Video content plays a big role in the summit experience, and one question that comes up again and again is: should presentations be live or pre-recorded? While we recommend having pre-recorded speaker presentations in most cases, adding in some live sessions in your summit is a great way to increase engagement and build a connection with your attendees.
This week, I have Video Strategist Alex Carmeli joining me to share her live video framework and break down exactly how to leverage it before, during, and after your virtual summit to build genuine trust, position yourself as the go-to expert in your niche, and turn attendees into super fans who are genuinely excited to buy from you.
And yes - she covers what to do if the idea of going live makes you want to close your laptop and pretend this conversation never happened. She's got you covered there, too!
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Episode at a glance:
[1:31] Alex's origin story with video might surprise you: she actually swore she would never get on camera! She started her business in January 2020 as a leadership coach, planning in-person lunch and learns... and then a pandemic happened. She pivoted to weekly Facebook Lives, and people started marking their calendars to attend. What started as a necessity became her most natural and effective marketing strategy!
"It used to take me so long to do video. Like, it would take me weeks to put things together and edit, and it was just so complicated. And so I just started doing these really simple lives every Tuesday at 7pm in my Facebook group, and people started marking their calendars and showing up and inviting their team members. And it just started getting this great momentum, and it was just a very natural, authentic way for me to market that didn't take a ton of time."
[3:48] Alex makes the case for why going live in your summit community - before the event even starts! - is such a game changer for positioning. As the summit host, a lot of your visible role can feel purely organizational. Live video is how you step out from behind the curtain and show up as the expert who curated the entire event, not just the one sending logistics emails.
"In your community, if you are able to, show up for a bite-sized authority building live - it could be once a day or every other day, or at the beginning or the end of your summit. And they don't have to be long. They could be five minutes, they could be 10 minutes, 30 minutes, depending. It really helps to position you not just as an organizer who's good at gathering lots of people, but as an expert on the topic that you have curated and created all of these speakers for."
[7:11] During summit week, Alex's go-to move is what she calls "call out videos" - videos that directly name what attendees are feeling and experiencing in real time. She shares a great example: attendees were flooding her DMs, saying they felt behind during a summit she was running. Her response? A live video titled "I'm so behind → I'm right where I need to be." It was one of her most engaged videos of the event.
"Those call out videos are some of the best ones. But it could also just be simple tips about whatever the summit topic is. If we had a day during the summit that was all about video scripting, I could be like, 'If you felt overwhelmed by the scripting day, tune in. Let me give you the simplest action item that you can start with today.'"
[9:27] For anyone hesitant to go live, Alex says, "just do it." But if you need more guidance than that, start by diagnosing the specific fear you have. Is it not knowing what to say? Worrying no one will show up? Feeling like you don't have the right tech? Getting specific about the root of the fear is the first step to actually solving it - because generic fear doesn't have a fix, but specific fear does.
"You can't start to take any type of action or move forward or get any type of advice if you just have this sort of blanket thought that 'I'm afraid' or 'I don't want to do this' - that doesn't mean anything. But if we can diagnose and clarify what you're actually afraid of, then I can say, okay, you're not sure what to say - here's my seven part scripting framework."
[12:59] The post-summit period is where live video often gets dropped - and Alex thinks that's a big missed opportunity. For anyone selling a course or membership, video gives potential buyers the chance to hear you teach, not just read your content. It's one of the most powerful ways to convert curious observers into confident buyers. Alex shares her "Power Five" video framework for what to actually create after your summit:
- Why Now - Why is your solution the right fit for this exact moment in time?
- Limiting Beliefs/Objections - Call out what's keeping your audience stuck before they take the next step with you
- Case Studies / Mini Playbooks - Walk through what you would do if you were in their shoes, either with a client interview or a screen-share strategy session
- Vulnerable Stories / Trust Building - Let people get to know you on a deeper level through relatable stories and lessons
- Offer Videos - A direct look at what you're selling and how to get it
The goal: four out of five videos are educational and relationship-building. The offer video lands harder because of the goodwill the others create.
"Four out of five of your videos that you put out are like goodwill. They're educational - and yes, you can sell during those, you can have a call to action. They're probably, in some ways, almost better sales videos, because they're giving people such big wins and aha moments. But it's sandwiched in between educational content, and then that offer video is like, purely, here's the offer."
[18:34] Once a week is Alex's preferred live video cadence, but whatever you can actually commit to consistently is the right answer. The point isn't to go live as much as possible. It's to build trust with yourself that you'll show up when you say you will.
"Do what you can commit to, without breaking the promises to yourself of 'I'm gonna do this,' and then you don't do it, and then you lose trust."
[19:33] Alex walks through her 7-part scripting framework that gets her clients from idea to live in 20 minutes or less - no reinventing the wheel each week:
- Hook - Draw people in with a story or question (don't waste the first 30 seconds saying hi)
- Crazy-Not-to-Stay Promise - One clear sentence of exactly what they'll learn
- Authority Builder - A quick who-you-are, who-you-help statement
- Brief Call to Action - What you want them to do and where to find it
- Engaging Question - A simple yes/no or fill-in-the-blank to boost engagement and platform reach
- Segue Into Content - Deliver on what you promised
- Full Call to Action - Go deep on your offer or next step at the end
About Alex Carmeli
Alex is a Video Strategist & Founder of the company Unscripted Moment. She's passionate about helping online business owners get on video to sell their offers with ease + confidence. No tech struggles or huge audience needed! She's proud to have helped over 3k entrepreneurs over the last 4 years.
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