Podcast Uncategorized

July 17th, 2025

The Apple Cart: S3, E5: Video Content for Standout Marketing and Better Connections

In this episode of the Apple Cart, I’m joined by Alex Durham to talk about video content for standout marketing. Alex is the co-owner of Vavavoom Videos.

She says every business needs content and to adapt and change their marketing, so Vavavoom comes in, sweeps them off their feet and helps them. A versatile and crazily creative company, they create video content that stands out and works for all kinds of all industries.

Listen to the Interview

Advice for Budding Videographers

Alex started her business straight after university, and learned a lot in a short space of time. Her biggest piece of advice? Don’t do too many things for free. “You can get trapped in a cycle of offering your services too quickly, and you get known for someone who’s cheap.

“Sure, it’s good to do things for charity, but remember that anything you do for a business, whether they’re a start-up or well-established, is promotion for them. It brings them recognition and money, and you can’t live on exposure. You’ve worked hard to develop skills and you should be compensated.”

Alex also recommends communicating clearly with companies who might be new to video marketing: “They get your proposal and think you’re expensive, but they don’t really appreciate what’s involved. Often they’ll ask you to give them a quote, but it’s easier to get a budget and build a package around that so they see what’s realistic.” 

Why Businesses Need to use Video in Marketing

Alex has a great analogy to explain why you should consider video marketing. “Imagine you’re in a pub with a group of people, and someone says ‘point at something random.’ Every person will point at something different.

“And that’s what happens when people visit your website. If you don’t have different content formats for them, then there’s a risk that your target audience will miss something important. We all have different learning styles.

“So a video on your site can be a vital stage of getting a lead through your website. Because otherwise, you might be stopping a whole demographic of people who prefer not to read.

“And when it comes to social media, short-form content always performs well. It’s a great way to promote trust with your audience. They’re getting to know you as a person and they’ll be more inclined to choose to do business with you.”

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How Alex Helps Her Clients Feel Comfortable on Video

Being on camera is an uncomfortable experience for a lot of people, so Alex has a range of techniques to help people relax before their shoot. “One way is to make them say sausages ten times!

“It’s all about working with the person and their personality. People often stumble on their words so we do tongue-twisters and jokes. And we do movement exercises to get them to open up their shoulders and feel less stressed.

“And I always reassure them that it’s fine to mess up. Once they hear that, they’re far less likely to make a mistake. It’s my job to make them look their best. I’m really good at cutting out the errors, so they just need to concentrate on sharing their valuable advice.” 

How to be More Creative

Alex says there’s not a single person on earth who’s not creative. “Because if you weren’t creative, we wouldn’t be able to string a sentence together. Think about it in that sense of how you respond to things. And it’s not always about the visuals.

“But first, think about why you need to be more creative, because you might not enjoy it as much as you think. As a starting point, look around the room that you’re in, pick an item and describe it.

“Then write a story about it, and from that story, draw a picture of the item. That gives you a creative space to learn to look at something differently. And another approach is to have a 1:1 with a random creative.

“Send them a message and share that you’ve seen their awesome ideas online and you’d like to develop yourself too. Ask them for some inspiration. All creatives love to chat and an excuse to be distracted. We’re creating all the time, so talking about it with someone else will undoubtedly lead to inspiration for them.”

Timestamps

  • 01:22 – 03:08: How Alex got into videography
  • 03:16 – 04:17: How the name VaVaVoom came about
  • 04:34- 07:46: The experience of starting a business straight after uni
  • 08:08 – 12:00: Alex’s advice for budding videographers
  • 12:26 – 14:45: Some of Alex’s favourite projects
  • 15:19 – 19:21: Why businesses need to use video in marketing
  • 19:52 – 22:02: Ways to work with Alex
  • 22:26 – 25:22: How Alex helps her clients feel comfortable on camera
  • 27:20 – 31:05: The inspiration for parody Christmas songs
  • 31:29 – 33:00: Why Alex attends networking events
  • 33:58 – 36:07: How to be more creative

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