Videos Get Action.
You want action. Specifically, you want someone else to take action – whether to make a purchase, endorse a proposal, choose a side, or laugh out loud. We are impulsive creatures, and our impulses to act are guided by emotions. For example, on my last business trip, my flight had been delayed for the second time and I found myself in line for a Cinnabon. I logically understand these to be appallingly unhealthy treats, but after so much heartbreak and frustration, all I wanted was the succor provided by hot gooey warm dough (I even ordered extra goo.) And I sure forgot about my woes while I was licking my fingers.
The point is that video can be like that Cinnabon – it makes people feel things in ways that the written word can’t – with attractive, identifiable characters, swelling musical scores, even laugh tracks. And from that emotion you can motivate action.
Watching Beats Reading.
Everyone prefers video – it is easier than reading, and holds the potential for being a lot more fun. Newspaper descriptions of automobile collisions are inherently tragic. Videos of automobile collisions (where presumably no one gets hurt) are compulsively watchable, as the popularity of Russian dash cam videos can attest.
Your potential clients want to know how you can make their life better. Your established clients want to understand your new offerings without wading through a brochure. Your supervisor or CEO wants to understand your proposal in two minutes or less. Your colleagues want to see how the new software works, not read a manual written in broken English.
Video Works Everywhere.
In front of a live audience, from the board room to the convention hall – they love videos, especially if the alternative is another see-and-say trudge through a slide deck, and you can double the value of the hard work you put into that presentation if it can be shown after the conference. In your emails – they send click-throughs through the roof. On your web site and social pages -videos are like the love child of catnip and glue. People are watching videos on every device, in every room, at any time.
Video Can Say Anything.
Your video should tell a story, but that’s the only rule. That story should probably be about someone your target audience can identify with. In that story, that someone should become a hero – making life better not just for themselves, but the world at large. And your idea, product, or service should play a supporting role to that hero.
The Video You Want Is The Video You Can Make Now.
If you have the means, I highly suggest calling in a professional. If you can’t swing that right now, make a video any way you can – because video works. If you need some advice, I’ve written a series of posts that goes a little deeper – and I’d be happy to answer any questions you might have.
Just Do It.
A great video costs less than you might imagine. You can absolutely measure the impact of a video. You want action. Get some.
