What sets one corporate or marketing video apart from another?
Why do people watch one video to the end but only make it through the first five seconds of the next?
Engaging Videos sell Products & Brands
We are impatient to be entertained. If it’s not what we’re looking for, we’re quick to start looking elsewhere. So how does your business keep visitors engaged?
Talk to any marketing professional and they’ll all say the story is important. It’s got to be compelling. It’s not just a simple message, list of benefits and features or the odd joke thrown in here and there. If you can tell a great yarn, people will watch. And they’ll watch for a specific reason.
Because it’s all about them.
To be a great marketing storyteller, you need to know what your customer needs, what they crave and how they want it delivered. And then you have to deliver it in spades.
Structure is Important
Beginning, Middle, End. It’s a tried and tested formula that’s worked for millennia. In the movies it’s Act 1, 2 and 3. The first act introduces the characters and reveals their problem, the second sets up the possible solution, the third provides that solution.
This structural dance can take place over a couple of hours, a couple of months or just a few minutes, but it’s all held together by the same concept. You ignore structure at your peril because it leads your viewer in the direction you want them to go.
What Ails Them?
The central focus of your story is the individual viewing your story. They’re not necessarily in it but their problem, issue or concern is. You can’t engage if it’s not relevant to them.
Yes, you might be able to entertain, just like any movie or Netflix series. But you won’t live long in their memory, at least not long enough for them to buy your product or find out more about your service, if you aren’t relevant.
With any marketing campaign, it all starts with understanding who you are trying to target and why. What do they really want? Then you need to decide if you can deliver it.
What Is Your Solution?
The next piece of your terrific tale of mystery and imagination is what solution you provide for that problem. It could be big, it could be small. What your solution needs to be is a near perfect fit.
And don’t hang on until the end of your story before you do the big reveal either, this isn’t an episode of the Wire. Your viewer needs to know that you are going to deliver, and you need to create anticipation to get their juices flowing.
How Do You Gain Their Confidence?
Production values might not be top of your list but your story must convince that your product or service delivers on the viewers expectations. There are a variety of ways you can do this, such as showing your product in action, being used by someone just like your customer.
Where’s the Emotional Connection?
Through out your mini movie, of course, there needs to be an emotional connection. That’s why all of the above points need to come together like a well-tailored suit. Each part is just as important as the next. Together they bring that visceral sense that this is exactly what your customer wants and that it’s within their reach.
More Importantly, Where’s The Pay Off?
There’s no point in creating a really compelling narrative and leaving your potential customer high and dry. Have you answered all their questions? Do they know what to do next? Are they satisfied this is absolutely the right product for them? And are they going to buy?
If you know your brand needs this type of compelling video but don’t know where to start, Tall Boy can help – contact them today.