If a Picture is Worth 1000 Words Imagine What a Video is Worth...

By: Jason Manders, Core Crafted Designs

Lights, camera, action!

We are all in an age of advertising media overload. Emails, TV ads, social media. On our phones, in our living rooms, in our cars. All designed to get our attention and motivate us to act on what we just saw or heard. And in some aspects, the days are gone where a business just needs to tell the world about its product or service. Now, customers want to know if the business is acting responsibly, has good intent, good culture, good people or maybe even a mission to make the local area (or better yet the world) a better place. Trying to sum all this up in a single image with simple text would be quite a challenge.

Connecting to your customer

The use of video in advertising can create a connection to your customers like no other way. They see firsthand what you do, what you are about and what matters to your company. And the icing on top is they almost get to experience it firsthand without actually being there. Your customer hears your story delivered in a way that truly connects with them. They see your emotion and even get a chance to feel it themselves. The video story you tell helps your potential customer understand what it is that your business does, why you do it, and how it can help them. It can explain your values, mission, how you got to this point in your business and where you plan to go. Way more than a photo could ever “say”... if it had a voice.

Much like a Hollywood movie, your video should be designed to cover the basic elements of a story. What’s the plot, the purpose, the characters? What is the location setting that best captures your message? Who is your target audience and what is important to them? And where the video will be distributed has an impact on how it’s shot. Do you have 30 seconds to tell your story, or three minutes? All of these are important factors to consider and design into the project.

Being different makes

The key here is to be the difference The key here is to be memorable. Stand out and be different. We all memorable. have short attention spans and are Stand out and quick to click or swipe away. What sets you apart in the industry? be different. How is your product or service better? How will you help your customer make their life easier, and tell them in a way they quickly and easily understand? Sometimes it’s the small things that make a big difference in their lives. Many customers will even pay more for a product or service because of what the company stands for. Many choose to give their business to a company that is making a difference on an issue they care about, and the extra cost is looked at as an investment in the cause.

Take a little journey together

Video storytelling shouldn’t be a direct sales pitch. It should connect to your customer and tell a real story about things that matter to them. You want your story to be engaging from start to finish. You want it to be relatable to your potential customer. Think like they do, not like you do. What do they want to hear and see? You’re not speaking AT them, you’re speaking TO them. And better yet, you are speaking LIKE your customer. They should see and hear why you are the right choice for their business without thinking that much about it. It just clicks.