Tag Archives: marketing

Courtesy: Entrepreneur Magazine

You know I’m all about storytelling, so when Entrepreneur Magazine posts something like this (see photo) in its Facebook feed… you have my attention.

Actually, I prefer another quote from the same piece with Gary Vaynerchuk…

“Storytelling is the most underrated skill in business.”

Love… it! And couldn’t agree more. The better you tell your story, the more likely you are to make a sale.

Why? Storytelling tugs at our hearts. It has the ability to help build an emotional connection between the viewer and storyteller.

How valuable can that be when you go to make a sale?

–Tony Gnau

Okay, last week it was the Republican National Convention, this week it’s the Democrats. But before we put the RNC in the books, we have to look at Mitt Romney’s introduction video. It aired Thursday night, and since I blog Monday-Thursday and Monday was a holiday… here we are.

First, put your politics aside. I’ll be reviewing Romney’s videos leading up to the election, and I’ll be doing the same for the President. The reviews will be about the videos and what we can learn from them, not the politics.

Bad Beginning

So… Romney’s intro video at the convention. It was… good. Not great. Good. I think the only thing holding it back was the opening and it provides a lesson. It’s like we just jump into the story with Romney taking over leadership at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

It took me a minute to get my feet under me while watching. Once I caught-up, the Olympic story was just okay. We hear about a controversy, then Romney taking over and turning things around.

So… as the video is rolling… I’m trying to recall what the “controversy” was about the 2002 Winter Olympics. I remember it was something before it started. Something about… oh yeah!… bribery! There were allegations of bribery to get the Olympic bid.

Good for me. I remembered. Bad for the video because while I was working that out in my head, the video was rolling along and I’m missing everything that’s being said.

Audiences Disengage

That’s why storytelling is so important. If you make a misstep, you lose your audience. Include something in your video that jostles viewers, and they miss the information you want them to get.

It can be the way you tell the story, a funky looking graphic, even something weird in the background of an interview. Anything that potentially disengages the viewer from the story is a no-no.

The rest of Romney’s video… awesome. Once I got past the opening, I re-engaged and thought it delivered.

Take a look at the video and let me know what you think.

We’ll take a look at President Obama’s video on Thursday and report back here on Monday.

–Tony Gnau

I just watched a video produced for a prominent Chicago hospital group, and it’s a shining example of why I rarely recommend scripting videos in advance.

Normally, when I critique a video I share it with you, but in this case I’m not going to. It featured a doctor talking about his specialties. I’m sure he had nothing to do how the video was produced. The hospital’s marketing team probably asked him to write a script, then show up to go on-camera to deliver it. No reason for me to single him out by showing it to you.

And in this case, there’s no need. You’ve seen it before. Someone who’s not accustomed to performing on-camera, looking stiff and reading with no emotion. That’s what scripting videos gets you.

I’ll bet he would have come off differently if a quality interviewer sat down with him to discuss his specialties. He would have seemed far more confident and personable.

The truth is there are few people who can take a written script and perform it without having it sound as though it’s scripted. Even trained actors and politicians have a tough time with it. That’s why interviewing people and letting them speak off-the-cuff is far more effective. It’s authentic.

Authenticity will trump managed, scripted stories everyday.

–Tony Gnau

Taking customers and prospects behind-the-scenes at your business is a great way to show them why you’re the one they should hire. And while one video is great, a series of behind-the-scenes videos is event better.

Need an example? I continue to use my Alma Mater. The University of Southern California athletic department’s leaders produce tons of videos, and none better than the ones that take us beyond the football field.

They’ve shown us how coaches motivate their players, student-athletes having fun around campus, even players taking a humanitarian mission to Haiti. All of the videos offer USC alumni and fans a look at life off the field.

The latest example is the school’s preseason edition, and it offers a valuable lesson. USC just opened a new athletic facility. It’s AMAZING! The video takes us into the new building. We hear from the players about what they like, but most of the comments are focused on how the facility should impact play on the field.

In many cases, it’s not enough to take someone behind-the-scenes. You have to give them a reason for why it matters. USC’s video makes things clear… improved training rooms keep players healthy, a lounge helps build team unity and the new facility provides extra incentive to “earn the building.”

Your videos need to do the same thing. If you’re going to show people how you make your products, make sure they understand how your process impacts price, quality, whatever sets you apart. If you’re showing how your team works together, highlight how that teamwork impacts the customer’s experience.

Take customers and prospects behind-the-scenes, but make sure your videos are still focused on them.

–Tony Gnau

I got to meet marketing expert Geoff Livingston during a shoot a couple of months ago. He and one of our clients, Arment Dietrich CEO Gini Dietrich, were launching a new book. Geoff’s a fun guy. I’ve been reading his blog ever since, and yesterday’s post really got my attention.

The title says it all… Customers Don’t Care About Us. He writes about how social engagement doesn’t always add up to more sales… that recommendations by peers rule.

That’s one of the reasons I frequently encourage clients to make their videos about their customers… not them.

I’m talking about going beyond the testimonial. The heart of the story is about your client’s business, then eventually work in how your company helps them.

You can also use them in projects or with issues you’re passionate about. In our case, we have an ongoing video series about why our clients use video.

Each is a powerful way to show a) how dedicated you are to your clients… giving them some free publicity. And b) how dedicated they are to you… that they’re willing to go on camera for your company.

That’s a message prospects will trust.

–Tony Gnau

There are a lot of companies producing videos these days, but sometimes they seem aimless. In many cases, I think it’s because they aren’t setting goals for their projects. They’re feeling pressure by specific competitors who are producing videos or sometimes it’s just the marketplace. Everyone else is producing videos, so we better start.

No matter the reason, diving into video without a plan isn’t the best idea. First question, as always, is who’s our audience? Second question, what’s our goal?

The goal is tricky. Business types want to put a dollar figure on the ROI. In some cases, you can do this by tracking a specific video campaign. How many people are watching? How many then click and buy? These are all things you can track.

The problem is most companies start their video journey with the “About Us” video. Tracking ROI on this type of video is nearly impossible, but I do have a guideline we tend to follow when producing them.

After the video is done, we show it to a few people and ask what they think of the company. In most cases, they’re usually pretty impressed with the place and will point out things they like about the business.

This is in no way scientific, but neither is an “About Us” video. It’s all subjective. My main goal for these videos is for the viewer to finish watching and think to themselves… that looks like a pretty good company. That’s it.

All we’re trying to do is create a good first impression. We want to elicit a positive emotional response. If we do that, it’s a job well done.

Remember, video isn’t about facts and figures. It’s about emotion.

–Tony Gnau

I advocate pretty hard for video. I’m a big believer in the medium and what it can do for businesses. I’m also realistic, so I get excited when someone with a bigger megaphone takes up the charge.

Enter Gini Dietrich… PR/marketing expert, superstar blogger and a published author. Her following is measured in the tens of thousands and we’re proud to call her a T60 client.

One of her blog posts last week caught my attention. She wrote about how PR pros aren’t keeping up with what journalists want, and she cited some recent studies…

These combined studies showed 80 percent of journalists and bloggers value images that are easily available and ready to use. And 75 percent says they want video and that 30 percent of their websites now use externally produced video.

Did you catch that? 75 percent of journalists want video. This speaks to me on multiple levels considering I own a video production company and once made my living as a TV news reporter.

As a matter of fact, it wasn’t too long ago I was offering some suggestions on how companies can cater to the media. These studies only prove it’s an even better idea than I originally thought.

So… PR-types… keep these stats in mind. If you want to provide extra incentive for journalists to cover your clients, video is something you should consider.

Business leaders… if you want to make your company a source for information related to your industry, you should probably update you media page with some video as well.

–Tony Gnau

Yesterday I met with an old friend of mine and a very talented graphic designer, Julie Woertz at We Cre8 Design. It was followed by a phone call with the friend of a friend who’s looking for a video-related job. Two totally different conversations but something similar struck me about each.

We’re still having to sell people on video.

Julie was telling me how she’s always recommending to clients to include video on their websites, but people haven’t been biting. My new acquaintance was talking about how hard his former employer had to work to sell video B2B.

I’m faced with it as well, and it shocks me. I mean, I get it. If a business leader sees the potential for how video can help them, but they feel like they just can’t afford to do it right now… okay. But that’s not what we’re talking about.

Many executives still don’t see the point of video. What’s more, they seemingly ignore all the stats out there telling them how many people are watching online videos.

All I feel I can do is continue to advocate for the medium. It is such a powerful way to reach people… to connect with them on an emotional level. These are clients and prospects, and business leaders need to realize they’re out there watching.

–Tony Gnau

I blogged last week about American Airlines’ pre-flight video. In short, I loved it and couldn’t believe American had created a video about something we practically know by heart and got me to watch.

That post prompted a Facebook comment I thought was worth some further exploration. Katie wrote…

This is a good reminder that even when your audience is “captive” you need to produce something good if you want them to actually pay attention! Makers of training videos… listen up!!

Really good point. Certainly for training videos, but really any type of video. I think back to some of the boring videos I’ve seen at conferences. Quality matters… whether your audience is clicking through on the web, or they’re a captive audience that “has” to watch.

The truth is you could have people watching but not paying attention. We all have the ability to tune things out, so your captive audience still might not be getting your message.

The solution? Produce quality videos. Make sure they’re shot and edited well. Help people connect with the content by incorporating the information into a compelling story.

And if you don’t know how to do it… hire a pro who’s a dedicated storyteller.

–Tony Gnau

Some people are surprised to find out T60 doesn’t own a bunch of expensive equipment. We have the essentials… a couple of cameras, lights, microphones, and a computer for editing… but that’s about it.

We occasionally take on projects where we need more than we have, and when we do we turn to AV Chicago.

I recently returned some gear to them, and they surprised me. The guy helping handed me a business card highlighting the company’s social media. He said if I had a good experience with the rental, he hoped I would “like” them on Facebook and write a review on Yelp.

Nicely done. I was really impressed. I’m a big fan of there’s, so guess what… I just “liked” them and now I plan on writing a glowing review on Yelp. Chances are I wouldn’t have done either without the classy suggestion.

A good lesson for us all.

–Tony Gnau