In developing marketing videos, we usually start with a script — that is, words on paper. This is a sensible and congenial way for technology marketers to work, since most of us spend a lot more time dealing with text in various forms than the do with video. Better-written scripts help assure better video narrations. But the spoken words of a video script needs to be looked at differently from the way you look at written text. On the page,
The ideal testimonial is a story about how someone like you solved a problem like yours. But good video testimonials are rare, despite their obvious value in an era of digital selling. Why? Because, however much they truly value a product or service, customers see little benefit in a not-entirely work-related project that will probably require legal department sign-off. And sales reps are reluctant to ask their customers to put in the effort needed to make a good video testimonial.
A technology consultant contacted me recently looking for a video solution to this problem: how to spread the word about his firm’s software solutions in order to start pilot projects for new applications. What he had in mind was a 2-Minute Explainer® video — that’s what we’re best-known for. But it quickly became clear that, while his target audience can be defined with unusual precision, the “product” and its value proposition hadn’t really come into focus as yet. What’s needed
When was the last time you read an email that made you feel smarter? Or felt enlightened during an online meeting? The unexpected experience of a clear, concise explanation of something that matters to you is both rare and refreshing in the “new normal” online information environment. Crafting clear, concise emails is tedious work that often goes unrewarded because the recipient doesn’t have time to read detailed emails. And sometimes just trying to schedule a screen-sharing meeting can be frustrating.
Citibank’s CEO, Jane Fraser, made a splash with her last year announcement of Zoom-free Fridays for employees, “to combat the ‘Zoom fatigue’ that many of us feel.” This is no knock on Zoom, or online meeting software in general, which has proven to be remarkably effective during the pandemic. The problem isn’t software, it’s people. What causes Zoom fatigue? In Nonverbal overload: A theoretical argument for the causes of Zoom fatigue Professor Jeremy Bailenson of the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab suggests
More show, less tell Have you given any thought to how much video these days gets watched without audio? More than you think, probably, because LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube all autoplay videos with no audio by default. Now consider the short videos you’ve created to explain and promote your products and services. If the viewer doesn’t listen to the voice track, how much of your message is getting across? Social media viewers have become accustomed to being carried
The most influential tool for sales success in 2020 was video conferencing — a key element in digital selling. According to Hubspot, “74% of leaders who outperformed targets this year said virtual meetings were “as or more effective than face to face meetings.” In the same article, a spokesman for Zoom assures us that video is 34X as effective(!) Anyway, we can all agree that video is effective. More show-and-tell People involved in the sales process are much more comfortable
At the top of a recent article titled “Attitudes Toward Information Signal Buying Effectiveness,” Gartner analyst Hank Barnes billboards this alarming (if you’re involved in sales communication) headline “43% of Buyers Feel Strongly That Volume of Information Overwhelming” The feeling captured in the headline emerged in Gartner’s studies of how organizations with different psychographic profiles think about enterprise technology adoption. “Too much information” is something we’re all familiar with. But, besides the overwhelmed 43%, the data also distinguished a group
If you’re developing your 2021 video budget with a fixed number of productions and a cost estimate for each — there’s a better way. So much of B2B business is conducted via online video today, it makes sense think of the video budget as a resource for boosting your brand by enlivening everything else that you do online — from customer meetings, to social media, to text content like white papers and blog posts. Cost components of new video content
“Social video generates 12 times the shares than text and images combined” has been a favorite stat of video makers since it was mentioned by Forbes in 2017. But what is “social video” anymore, now that socializing with video is an everyday thing for people in business? What’s not sociable? Commercial interruptions. Sure, competently produced video marketing messages video stand out compared to text and static images. That’s why “explainer” videos are still around. But customers and prospects who respond