Unlocking the Power of B2B Video with Anthony Leung

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In this conversation I sit down with Anthony Leung, founder of Mean Write Hook. I met Anthony earlier this year in London and he's full of enthusiasm and a boxing fan like me!

Anthony shares insights on how businesses can effectively use video to connect with their audience and strategies for producing and distributing video content. We also discuss the significance of making clients comfortable 

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background
03:08 The Importance of Storytelling in B2B Video
05:57 Creating Authentic Video Content
09:12 The Process of Working with Clients
12:00 Video Production and Distribution Strategies
15:10 Comfort on Camera and Client Engagement
17:57 The Meaning Behind Mean Right Hook
21:05 Rapid Fire Questions and Personal Insights

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Previous guests include: Arvid Kahl of FeedbackPanda, Andrei Zinkevich of FullFunnel, Scott Van den Berg of Influencer Capital, Buster Franken of Fruitpunch AI, Valentin Radu of Omniconvert, Evelina Necula of Kinderpedia, Ionut Vlad of Tokinomo, Diana Florescu of MediaforGrowth, Irina Obushtarova of Recursive, Monika Paule of Caszyme, Yannick Veys of Hypefury, Laura Erdem of Dreamdata, and Pija Indriunaite of CityBee.

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Transcript

Eric (00:00.695)
Yeah, we'll just chat for about 20, 30 seconds so my video editor gets the audio right. Are you in London right now? Are you in London right now or no? Okay.

Ant (00:06.945)
Okay. I'm in London. minutes that way is the O2 arena. So, Lincoln Park is playing there in like a couple of weeks. I wish I had tickets, but...

Eric (00:20.565)
Wow, yeah, yeah, that would have been a good concert.

Ant (00:24.01)
Yeah, but you know, it's good to see them come back, man. It's really good. So one those bands I grew up listening to.

Eric (00:29.249)
Okay.

Eric (00:32.747)
All right. Today we're chatting with Anthony Luing, founder of Mean Right Hook video, which is a done for you video service that turns your expertise and your personality into relatable videos that connect with your audience. Anthony, thanks for coming on Innovators Can Laugh. How are doing today?

Ant (00:50.306)
I am super. How are you doing, Eric?

Eric (00:53.505)
You know, I'm doing pretty good. think we met, you know, earlier this year in London and I'm in much better health, much better shape and a much better place in my life than when we first met. So how about you since we first met?

Ant (01:06.732)
I thought you were in pretty good shape, so I don't know what's going on. But yeah, I'm doing well. think, you know, I'm very excited to be talking to you about video today. And you know, just how B2B businesses can use it because I've been doing social media for like 13, 14 years now. And I feel like this is the natural evolution of how we communicate online.

Eric (01:29.951)
Yeah. So a lot of BNB companies are starting to embrace video. What, what are you, what are the tips for those B2B companies that haven't done it yet? Like, what is the first thing that you share with them? What sort of education do you provide to them, Anthony?

Ant (01:42.764)
I think the first thing that B2B companies need to think about is, well, I suppose it's why? Why are we doing any communications in the first place? And I think that if you look at a lot of B2B businesses doing videos, a lot of it's very polished. It still feels very like stuck in early 2000s where we've got like, know, like talking heads going this way, or we've got slow motion event videos. They're all very pretty, but they don't tell a story.

And in today's social media, in today's any content, it needs a story, it needs a narrative. And without that narrative, I don't care how much money you pour into your production, people are just gonna skip your videos. So I think that's the first thing that we need to recognize in B2B is that it's not us trying to force a narrative or make ourselves feel as paracels on the back.

with these videos. It's like we need to be able to offer something of value to our viewers. And we need to create content in that perspective. One of the worst offenses for B2B videos is when they start off with a logo, an animation of their logo. It's like you just killed the most important time on your content to earn the trust so that they would continue watching it. Skip that. Go right to the value.

Eric (03:08.959)
Okay, okay. So what are some good brands out there that are doing a good job with video in your opinion?

Ant (03:15.596)
I think that I... You know what? Here's a wild card. DeWalt has some really good videos. But their videos are very specific because they know that their audience is there to... They love their products and they invest in these kind high quality videos to kind of accentuate those points of why we love their products.

But those videos are a little different, right? The ones that I think that most of us in B2B can do are the ones like this, where we're talking to camera, where we're sharing expertise, but done in a way where it's, I like to call it TikTok energy. You know, when you are delivering your expertise to camera and you're talking to people, it feels very different than if you have a side profile talking to someone else as an interview.

So I think that a lot of companies have a lot of opportunities to get better and just shift that mentality of what video should be. I think it's interesting to see news outlets now are embracing that. If you scroll through TikToks, you have news anchors that are doing TikTok style videos, delivering news after they've done their nine o 'clock news or whatever it is.

I, you know, if news anchors can do it, if those old institutions are recognizing it, I think we need to recognize as well.

Eric (04:48.533)
Yeah, so you're telling me that you don't really need a lot of production costs to go into this, that maybe somebody can just do, companies can just do this with an iPhone?

Ant (04:58.316)
That's what I do with my clients. There's, I think, advantages to it. There's obviously, if you can invest in the cameras and lights, it does make you better. But the work really is before the videos. You think about why you're talking to camera in first place. What will catch the attention of the audience? How you kind of script your video so that you can land a five into thought in 30 seconds. I think that's more important work than to go, right, how much?

Do we want to invest in cameras and lighting and all that stuff? To me, that's secondary. Prettiness is secondary to content and value when it comes to social videos. So when I work with my clients, I rock up with, here, I'll show you my lighting. Here you go. That's my lighting. This is my kit. I've also got a tripod, and I've got a mic that I bring to my clients. There's two things to do. One is that I, you know, it's...

It's quick, it's something I can set up real quick. So when there's a spontaneous moment, I can capture it. And the other is when I'm capturing the energy of an event or the energy of a person, having a phone, like this is very, very recognizable. This is very familiar to everybody. And nobody's going to go, I feel weird being filmed by this. But when a big camera comes towards you, right? And you're like, come on, say something. You change, your personality changes. You feel a bit uncomfortable.

My job is to actually make somebody as comfortable as possible so they can be themselves to be on camera. And to me, that's more important than the perfect lighting and the perfect camera. So those are, they're massive advantages. And if you have a phone, you have essentially a studio that you're ready to go. And so definitely play around.

Eric (06:43.114)
Okay.

Eric (06:54.505)
Okay, so let's do a little exercise. Let's pretend I am a, I'm an introvert. I'm a founder. I've got a small company and we haven't done any video yet, but I want to start exploring this. I reach out to you and what's typically the first step in the process once I begin working with you or do you just, the first time we meet, are we shooting video or does there are more to this?

Ant (07:16.182)
There's, I would love to first get to know you. I think that's important. It's important to know what your goals are for your content, know what value you already give to your audience and your clients. Knowing those goals are gonna help me do two things and two approaches effectively. One is we can do thought leadership videos like this, Where we're delivering to Karen and

what I'd like to do is with those clients, I'd like to hear what they have to say about their subject. As they're talking about it, I'll ask some questions just to, you know, I'm the guy who's not versed in what you're trying to tell me, but that also puts them in a great position to understand how to get the most out of your content so we can deliver something that's understandable and relatable to an audience, regardless of their level of expertise. So,

I listened to your story, did I script something? I can, again, take this long thought that you have and shorten it into something that's 40 seconds, a minute, or a minute and a half. With that script, I break it down into small sections so that you're not killing yourself trying to remember this massive script. And when we were recording, I feed you the lines. So you don't have to worry about trying to remember everything or like,

Am I sure this story is going to get all the points I want in there? Because we already nailed that in the script. So that allows the person to be way more comfortable and way more loose and just be themselves. Authenticity is a word that's thrown around maybe too much, but that's what we're aiming for is not just, hey, look, this person knows what they're talking about, but hey, look, this person is someone I can relate to. This person's energy is someone I can feel.

So that's one way of doing it. The other is, you there are clients where they show, they do a lot of events. An event is a time where, especially if you're up there speaking, at this event, you're prepared to kind of put value to the audience. And so we take that advantage of that time and I will ask you questions about, and just do an interview. I'll ask you questions about, you know, what you thought about the evening or...

Ant (09:41.96)
Get the energy of the crowd and ask you questions about, you know, just how you, what you want the audience to take away and put together video from there. That way you are having something to bounce off of. I'm asking questions to you, gets the best out of your content so that I can edit it later on. In my head, when I'm asking questions, I'm thinking, okay, is this person articulating?

on the subject the best. What other things do we need to wrap up a video, etc. And the goal is to get it to you within 48 hours of doing an event because that's another thing about B2B content and B2B videos is that there's so many videos that come out like two weeks after an event and it's like we were done. We were already forgotten that we were there. We count all the freebies. We used them all. That video has to come out.

Eric (10:35.809)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Ant (10:41.26)
And the faster it is, the more you'll be able to engage your audience while that energy still fresh in your head. So that's when that video is exciting too.

Eric (10:51.831)
How long could a new client expect to shoot with you? mean, we're talking like a 60 minute session. Let's say this is not an event. This is like you come to our office or we meet somewhere and we do an interview or is it more like the entire day?

Ant (11:06.092)
I think that it depends on how many videos you're looking for. I can do it instantly. I can just rock up. And we will start with a conversation about what you're trying to say. So I get an understanding in my head on that, where we're going to go. That's important. I think we are able to do a video in half a day. And you're going be able to get it within 24 hours, as fast as that. And then just launch it.

I think that, yeah, just, you know, we're not talking about massive production crews. There's actually a massive production crew out here right now. So maybe I should keep it quiet. you know, you can do all that. But at the same time, that speed and that relatability is, to me, is how communications is changing on social media, in particular on LinkedIn, with this big push on video.

Eric (12:01.121)
Yeah. Have you ever had a client where you had to come in and make some changes to like their makeup or in hair or something else?

Ant (12:09.014)
Well, not my hair, that's for sure. But again, I don't have a makeup crew. I look at the video and go, do they look good? To me, as long as they look good in my eyes, I think that's important. Is there anything off? Is there food stuck in your teeth? That's more important than, is there, you know, I haven't gotten really kind of that as, you know, just like, need the complete wardrobe change.

More than anything, it's like, could you put this up or whatever it is, but minor, little minor changes. You brought up as you are, you again, the less we kind of like overthink this, the more authentic it will be, the more real it will be, the more it will connect with people.

Eric (12:52.161)
Yeah. What about the distribution? So let's say you have the videos, you chop them up, you've got some really good clips. Do you just hand them back to the client or also you're providing your services, like maybe some copy for the social media posts?

Ant (13:10.326)
Hey, if they want help with that, I can help out with that too, but most of the time I deliver the video. You know, I spent way too much time, over a decade on social media. I, part of what I love doing is writing. And if that's a service that we need as well, I am able to help them. But more often than not, I leave it to them because they feel what they need to express in their captions.

The rest I've taken care of, right, in the video. So in the subtitles and more importantly, I think the text overlay in the beginning of video so that it gives context to the video of what you're about to watch. So I take care of that and they can take a rest. Obviously I can help, but at the same time, it's like, think that's, when they create something organic themselves and they can feel what that video is trying to say and they can apply that, I think that's even better.

Eric (14:09.419)
What kind of videos are most of your clients requesting?

Ant (14:13.12)
There's two, I think, that's two types. One is this kind of direct to camera thought leadership type, right? Where we take your stories and we script it. Sometimes we just do an interview and just get that content out of you. And so I go away and script it. We work on it so that it's in your voice. We work on it so that it delivers what you want to say. And after that, we shoot that, right?

So that's one thing and the other is the events videos where I actually just there's an offshoot with the events videos. One is let's call it a evening wrap up where we have somebody who is important or someone who's you know, that's really integral to the event. They're speaking about the event and we're using B -rolls to illustrate the evening. And then within that evening,

there's also opportunities to get their team on camera as well. That's another problem that a lot of companies are trying to solve. It's like, know video is important, but how do I get my team on the camera? When we're trying to force them on the camera, it does feel like we're forcing on the camera. So when they're at an event, they're ready, they are prepared. And so when the camera's on them, they're looking good, they're sounding good, they've got top of the foot. And so we use that opportunity to get their team on camera as well. Same thing. It's like,

Give me, I need to know a quick brief about what their expertise are, what they're talking about that night, why they're in there that evening. That helps me direct questions to them so that I get the content I need to piece together a video for you.

Eric (15:56.669)
Okay. You're comfortable on video. I'm pretty comfortable on video. mean, I'm a podcast host and I do video podcasts. Now there's a lot of people out there that aren't. So obviously you said in the very beginning, you try to get to know them. You want them to be comfortable. Are there any other things that you do before the camera, before you actually start shooting to help them get a little bit more comfortable with the camera?

Ant (16:20.844)
That's a great question. I don't think I do anything in particular. What I picked up on my last shoot was a feedback that the client gave back to me. was like on her comment in her caption on her LinkedIn video, she called me calming. And I was like, that's interesting. That's a really interesting feedback.

Eric (16:48.247)
Coming? Coming?

Ant (16:50.486)
Calming and decent, know, it's like, it's like, I'm, you know, like, I got you. And I think that is what I do to get them comfortable is we're talking and we're building a report before we hit the record button. And, you know, there's, there's nothing I can really do to make you feel more comfortable than to be comfortable with me because I'm here directing you, I'm here shooting you. And if you're comfortable with me and sometimes I'll turn the camera.

Eric (16:59.574)
Yeah.

Ant (17:19.244)
do you like how this looks before I shoot? If I can make you comfortable with me, you'll forget that the camera is there. And I think that's going to be important. But if you want to be comfortable, get more comfortable by yourself, I think we all got one of these and we just need to start shooting selfie videos. We need to start vlogging. We need to start getting comfortable with just being on camera and kind of looking at the face and that's that person that's talking back to you in camera. It's weird the first time, but this is who we are.

Eric (17:26.071)
Okay, yeah, yeah.

Ant (17:49.292)
And we need to get to know that person. And the more we do that, you don't have to publish it, but the more we do that, the more comfortable we're going to be.

Eric (17:49.783)
Yeah. Yeah.

Eric (17:57.845)
Okay. Are you just operating in one location? Is it primarily, you know, the surrounding areas of London?

Ant (18:05.474)
I'll travel buddy. Give an excuse to travel and I'll go. But most of my clients right now are in London based in surrounding area. But I've been to Barcelona, Canada, I'll come to Rwanda. But right now, I've clients in Canada where I've shot remotely as well. We use something like what we're using right now for podcasts recording.

Eric (18:20.533)
Hahaha!

Ant (18:32.652)
so that I can direct them to record. And know, of magic technology. But if it's an event, I've got to be there. So.

Eric (18:43.775)
Okay. All right. Tell us about the name of the company, Mean Right Hook. How did that come about?

Ant (18:52.364)
I love that name because it's the love child of two things I really love. First is a love of puns. So mean right hook for people listening. The right is W -R -I -T -E. And the second is my love for violence. But a bit of, know, I was really into mixed martial arts, professional wrestling I still watch. And it just, the name just came up to me when I was thinking about

do my own business one day. I first wanted to start being a copywriter. So Me Write Hook was about copy that hits you hard. No more Jack, just throw Me Write Hook. But I kept the name because even now when I'm doing video, even if I'm doing social media content, all good content comes from the same place. It comes from good writing. It comes from the director knowing like,

how to piece something together in their heads as they write the story in their heads and they direct the subject to get the content out of them. So I've kept the name because of that.

Eric (19:59.735)
Okay, I got a few rapid -fire questions for you. Give me the first answer that pops into your head. You ready? Okay, the most exciting thing you've done in the last 26 days.

Ant (20:05.034)
Let's go.

Ant (20:10.892)
we booked a trip to Disney. I don't know if that counts, but we're very excited. The kids wanted to go and yeah, I couldn't believe they wanted to go. thought they were an agent and they wanted to go. But professionally, I just shot a video for somebody who I turned around in within 24 hours. I was super tired, but the energy that they got back.

Eric (20:17.792)
Okay.

Ant (20:39.296)
from launching a new community. And I watched their LinkedIn followers double. And I watched the engagement on the video. Just like there's just so much love. It was like such a great moment. It was such a validation of what I do. That kind of quick turnaround and that capturing that moment and capturing that energy.

You know, you got people there saying, hey, I want to sign up to the network, sorry, but I'm there. And that's exactly what I want for my clients is, you know, not just like a video, but something that gives results. So incredibly exciting. I'm super tired. I think I'm still like, little bit lagged over that. But it was well worth the effort.

Eric (21:25.569)
Yeah.

Okay. What is a book you read or maybe it's a podcast that has really helped you in, and establishing yourself and your business and moving things forward.

Ant (21:38.38)
I well this is gonna kill you cuz I don't read books. I've got a collection I got collection of half -read books like foods like graphic novels. podcast I thought that has helped me you know what this is gonna be funny because Back to my love for professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. I was listening to this Rester called Matt McCarty donut and he used to be a WWE wrestler

And he got fired and now he's in an independent scene. He's making more money as an independent wrestler than he was in the big leagues. And that's fascinating. And during one of podcasts he was on, he mentioned that he just laid out exactly how he does his business, right? All the secrets that he does. So I went and listened to that. And that has changed my perspective of how to do business. Because to me, it's super fascinating how I can relate.

So, you know, I'll go through this, where he says a lot of professional wrestlers, independent scene, they think about the match and the match is super important. And all they think about is that. But the most important thing for an independent wrestler is actually before the match and after the match. The match is fine. But before the match, you want to make a connection with your audience. And after the match, you want to sell your merch. That's how you're going to make a living out of this. And in my mind, I'm like, I can totally see how this applies to my business because

What I do on LinkedIn, what I do in networking, that's the match. But the merch, that's where you've got to be able to articulate your offering. And you've got to articulate in a way that is interesting and desirable for your audience and pricing in a where they're able to afford it. That's all wrapped around this thing right now. And I think that's changed my perspective of how I do business.

Eric (23:36.385)
You gotta be thinking of the movie, the wrestler with Mickey Rourke, which I'm sure you've seen. Yeah. Okay. Last question for you here. what is this funniest thing that you ever did to make money or save money?

Ant (23:39.83)
I love that movie. I love that movie.

Ant (23:52.52)
Literally the funniest thing I ever did to make money was when I first moved to the UK, couldn't get a job, partly because of my visa at the time. And I had to go do flyering for a comedy show. So was literally a funny story. But I was out in Cabin Garden outside the tube station there. I was just hitting flyers trying to get people to go into this comedy show. At the time,

you know, digital wasn't massive. We're on the cusp of really the world going fully digital. And so the flyering was like, got, you know, I was just like, there used to be a sign, it's like, please like come to the show. And I take that with me because that kind of interaction and that kind of engagement is what we're trying to do with social media and with these videos.

Eric (24:37.046)
Yeah.

Ant (24:51.346)
is that we can show up on video and it feels like we're having a conversation with the other person that's watching it. That's the goal, right? Especially for B2B. So I think I made like eight pounds an hour at the time. It was all under the table. But that was probably the funniest way I had to make money.

Eric (25:12.023)
Yeah, yeah. How did you get the job? Did you see an ad in the newspaper or what?

Ant (25:16.396)
I think it was Gumtree. don't think there's Gumtree where you're at, but it's like the Craigslist in the UK. I was just scrolling through. like, I need something to keep me going. And that's what caught me going.

Eric (25:23.711)
Okay. Okay.

Eric (25:29.195)
Yeah. Yeah. No, I had did something similar when I lived in New York city, I needed to make some money and I found something. it was, it was a survey and I was asking people at a park, a survey about ice cream truck and ice cream flavors and stuff like that. But I got, I got paid for it. but yeah, I want to prefer the comedy show. think I can really advertise that much better than, would you like to do this survey for ice cream? Okay.

Ant (25:55.604)
But I mean, if you got ice cream at the end, I think you win.

Eric (25:58.505)
Yeah, true, true, Anthony, thanks for coming on Innovators Can Love.

Ant (26:02.78)
It's such a pleasure to be here, Eric.

Eric (26:05.109)
Yeah, for everybody listening, I'm going to drop links to Anthony's LinkedIn profile and his company website, Mean Right Hook. And enjoy, come back next week where I'll have another innovator or founder from the UK on the show. This is Eric speaking and I'm out. Cheers.

Eric (26:27.991)
Okay, we're stopped.