Can technology marketing videos have empathy?
There’s little doubt that video as a medium can have empathy. Reality TV shows may increase empathy and bring out the best in us. But let’s consider the kind of videos I know best, technology marketing videos. These are mostly short, high-level solution overviews for lead generation or account management. What is empathy in marketing? The production of […]
Tell B2B video viewers you take them seriously
Malcolm Gladwell has said that, for him, the key to a good live presentation is to keep in mind that the audience wants to be taken seriously. This struck me as pertinent to the development and production of B2B video for inbound marketing and sales engagement. We imagine the audience browsing our collection of marketing content like bees collecting nectar. […]
Write a better explainer video script with help from Microsoft Office
An explainer video script for a technology solution is an “elevator pitch.” It says what needs to be said in a way calculated to win over a prospect in the course of an imagined elevator ride to the executive suite. “SmartArt” is not as dumb as I thought it was I’ve been ignoring this clip-arty feature for years, but […]
Make your explainer video 20% shorter
“…there are very few movies that wouldn’t benefit from losing twenty minutes and the inclusion of an exploding helicopter shot…” — Roger Corman This quote, which I first heard on Mark Kermode’s BBC Film Review podcast, may not appear to have much to do with marketing videos, but I think it reflects an attitude video producers […]
Making numbers count in marketing videos
Are you making numbers count in marketing videos? I recently ran across through an oversized marketing infographic containing two dozen statistics intended to make the case that 2015, at last, The Year of Video Marketing. Presumably, sharing this infographic with the powers that be could help to boost video marketing budgets. It is interesting to know that 75% of […]
Using filmable ideas in marketing videos
For me, cinema is essentially emotion. It is pieces of film joined together that create an idea, which in turn creates an emotion in the mind of the audience. Not through spoken words, but through the visuals. It’s a visual medium. And montage is the main thing. All moviemaking is pure montage. — Alfred Hitchcock […]
5 things your B2B video script needs to avoid
A one-minute B2B video script should contain about 125 words. Any more and it will start to sound like a list of side effects at the end of a pharmaceutical commercial. Assume that the first 30 seconds are more important than the second 30 seconds. So the first 60 words are crucial, and they need to be very, […]
Explainer video scriptwriting, in chapters
In fiction, everyone in the audience starts out knowing little or nothing of the story — and looks forward to the telling. Effective commercials tell stories. Most technology marketing videos tell the story of characters (e.g., the CXO) overcoming difficulties (e.g., bad data, poor performance) with new technology solutions. This article will discuss approaches to […]
Best information sources for B2B technology videos
There are few exceptions to the rule that you can’t have a good video without a good script. Even if the production is improvised, what gets used is judiciously chosen and edited to create the script. Here are some of the best information sources for B2B technology videos which you should furnish to the writers […]
Don’t forget sales when producing explainer videos
I recently did a podcast with Joshua Feinberg, an interesting guy and certified HubSpot partner, whose company, SPHomeRun, helps IT service providers (Cloud, MSP, Consulting, Repair, etc.) with inbound marketing. One of the subjects we covered was the value of talking to sales reps — people who actually talk to customers — when planning a video […]