It’s Time to Get Yapping On Camera

Right now is the easiest time to grow on social media, especially with the rise of yapping videos. What is yapping exactly? It’s basically just a talk to camera reel. Whether the idea of yapping on camera feels scary for you or you’re just not sure where to start, I’m going to walk you through my favorite tips and a simple formula to help you start creating your own yapping videos.

In this episode we’ll be covering:

• Why we all love yapping videos on Instagram so much right now, especially with the rise of AI content. 
• Do yap videos actually convert? We'll look at real examples of successful yapping videos.
• How to create yap videos when speaking on camera feels scary and the real reason you hate how you sound on camera.
• A peek behind the scenes of creating a yapping reel and why I usually do three takes of all my videos.
• A walkthrough of my simple 30 Second Reel Formula.

Featured content in this episode:

• Lonelinessdoctor: Making friends as an adult
• Sabrinakaylor: I own three coffee shops in GA
• Hindirlane: Smartest things we did was create a family email
• The thirty second yap formula

Recommended episodes:

• Episode 103: Hot Take: We’re Following Accounts Where We See a Reflection of Ourselves
• Episode 108: Why You NEED To Take Content Creation Seriously
• Episode 109: The Human Side of Content That Sells
• Episode 114: Intellectual Property vs. Content Inspiration: Protecting Your Work as a Creator

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Transcript

Shannon McKinstrie [00:00:00]:
I am your host, Shannon McKinstrie. Welcome to Good Content, the podcast where I remove the never ending content creation, guesswork and overwhelm so that you can actually enjoy being on social media again and growing your business with what has always worked. Good Content. Before we start, I have a question to ask you. Do you realize what opportunity you have right now in May 2026 to completely change your life? And before you come at me, I'm going to say it. You know I love you. This is quite literally the easiest time it's ever been to grow on social media.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:00:41]:
This is coming from someone whose reach has literally been way lower as of recent. But it's also because I've been leaning a lot on lazy content because I've been so busy. It's Maycember quote unquote, which I had only heard that term like a couple years ago, and I was like, Maycember. What the heck? Now with like, my daughter, she had her preschool graduation today, which is why I'm like, actually in real clothes and it's wild. Like, I have three of my best friends are teachers and they're like, oh. I'm like, yeah, I get it, why it's so crazy for you. But I never felt it. I guess as a parent, probably because I'm so type B that I'm like, what? What's going on? I felt it this year.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:01:13]:
Holy moly. So my content has just been. And I'm gonna be honest, it's my fault. Like, I noticed. I was like, dang, my. My views are. Yesterday's post did a lot better. But I was like, oh, man.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:01:22]:
But it's also because I have been feeling it and I have been feeling really tired. And you can tell, you can in tell my content. And that's okay because we're so back. We just had preschool graduation. We're going to the beach this weekend. Look out. I'm going hard in the paint next week. I have so many ideas, I just haven't had time to execute them again.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:01:38]:
I love to tell y', all, I'm like, throw the phone up. And I just yap about what I want to talk about that day. Because that's literally what I do. I keep all these ideas notes. Usually it's something that comes up in the DMs, something I saw an article about something and I'm like, that's what I'm talking about today. And I usually come up with my hook. My quote unquote hook script. It's pretty loose as far as script goes.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:01:56]:
I don't follow the script exactly. But I have a formula where I talk about where I come up with obviously a hook. I do a little context and then I go in and usually by then I just go off of how I would tell a friend, how I would tell my husband, how I would tell a business bestie, right? I just talk like I would talk to a friend. And that's how I feel like I've gotten my talk to camera videos to translate so well. And even when they don't even go as like as much reach as some of my other content does, they convert way more. They always have. Ever since I started doing more talk to camera videos, which was the second reels came out, they've always brought in the most amount of followers. Now everyone's talking about the rise of the yap video.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:02:36]:
Now, if you're new to like, what the heck is yapping? It's just, you know, a saying we all started saying a few years ago and I had a reel. I talked about it last week about that people are now, you know, using it as their own. And I love to see it. Make sure you listen to that episode. There's a difference between stealing ideas and IP and things like that. You know, I just said it was like something funny. Like, you can't convince me that going to a dimly lit restaurant and drinking dirty martinis with the ultimate yappers doesn't have healing powers. Because me and my girlfriends, when we go out to eat, we can yap and we can put down some bottles of wine and martinis and we just blah, blah, blah.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:03:10]:
So yapping is just talking. It's just in Instagram terms, it is literally just talk to camera. That's all it is. But can you go on a yap session and talk about whatever the heck for three hours on a live. Sure, probably. But like, when it comes to a quote unquote yap video, I need you to know it might look like it's very off the cuff and creators just throwing it up, most of them, I would say 80% of them actually do have a either script or bullet points that they're hitting. Yes, it's off the cuff. Yes, it feels natural and authentic and fun and light, but.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:03:43]:
But they planned it, right? Even me, I've got my hook. I've got my this. I'm usually doing some sort of visual hook too. I'm either placing the phone down, making a drink, whatever, right? We've got our little things in the back, but they're natural and they're easy. It's Nothing like high production. I usually yap when I do my yapping videos. I place my phone literally down on the kitchen counter and lean it against the backsplash. That's it.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:04:05]:
I usually do have a ring, some sort of light, just because the lighting in my house over there isn't great. But sometimes it doesn't even matter if you've got something to say that's powerful and gonna resonate. It doesn't matter if the lighting's good or not. But I say that to, say, the rise of the yapping video. That's why you have so much potential. And again, I know you're like, Shannon, I don't really. I'm scared of talking on camera. Today.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:04:25]:
We're getting over that. I'm gonna give you a few tips on how to get over that first, but I'm also gonna reassure you. You could do voiceovers if you're like, I don't wanna talk on camera. Okay, voiceovers. I just need to know it's a real human. Another thing I tell my clients to do. And it's so silly, but it's worked for so many people. When you're practicing, think of something that you're like, you're literally dying to tell your friend about, or it's a story that you tell every time you see people throw your phone up on your car.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:04:49]:
I'm literally not even kidding you. When I did the video recently about your video settings, I was talking about how you want. If you want your videos as crisp as McDonald's Diet Coke. Do you know my phone is propped up against the mug that was on the bottom of the floor of my car from, like, three days ago? Probably. Let's. Let's be real. It's me. It's probably like two weeks old.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:08]:
Like. Yes. Do I have a little magnetic thing in my car to hold my phone when I want to do videos? Yes. But it doesn't sit very high. And just so you know, I hate my neck. Let's just talk about it. I'm 43. Things are.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:21]:
Things are happening and I'm just like, oh, So I don't like it there. So I will literally take a mug and prop my phone and we. We do what we do. We just do it. Right? So do that. And be in a good mood when you're recording. Talk to cameras. Unless you're in a fired up mood.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:37]:
That works too. People love that, right? We love a rant. And I want you to literally tell a story. You don't ever have to watch this video. You don't have to send it. You don't have to post it. You don't have to do anything with it. You can delete it when it's done or show it to someone who will give you some honest answers.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:52]:
Because here's the thing. You hate how you sound on camera or talk on camera. Cause it isn't you because you're performing. We all do it. I still find myself doing it. And I'm like, delete. Burn it down. Burn the video.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:05]:
I'm like, ew. Who is that? And that's why usually I do three takes of my videos. And usually it's either. Usually the first or the third. That's the best. The first is either best because I was really in the moment and then. Or the third. Cause it was like, Shannon, who were you in the first two? When you're telling that story that you love to tell and you're recording those videos, you can even put your sunglasses on if you're like, still, like, I don't know where to look.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:25]:
I don't know what to do. But again, do it when you're in a good mood. Maybe even just drive around. This is something I literally do sometimes is I'll drive around, and then I'm like, oh, I'm gonna record a reel right now. Cause I've already written my hook. So I'm like, I'll just do it and I'll go to get a Diet Coke. While sitting there getting my Diet Coke at McDonald's, I'm literally jamming out in the car, like, listening to something that hypes me up. And then I pull into a parking lot spot.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:46]:
I'm hype, I'm in a great mood, and I record. And usually, like I said, I say the hook. And typically the first couple lines three or four times until it sounds like me. Because sometimes I'm like, I sound like a news anchor. Or I sound like. And I'm like, dude, when I talk to people, I'm not professional or polished. I'm like, no, it needs to sound like me. And every time I've done one, that feels a little performancy.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:08]:
Yeah, it doesn't do well. Cause people are like, shannon, who's. Who are you? Um. And I even showed a video of me from 2019 during my keynote at Social Media Marketing World last month. And I literally played the 10 seconds. And at the end, I was like. And everyone laughed. Cause they're like, yeah.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:21]:
They're like, anyone who knows me is like, who is that? And I'm like, hey, guys. It's like, almost like I changed my voice because I. I was nervous. And it's taken a long time. And as my friend Adley says, you have a hundred bad videos in you before you get it, and that's okay. Post them anyway or hold on to them and keep practicing. Now, most of my scripts, most of my videos are 30 to 60 seconds. And I start with my hook, and then I just.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:45]:
And sometimes the video is three minutes long, and I take out all the fluff, and I follow. And it will be in the show notes. I follow a formula where I try to keep my reel around 30 seconds. The hook is usually the first 2 seconds verbal. From seconds 2 to 5, 2 to 6, I'm giving the background and the context. So let's say I'm telling you about talk to camera reels. I go, the reason you feel uncomfortable on camera is because you're performing. That would probably be my hook.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:13]:
We'll go with that for now. Because I'm just thinking off the cuff. That's not the best hook, but that's what I mean. Then I would say, I was talking to a friend the other day, and they told me that they cringe every time they press record or they freeze and don't know what to say, right? So now I've got what I'm going to talk about. And like, I hooked them in with some curiosity. Cause they're like, ooh, what do you mean I'm performing next? They're gonna go, oh, yep. I feel the same as that person. So it's 1, 2, right? So hook, context.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:36]:
And then I go in with the meat and potatoes, meaning. So here's my five steps to make sure you are showing up as you on camera as someone who is also burned down a million videos that she's recorded, right? Something like that. And then I go number one. And I would give you my bullet point. And then I would end with, there you have it. Go try it yourself, and follow for more. That's a yapping video. So while it's yapping and it's off the cuff, and it's probably me, you know, in between making dinner and tell my kids to be quiet.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:09:04]:
Or me waiting in the pickup line, I'm recording my reels. Cause I do that a lot. Or I record my stories when I'm in line waiting for the girls. Things like that. It feels off the cuff. And that's what people love. And you see them all the time as you scroll, right? But then there's also videos where someone is recording let's say it's a plumber fixing a leak and it's like, I'm going to show you the number one thing that people do wrong and why it leads to $10,000 issue. And maybe even the context is, hi, I'm so and so and I've.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:09:29]:
I'm a plumber in da da da da. Here's what I want you to do. Number one, right? It's the perfect way to yap naturally without giving us fluff. Now, do I have reels that are 90 seconds? Yes. And many of them have gone crazy for me. I have one that went viral three years ago and it's a whole 90 seconds. So if you want it longer. But most of the things I share, if I go a full 90 seconds, I'm going to lose y'all.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:09:51]:
Because it's a lot. What I teach is a lot. Now if it's a 90 second recipe, it's the best salad dressing you've ever made that like was handed down by this and has gone viral and it makes people fall in love with, with your salad. Like I'll watch the whole 90 seconds, right? If there's enough steps that it needs to be. So when people ask me how long should the talk to camera yapping reel be? I'm like, how long does it get you to say everything you need to say? Or maybe you're telling me some crazy story about your life. I'll watch the whole 90 seconds. So then, but still take that 30 second formula that I have in the show notes and just make it longer.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:10:23]:
The meat and potatoes is what will be longer. It'll be more like a minute than everything else. Okay, so the rise of the yapping video. Why do we love it A? Because we can tell it's a real human and unfortunately I've seen a lot of yapping videos that are actually AI and I'm like, oh man, we're cooked. But whatever, you know. But I will say, typically we can tell it's a real person and we can feel your energy and personality. So yes, one, they feel organic, they feel real. Two, typically yapping videos.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:10:49]:
The reason there's this rise of yapping videos, why they call it yapping, is because we're talking to the camera from a lived experience where versus five plus years ago, a lot of people were talking to the camera like blog style or like almost like what you would read in an article from some random like thing. It's like, no, you're talking from your own lived experience and it feels real and like you have done the work and the research or you have the fun story for us, and that's why they do so well. We feel your energy. We know it's a real person. And two, we get to learn from your experience. You saved us the time to do it. And three, we're just tired of the gimmicks. We're tired of the clickbait.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:11:26]:
We want real humans. So your yap video, I just thought I'd go through Instagram to show you, and then I'll put them in the show notes so that you can see what kind of a standard yap video looks like and how even if you own a hot dog shop or are a dentist or you're the head of hr, whatever it is, you can yap on camera. And once you're comfortable, you're. You're not gonna be able to shut up, I'm telling you. And you use tools like edits inshot to get all those silences and the way I edit. And I'll be doing a video like this next week, so by the time this podcast is up, hopefully I have it up. I will make sure I do this Tuesday so that you guys can get it. I'll show you how I edit my yapping videos, because I take all the silences out, so stay tuned for that.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:12:08]:
And I usually have a hook over my head, and then the captions usually around the middle toward the bottom of the screen, so that we tend to start with our eyes up top and going down. So that's great, too. So let's say whether you own whatever it is you can yap on camera, Obviously, there's things like skits and things like that. We're talking just straight up, telling a story, telling an experience, sharing experience, or giving a tip. That's what we mean by yapping videos. And keep it short and sweet. Okay, so let's grab a few from different industries so you can see what they look like, and maybe it'll get you excited. And again, I want to preface this.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:12:37]:
There's so many ways that you talk on camera. There's videos of people's podcasts, there's interview style. I mean, ones where they're. Where it's literally just you talking right to the camera like it's a FaceTime. So think of it like that. Okay, so here we go. And again, you can tell it looks like this guy's just, like, sitting down to have a cup of tea, but he's got a script and he's ready to go. I'll let it Play.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:12:55]:
Almost everyone is killing their social momentum with this one sentence. You're face to face with someone saying, you're good. See what I mean? He starts with a statement, a powerful statement, a hook. And so makes us go, hmm. And then he goes. And then he gives the context, and then he's gonna give exactly what to do. So when I say yapping, just think, talk to camera. That's it.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:13:18]:
I just keep feeling like I have to keep saying that because I know there's so. There's hundreds of ways to do reels. It's just like that reel that just earns instant trust. All right, so he was that creator. That first creator was the loneliness doctor, a clinical psychologist. So there we go. So there's one. Okay.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:13:33]:
I love this one because it's from someone. It's like her telling her story, which is another great to do. Way to do a yap video and reintroduce yourself. I'll let it play. I own three coffee shops in Georgia, and they literally all couldn't be more different from each other. So here's one thing I love the most about each store. There we go. She goes right into it again.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:13:50]:
Hook, curiosity, and right away, authority, right? She's like, I own, so why do we care? Right away, Boom. Second, a little context. She's like, they couldn't be more different from each other. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So here's what I love about em. We're in. And then she goes down with her list, and she's sitting there with her coffee cup again, tastes and identity. So right away, we're like, ooh, what she got to say? And third, so we've got a brick and mortar.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:14:11]:
We've got a psychologist example and found another brilliant one. This is a creator. She's a personal brand. She also owns looks like a nonprofit. So we have a good range of things for y' all to see. So let me let it play. The smartest thing that has husband and I did that cost us absolutely nothing was create a family email. There's your hook.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:14:31]:
Curiosity. One of the smartest things that we've done. Lived experience. See what I mean? I ready email them. Make sure that both my husband and I are on the loop when it comes to our family, our house. So there's the context. And then she goes into how it works. Do you see what I mean? It's so easy.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:14:48]:
And if you just get comfortable talking on camera, you're going to blow up and you're going to help people, and they're going to love you. And you're going to feel so good about what you put out into the world, and you're going to be able to do cool things. And I just want this for you so bad. And I hope this helped. Get yapping. Don't think it has to be anything crazy profound. What's something that you can share with your people? What is a journey you're on? What is a story you can tell? Get practicing. I love you, friend.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:15:12]:
You got this. Bye.