resources that you’ve created, or they’re jumping around in ones that are relevant for them. And so, it becomes this incredible resource that doesn’t end.

Nick Bonitatibus:

And that’s the thing with YouTube compared to Facebook, right, is; Facebook goes through the feed and then it’s gone. But YouTube, whichever video is best is going to continue to get more and more views. I have one client, his video just keeps getting crush again. It was how to convince a senior to wear adult diapers.

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:

Wow.

Nick Bonitatibus:

Yeah.

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:

Not sexy, but definitely a good question.

Nick Bonitatibus:

Right. And so because of that, it’s very SEO friendly and what people are searching for. And then once it gets found and watched again and again, then Google and YouTube are more likely to keep showing it to more people, and so your best videos stay top and just keep flowing. There’s just so much power and impact that comes from creating a video library.

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:

Yes. A great example of that, because I know a lot of home care agency and senior care businesses will say, “We don’t talk about anything fun or cool, and so nobody’s going to ever want to watch these,” and that’s really not exactly what it’s all about. If you look at Teepa Snow; Teepa Snow has been talking about Alzheimer’s and dementia, and doing Alzheimer in dementia training for years, and she has a very robust YouTube channel. And now she’s on TikTok and she has millions of followers on TikTok. You don’t have to be an inspirational speaker or… It is really about that education, and about helping people understand a concept they’ve never dealt with before.

Nick Bonitatibus:

Yeah. And I think a lot of times when it comes to getting started, people do have imposter syndrome. And the story that I always love to bring up is from the movie, if you’ve ever seen Catch Me If You Can with Tom Hanks and Leonard DiCaprio. And what’s so cool was, one, that movie’s based on a true story. And the main character who’s played by Leonard DiCaprio at one point actually teaches a class for an entire week pretending to be a substitute.

Nick Bonitatibus:

And they asked him and they said, “How were you able to do this?” It might even been longer. It might have been like a whole month or semester. And it’s like, “How are you able to do this?” “Well, I just stayed one chapter ahead.” And that’s the thing when it comes to senior care too, is understanding, you don’t need to know everything. Your audience knows nothing. And so, whatever you do know is going to be valuable for those that don’t know anything. And so, don’t feel like you need to know more, learn more, or be in the industry longer to be able to start educating people. You have everything you need right now to start educating people and helping people and building up your library.

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:

Absolutely. So Nick, I’m going to put your contact information with this video, and if folks want to reach out, they can. So, you have a course and that includes some coaching?

Nick Bonitatibus:

Yeah. So basically, my main program that I offer is Lead Machine. It’s like a membership, but I call it group coaching. And then it includes all of my courses; a social media course, a video course, a recruitment course that you just get everything that I have to offer in addition to my coaching. But the best thing to do is I have a free training on my website that you can go and watch right now and get instant access.

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:

Awesome. Well, that’s cool. Yeah. We’ll send everybody to your website, and your contact information that’s on your website. We’ll put everything with this video. I hope, because I know this is what we… We have the same mindset here that everybody should try. Just try. A little bit more video never hurt anybody. People love to see what you have to say. They love to know that you can solve their problem.

Nick Bonitatibus:

Absolutely.

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN:

Thank you.

Nick Bonitatibus:

It’s a powerful, powerful tool. Thank you so much, Val, for having me. I really appreciate it.