My Grandson

In a recent post, People Don’t Read…What Are You Going to Do About It? I advocated the use of video to get your messages across.  But by extension, if no one watches your video, you’re still stuck.

I’ve tried a few videos.  They’re OK.  Not great, but I got a good number comments on them.  I tired to keep them less than two minutes in order to keep people’s attention.  But I wasn’t satisfied.  Something was missing.  Then recently it clicked when I asked my four year-old grandson to tell me a story.

This is his story.   “There was a elephant. His name was Ralph, and he had big teeth. (Not the same elephant that got stuck in the room.) Then he went to the store.  He chased all the people out.  So then they called the POLICE.  But he ate all the food.  Then he pooped. Ha, ha.  When the police came, he got on a fire engine and drove away.  THE END.”  I asked him what happened next, and he continued the story for another two minutes.

So what do George Lucas and my grandson have in common that can teach us something about your marketing video?

The most important aspect for marketing videos is that you have to tell a story.

The first thing is that every story needs is a “hook” or a reason to continue listening.  For example; an elephant with “big teeth” (why big teeth?), or “A long time ago in a galaxy far far away.”  This engages us in “The Story.”  It helps us suspend disbelief and allows us to listen and focus on what comes next.

Once you are engaged in the story, you need some conflict or drama such as calling the police, or a rebellion in a galaxy against the emperor.

Then the next key element is to keep us engaged.  Two of the most important words you can use are “and then.”  And then… what happened next?  My grandson, without thinking, naturally used “then” three times in his story.  But here is where the genius of George Lucas comes into play.  His version of “and then” was the “two-second” scene change.  What’s that?

We are evolved to look at motion.  We can’t help it.  From an evolutionary standpoint, sensitivity to motion protects us from the predators in the bushes.  By changing the scene rapidly, Lucas keeps us hooked into the action of Star Wars and raises our adrenaline levels.  We are forced to pay attention because we are looking to see what happens next.  Look at any commercial on TV today and you will see this phenomenon.  No scene lasts more than two seconds.

So how does this relate to creating a white board video?  In my video, I try to tell a story.  It begins with “a great idea.”  We all identify with the creation of a great idea; it’s a classic business narrative.  Conflict is created by failure to sell that idea.  Motion is created by drawing.  This is the equivalent of Lucas’s fast scene changes.  The viewer wants to see what is being drawn next, and this creates the “and then.”  Next there is a little humor to open our minds.  Finally, there is the resolution.  The elephant drives away on the fire engine, Darth Vader is thwarted, and a solution to a marketing problem is presented.

It’s not perfect.  It’s longer than I wanted, but I am surprised at how fast it moves.  It was created for less than $100.  And I want to know what you think.  Did it capture your attention?  Does it hit the mark?  What would you do differently?  Leave a comment below.

So if your video turns out to be an elephant, put him on a fire engine.

Do Great Things!

Lee Stocking
Prairie Sky Group
Making Sales Cry With Qualified Leads
lee.stocking@gmail.com
651-357-0110 (Cell 24×7)

Share

Share

Sales people like to talk.  The good ones listen.  Marketers, on the other hand, tend to be verbal but more focused on reading and writing.  They wind up working on the copy for websites, PR releases, direct mail, email, literature and whitepapers.  The problem is… no one reads any more.  So much of this activity is wasted.  Too bad.  What are you going to do about it?

It’s time to consider a couple of things.  Getting your ‘prospect universe’s’ attention and then finding the best way to communicate with them.  This doesn’t mean that marketers can stop writing, thinking, generating relevant content and being creative at getting attention.  Just that the medium might change.

To illustrate the point, one extreme example of this change is the movement from posted advertisements above urinals in men’s rooms to flat screen video. (I hear women read more than men, but I don’t know what goes on in the other side.)  Or another example is tweeting.

Let’s get use to the idea that our attention span is limited.  We have so much competition for our attention, we want our information pre-digested in bullets so we can determine whether it’s worth another 30 seconds.  Many marketers slave over written case studies trying to satisfy this need.  Don’t waste your time.  No one reads case studies anymore.

Instead, try using the 30-second client testimonial video.  This is especially important at the point in the sales cycle that requires proof, especially in the “tornado” portion of the market (see my post on Crossing the Chasm).  Buyers in the mainstream want to know who else has your product and service, how are they using it, and what it’s done for them?  Since buyers today are much further down the sales path before they call or contact you, they often need this information before you even know they exist.

Here’s an example of 20 seconds from the CFO of a small company:

Now imagine a library of 200 of these videos catalogued by customer experience, benefit, savings and service.  I know one company that accomplished this and there are more.

There’s nothing more credible than a customer saying how much you’ve done for them.  Many marketers will tell you how difficult it is to get a client or customer on camera.  It’s less difficult than you think, and I’ll cover the “how” in my next post… I mean video.

Lee Stocking
Prairie Sky Group
Driving Sales Through Customer Focused Marketing
lee.stocking@gmail.com
651-357-0110 (Cell 24×7)

Share