Tag Archives: business

Here’s a crazy fact. Many corporate executives don’t know what their company’s story is.

I understand that sounds ridiculous, but it’s true. They know elements of their story. When it was founded, who founded it, how many widgets they’ve shipped over the years, et cetera. Unfortunately, they frequently miss the component of their story that’s going to make it appealing to the masses. That’s what a storyteller can do for them.

Business leaders are just that. Ask them about P&L, cost-benefit analysis, ROI… they’ll blow your socks off. They know their stuff when it comes to pie charts and tables, but storytelling isn’t about facts and figures. It’s about emotion.

Business leaders need storytellers who can look at their company, identify the types of stories that will connect with audiences, then let them loose.

–Tony Gnau

I’m changing my title. You can do that sort of thing when you own your own business. The tough thing is choosing one.

I’m the founder, president and CEO, but I’m also a videographer, writer and editor. I don’t like any of those.

What I really am is the Chief Storytelling Officer. It’s a good title for a couple of reasons. First, it accurately describes what I do for our clients. I help tell their stories.

Second, I’m T60’s storyteller. I’m in charge of telling T60’s story. It’s not so much about when we started, the type of equipment we use, or listing our clients. Our story is all about our passion for video and storytelling. I’m in charge of getting that message out.

I hope your company has a Chief Storytelling Office… even if they don’t have the title.

–Tony Gnau

The plan was to blog today about our New York shoot, but the trip has turned into quite the adventure and is still ongoing.
Some thunder storms rolled through yesterday afternoon and canceled all the flights to Chicago and beyond. The hotels filled up quickly, which meant… you guessed it… staying the night at LaGuardia Airport.
Ugg. I’ve been up now for over 28 consecutive hours. It’s quite an accomplishment that I can even type this blog post on my iPhone.
Anyway, the post on the NYC shoot will have to wait until next week.
Business travel is so glamorous. :-)
–Tony Gnau

Music is a great thing to add to a video. It’s important however to pick the right music.

If you’re producing a business video for PR or marketing purposes, make sure to choose royalty-free music. We run into a lot of clients who have a popular song in mind for their videos, not thinking about needing the rights to use that music.

Royalty-free music allows you to set a mood and do it on a budget.

–Tony Gnau

Every company is different. Every company has its own culture, procedures, ways of doing things. When you go looking for a video producer, do your best to make sure they can fit in with your team.

We just started working with a new client and they did something I’ve never seen before. They provided us with a calendar, not only detailing what they expect from us, but what they would be adding to the project themselves.

I loved it. It’s clearly an insight into their company culture, and I have to say it worked for me. I took one look at the calendar and it was incredibly helpful, but I can tell you it might have freaked out other video professionals.

We’re a creative industry… right-brained, not left. Fortunately, I appreciate details, as long as people remain flexible, but if they had chosen the wrong production company… it could have been a doomed business relationship from the start.

Keep culture in mind when you start interviewing creative professionals.

–Tony Gnau

I did something last week that a lot of people might think is a bit crazy. While bidding on a project, I also recommended a competitor.

The project in question is not the typical video we produce, as a matter of fact I wasn’t sure it was even something we wanted to do. After talking about it a bit, we decided it would be fun so we gave the client a quote.

She thanked us and basically told us she’s shopping around and would let us know. Once I found that out, I recommended she get in touch with a competitor I e-met through a business acquaintance.

The reason is simple. I want her to find the right person for the project. If that’s T60, great! If it’s someone else, that’s fine too. We just want to be a service.

The person we recommended specializes in the type of video the client would like to do. We might not get this particular job, but if we can still provide a service, i.e. a good recommendation, then I’m confident we’ll here from this client again.

Sometimes things that are bad for the bottom line in the short-term end up being a boom in the long run.

–Tony Gnau

I still speak with business owners who question whether or not it’s “worth” producing videos.

When I tell them, yes, they often want proof. Some sort of statistic that will shown return on investment. Truth is… I haven’t found good data on that subject. There are tons of stats on people being more likely to watch an online video as opposed to reading online text, but I’ve never seen anything on ROI.

That doesn’t, however, mean that I don’t have proof. Here’s my answer for them. Go to YouTube, then type in a major corporation you admire and see what turns up.

Chances are that company is producing videos. They’re investing time, effort and dollars in… producing videos. They’re devoting creative energy to… producing videos. Big companies that calculate ROI for just about everything they do are… producing videos.

Why? Because people watch them. Because every time they create a video and post it online it’s an opportunity to highlight their company… their brand.

How’s that for proof?

–Tony Gnau

I’m a big believer in transparency. In government, in business, and yes… in marketing videos. That’s why I’m pretty excited about seeing a new movie coming out this week.

The Greatest Movie Ever Sold is Morgan Spurlock‘s latest documentary. The concept… produce a movie about product placement and advertising that is paid for by product placement and advertising.

Love it.

Sure, it’s a clever way to focus on the subject, but I love the fact that some companies were apparently willing to jump onboard.

A business that respects an audience’s intelligence is bound to reap rewards.

–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