Many business leaders are all about the numbers. Let’s face it, they have to be. Numbers are the backbone of just about any company, but they need to take a backseat when producing a marketing video.

Here… the story comes first. The story is what’s going to hook the audience. A good story will keep them interested, and that means they’ll be more receptive to the video’s message.

Numbers are fine. In some cases, they do a good job of backing up the story. Think of them as supporting characters, but they don’t play the lead role.

The star of the show is your story. That’s what will help the audience connect with your business.

–Tony Gnau

I’m not a big fan of “under-promise, over-deliver.” Obviously, I don’t advocate the opposite, but under-promising to me seems like you’re holding back something from your client from the get-go. It feels little dishonest.

If you know in advance you’re going to deliver something to a client, lay it all out on the line from the beginning. Then once you’ve started, if you come across ways to give them additional value-added service, go for it.

Over-deliver… just don’t under-promise.

–Tony Gnau

It sounds so obvious, but a lot of businesses fail to do it… highlight what they do best. If you’re ready to start having videos produced, this is a good place to start.

Many corporate videos get bogged down in the details. Company X shipped this many widgets to Y number of countries. Great… but tell me about the widget!

Isn’t that what you do best… build a good widget? Who came up with the idea? How is it made? How is it going to help me as your potential customer?

Don’t lose focus… show me the widget!

–Tony Gnau

Technology is ever-changing, prices are pretty reasonable, and that’s all good news for those of us that shoot and edit video. It also means content consumers need to be careful.

There’s all sorts of new cameras out there delivering stunning video quality, but there’s more to quality content than pretty pictures. When you pick someone to produce your video, make sure they have a creative heart and not just a technical mind.

You should be looking for the total package… someone who has the technical knowhow, but also the creative spirit needed to put together a video that will connect with the audience.

All flash and no substance isn’t a winning formula.

–Tony Gnau

If you’re looking for someone to produce a company video, don’t search for a corporate video producer. You should look for a corporate storyteller.

Now, some video producers are storytellers, but not all of them. You can find tons of people with the technical expertise to edit together a video, but a storyteller will help make the video relevant to an audience.

How do you know if they’re a storyteller? Look at their work.

Does it hold your attention? Are you curious to see what’s next? Do you connect with the video’s message?

If the answer is yes to one or more of these questions, then you might have found someone who can tell your company’s story.

–Tony Gnau

Jim Collins writes a lot in his book Good To Great about how important it is for companies to “get the right people on the bus.” In short, finding employees who are self-motivated.

That’s something we take seriously at T60. Right now, I shoot and edit most of our video, but T60 is growing so more and more we turn to freelancers to help. These aren’t just any freelancers though, they’re rock stars! Photographers and editors we can trust to create great content for our clients.

I was reminded how talented they are last week when I got the good news that Jeremy Nichols won a pair of Edward R. Murrow Awards.

Jeremy is a news photographer/editor at WISC-TV in Madison, WI.  He has worked for T60 in the past, and I hope he’ll continue to play a part in the company’s growth.

Jeremy just won awards for best use of video, watch Goat Art and you’ll see why, but he didn’t stop there. He’s so motivated that as a photographer/editor, he even won an award for sports reporting. Jeremy shot, wrote, voiced, and edited Good Eye, Tanner.

Any doubt this is the type of person you want creating content?

–Tony Gnau

Storytelling doesn’t need words, but it does need a story. That little ditty came to me after watching a video produced by Italian automaker Alpha Romeo.

The video uses time-lapse photography to show a concept car being assembled.

Did I miss something? Is that it? There’s no voice track or interviews to tell us anything about the car or the car show where it was displayed.

All it does is leave me wondering. What was I supposed to get from the video? Is the message simply, look at this cool car? I guess if I have to ask what the message is it’s not very good.

In comparison, check out this American Airlines video I highlighted last January. Similar concept… showing us an advertisement display being created, but the airline’s video does a great job of delivering a message without any words.

Video is a great medium, but businesses still have to give viewers a reason to watch.

–Tony Gnau

There are all sorts of videos that can help a company make a sale. Whether you provide a product or a service, a good video highlighting what you do can go a long way to earning new business.

But don’t discount your current customers.

A good video can also be an investment in them. If you don’t think your competitors are trying to lure their business away, you’re kidding yourself. That means its just as important to share your videos with your “faithful” clients as it is with your prospects.

It’s an investment worth making.

–Tony Gnau

I watched a good interview over at the Social Media Examiner last week, and it really hit home because it gave me a different perspective on one of my favorite topics.

Social Media author Scott Stratten talked about corporate video and how businesses need to tell emotional stories to get people to share them. He thinks this is the key to making videos go viral.

Anyone who reads this blog knows my feelings on this subject. Video is all about emotion, not facts. Call it my mantra. A good video touches emotions and connects with the audience. A powerful concept for any marketer.

Anyway, Stratten did open my eyes though because I’ve never thought about it from a “sharing” perspective, but it makes sense. People rarely share videos because they have great facts. They share videos that elicit emotion.

In some cases, facts lead to emotions, but it’s still the emotional response that’s driving viewers to share.

Emotion is apparently a key that opens many doors.

–Tony Gnau

It doesn’t take long. A good video can get people’s attention and peak their interest in less than a couple of minutes. That’s important because most web surfers have very short attention spans.

However, that’s not why I think shorter PR and marketing videos are better. Shorter is better because it allows you to do more.

Instead of producing a single, let’s say, 10-minute video, businesses should turn out five, 2-minute videos. Breaking things up into segments does a couple of things…

1. it’s a manageable time for people to watch
2. it creates an event to look forward to

I want to focus on that second point. Producing a series of videos allows a company to release them as a web series. Using our previous example, we’ll say one video a week for five weeks.

Show them over your social media networks, in an email campaign, and now you’re producing content your followers will anticipate and appreciate every week.

Less really can be more.

–Tony Gnau