The Power of a Visual Story

Many businesses use videos to help market a product or service, and while a lot of them execute the use of video well, there are some that are still learning.

A video on a website can provide an awesome opportunity to reach your captive audience in a significant way.  Once the viewer has navigated their way to your site, the stage is set for you to show them what your company is about.

The process for selecting a video varies greatly from one business to another.  Some choose to shoot and edit a video themselves, while others hire a professional company to do the work.

A professional can do a lot more than just use high quality lights and cameras to make the video look good. They can help you craft a video with purpose and show the viewer how highly regarded your business is, because it’s important to match your video with the same level of professionalism within your business and product.

In order to create an effective video, it is best to start with a purposeful story, one that can create an emotion.  Although creating a video for marketing purposes may not seem very exciting, it can still be a creative challenge to tell a significant story.

Brian Sturm, an associate professor at UNC Chapel Hill, say’s “storytelling is not so much about plot, it’s not so much about character, storytelling is really a way to convey emotions.”

That is also the intention of a marketing video.  It is important that the viewer be left with some kind of a feeling, hopefully one that’s favorable.  However, it should not make the viewer feel like they are being sold something, even though they may actually expect it. The hope is, while the viewer becomes captive, it may lead to an actual sale.

Another good idea is to keep the video as short as possible.  Just because you have a captive audience does not mean you can hold their attention for a long time.  It is best to get to the point quickly and then not overload the viewer with too much information.  Again, it’s not so much about giving them all the details; it’s more about creating a positive feeling.  A typical length to accomplish this should range from two to five minutes.

Creating a video for your company website can be a remarkable tool.  If the story is told well, the viewer will forget that they’re watching a marketing video and start connecting to the message.  And if they connect to the message, it will make them confident in purchasing your product or service.