For decades, expert marketers on Madison Avenue and around the country thought they had it figured out. In seemingly every industry, there was a script, there was a formula, and there was a clear protocol for how a company could communicate with a given audience and what, exactly, that company could say.

In many cases, these formulaic approaches proved to be remarkably effective. Listing the benefits of a product, using a like-minded salesperson, and sticking to ideas that had proven to work helped many people sell their widgets and services far beyond their wildest dreams. At some point in time—and it can be difficult to point out exactly when this time might have been—we, as a population, felt as if we had cracked a complex “marketing code.”

However, whether this code-cracking had actually come about or not, what quickly became clear is that marketing (in any industry) cannot remain static. As soon as people see something scripted and as soon as people are being delivered something they know they’ve seen before, they’ll almost certainly tune out and ignore the many good things you have to say.

Why Go Off-Script?

This applies equally to real estate syndication as it does to any other industry. If a real estate syndicator truly wants to raise money for their deals and market themselves effectively, they’ll need to think of something new. In other words, they’ll need to be willing to go off-script.

What “going off script” entails, exactly, varies tremendously by industry and marketing campaign. But generally, one of the best ways you can do this is by choosing to “go live” and present yourself in a way that hasn’t been focus-grouped, hasn’t been formulaically tested, and is simply the real, authentic you.

Considering that public speaking is consistently ranked as the number one fear in the United States, it’s no surprise that many people are intimidated by the idea of presenting themselves unfiltered. But if you can find the courage needed to do so, and the ability to do so effectively, the results can be incredibly rewarding.

Keep in mind that all video is recorded live while you watch this short conversation between author Adam Gower and Noel Christopher as they discuss how video on LinkedIn (and, for that matter, here on BiggerPockets) can impact your real estate business.

Let Your Audience Know Who You Are

If you operate in an industry where your ultimate goal is to raise funds—and real estate syndication is certainly one of these industries—the first thing you will need to do is establish trust. If your target audience doesn’t trust you, then there is simply no way you are going to convince prospects to invest their hard-earned cash with you.

But if you can show that you are a real person, an authentic person, a person that is objectively worthy of their trust and consideration, you might find yourself having an inroad.

By presenting yourself via live video (rather than pre-recorded and edited video), you can push yourself from being an abstract entity—a “theoretical being,” so to speak—into something that is a bit more human. You are showing that, despite your initial nerves, you are willing to trust what makes you human and, frankly, other people ought to do the same.

Related: Your Reputation is Everything. Guard it With Your Life.

LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, and other social media platforms all create excellent opportunities for syndicators to go live and begin building trust. If you do choose to go live, which is a great option for content production in the world of digital fundraising, your goal is not to make an immediate sale. Rather, your goal is to further advance your brand.

Do you have a personality? Do you know a lot about the industry? Is your industry knowledge not just general, but applicable to everyday life?

Your prospects and potential investors will have no way of knowing whether these things are true until you present them with evidence. As time goes on and you continue putting yourself out there, your personality becomes not just a part of a broader investment proposition, but a reason to actually consider investing. With the right types of content, you can push the “no” to become “maybe” and the “maybe” to become “yes.”

Related: Effective Content Marketing for Your Real Estate Business: Create a Plan in 5 Simple Steps

With such a wide range of digital marketing tools available, live broadcasting can be off-putting to so many hesitant syndicators. They might try to justify staying offline to themselves, observing that they are already able to generate “plenty of quality leads” through other mediums.

In many cases, this might be true. But in a hypercompetitive market such as real estate syndication, having one or two reliable outlets will not be enough. Your competitors will already be present on these platforms and will also be going live (or will be eventually). Foregoing this unique, contemporary, and revolutionary medium will inevitably cause you to fall behind.

There is nothing more real than going live. Your viewers won’t expect your live stream to be perfect, nor do they even necessarily want it to be so. What they do want, however, is for you to be you.

What videos have made you want to invest?

Tell us how someone can win you over in the comments.