Magical Ideas for Employing Marketing Videos

Magical? Yes, we do mean magical. We mean magical ideas on employing marketing videos.

The best camera is the one with you. Videos aren’t about dynamic ranges and megapixels. They’re about stories and moments.

The magic that keeps you glued to your creative video. The magic that makes you remember what you just viewed. The magic that entices you to tell your friends about what you watched … and share it.

Have you ever seen the videos of Steve Jobs presenting the new product launch of the Mac, iPod, or iPad? He understood that something could be entertaining yet meaningful at the same time. Videos such as these work as well on the web as they do on television.

Related: Social Media Marketing Lessons From the New Pros in Town

The simple objective … turn marketing into magical, entertaining content, not content into marketing.  

Why video marketing?

Video marketing is a powerful tool for getting more visibility more quickly, so you can get your message out, attract your ideal clients, and have more impact. It’s been reported that your chances of getting a page-one listing on Google search increase by 53 times when you use video.

Video marketing is relationship marketing: crucial for connecting, building loyalty, and developing the “know, like, and trust” factor which is so important when doing business online.

To be effective with video, the emphasis needs to be on your marketing strategy. You must ask: What’s the goal of the video? What business objective will it accomplish? Who will be viewing the video, and what do you want the viewer to do after they watch it?

Use the following structure for your video:

Objectives

Think strategically about the business objectives for your video. You can use it for creating awareness, increasing your visibility, building trust and credibility, generating leads, launching a product, growing your list, driving web traffic, and selling a service. Understanding your objectives up front will determine your message, platform, and distribution.

Story

The second element is to determine your message, script, or story. Your premise is how you’ll communicate your message and move your viewer to action. What do you want your viewer to do when the video is over? 

When developing your message or writing your script, keep in mind the very limited attention span of online viewers. Be clear, concise, and direct. Get to the point quickly and keep your video as short as possible. The vast majority of YouTube videos are under three minutes in length.

Platform

While you could argue that there are only really two types of videos—on-camera or off-camera—there are actually many different styles and options. The video has evolved into much more than the traditional “talking head” format. You’ll want to find the platform that best fits your needs and personal style.

Most video creators default to the tried-and-true on-camera video, which can include a direct-to-camera video, a video interview with two or more participants, a video tips series, or a live webcast. On-camera videos are usually best for when you want to make a more engaging connection with your viewers, or when you’re promoting a more personal service and you wish to create more trust and credibility.

Off-camera videos, on the other hand, don’t require you to be on camera. Off-camera videos can be extremely effective when sharing a lot of information, such as during a video webinar or training video.

Promotion

A fourth structure element is a promotion or how and where you’ll distribute, share, and market your video online. Determine where your target market is, and share your video there. Once your video is on YouTube, you can set up one-click sharing to Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more.

You can also use the embed code that YouTube provides to get the video on your website or blog. In addition, YouTube will provide a link to your video so you can send it out in an email to your list.

Be sure to consider other social media sites that accept video, such as Pinterest, Instagram (15-second limit), Slide Share, and other video hosting sites such as Viddler or Vimeo. The more you distribute your video, the better chance viewers have to find it and watch it.

How to build winning videos

So what is the magic of creating a potentially viral video? Consider the following six elements we use to build winning videos:

 Engage audience

Grab attention … to some problem your audience shares, and then address the solution. This is the most important part of the video … the part of the video that compels viewers to want to see and hear the entire story/show!

 Stylize the experience

Design an experience that will be memorable … create the visual of your value, the core message. Take some risks here to stand out and be different … no risks, no rewards. 

Enlighten and inform

Provide your key discriminating message woven into the central theme of the video. This is the second most important element of your video … convincing customers your story is the best and the reason to select you. Make sure you are addressing your most important target customers. And avoid selling at all costs!

 Entertain

Be memorable and bold … be worth the audience’s time and attention. Use subtle marketing techniques.  The challenge is to turn marketing into memorable content that informs, enlightens, and entertains at the same time.

 Resonate

Strike a nerve to grab attention and connect with your audience. What makes your video such a powerful marketing and branding tool is its ability to communicate on verbal, visual, and metaphoric levels. If you are not using all 3 levels of communication, you are missing opportunities to resonate and connect with your audience.

 

Compel action

We all understand the need for a call to action.  However, you can only deliver on the action called with a convincing story. A story catching attention and providing relevant messages for your target customers.

Video subject ideas

Show the steps it takes to make your flagship product.

Highlight a video testimonial: Ask your customers what three words they would use to describe your company.

Get customers to showcase how they use your products.

Create video clips from a charity event or corporate outing your company has organized.

Humanize your brand by introducing your employees.

Create teasers for upcoming webinars, events, or trade shows.

Create a campaign series; for example, how to install your product in easy, short steps.

Use stop-motion animation to deliver an exciting company announcement.

Build a 30-60 second video to represent the brand elevator pitch. Your goal is to explain what the brand is all about and why people want to buy from you.

Build one to two-minute video demonstrations of products in your store.

Give your brand a personality. Social media allows and wants you to give your brand a personality. Use a video to make it real and authentic. Make it quirky or innovative.

Use a short 30-second video to market a new promotion. This could be a new book, song or movie, or even event. How long do you need to communicate something new? Remember the power of simplicity.

Use a video to announce a special offer or discount.50% off. How long does it take to announce that special offer for your clothing store?  Make it visual, aural, and shareable.

Key takeaways:

Imagination Knows no Bounds. With these examples, it’s clear that the potential for marketing with Vine is limited only by the imagination of your marketing team. Before setting out to make your own videos, decide what kind of approach you want to take—and how you can get your audience involved.

For instance, if you want to teach users a lesson similar to the way Lowes and GE have, think of a few tidbits that would be useful to your customers, then determine the best way to present them. Practice what you’re going to do a few times before filming, and make sure that everything is well-lit, clear, and distinctive.

More reading on marketing and advertising from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library: 

Successful Social Media Marketing Tactics You Should Employ

Social Media Marketing Lessons From the New Pros in Town

 Secret to the iphone5 TV ads …Effective Apple Marketing Strategy?

Like this short blog? Follow Digital Spark Marketing on LinkedIn or add us to your circles for 3-4 short, interesting blogs, stories per week.

Brake All the Rules To Be Someone to Understand

Do you remember your experiences with selecting a puppy when you were a child? Our family always had a dog, so I remember several such occasions and they included someone to understand. This is a story I was told a while back about one such memory that we would like to share:

someone to understand
The little boy had someone to understand.

I believe that you can get everything in life you want …
if you will just help enough other people get what they want.
–  Zig Zigler
A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell.
He painted a sign advertising the 4 pups and set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard. As he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the eyes of a little boy.

Related post: The Story of Tank the Dog or Is It Reggie?
Mister, he said, I want to buy one of your puppies.
Well, said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, these puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money.
The boy dropped his head for a moment.
Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer.
I’ve got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?


Sure, said the farmer. And with that he let out a whistle. Here, Dolly!  he called.
Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly followed by four little balls of fur.
The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes danced with delight. As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse.
Slowly another little ball appeared this one noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner, the little pup began hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up.
I want that one, the little boy said, pointing to the runt. The farmer knelt down at the boy’s side and said, Son, you don’t want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would.


With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his trousers.
In doing so he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe.

To understand someone's feelings
To understand someone’s feelings.

Looking back up at the farmer, he said, You see sir, I don’t run too well myself, and he will need someone to understand.
With tears in his eyes, the farmer reached down and picked up the little pup.
Holding it carefully he handed it to the little boy.

What does it mean to understand someone
What does it mean to understand someone.

How much? asked the little boy. No charge, answered the farmer, There’s no charge for love.
The world is full of people who need someone to understand …
My takeaway from this story?
Do what you can, with what you have, wherever you happen to be …
Remember … sometimes reality is too complex. Stories do a good job of giving meaning that can be remembered.
Would you like another interesting story? Never Give Up Your Dreams
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Do you have any stories from your experience vault that you could share with this community?
 
Need some help in capturing more customers from your marketing or advertising campaigns? Looking for creative ideas to help the differentiation with potential customers?
 
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy improving your enthusiasm?
Do you have a lesson about making your motivation better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?
 
Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he writes about topics that relate to improving the performance of business. Go to Amazon to obtain a copy of his latest book, Exploring New Age Marketing. It focuses on using the best examples to teach new age marketing … lots to learn. Find them on G+Twitter, and LinkedIn.  
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change.  We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. 
  
More inspirational stories from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
A Story About Living as Told by a Six Year Old Boy
Surprising Story Lessons on Making a Difference
 
Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on G+FacebookTwitter, Digital Spark Marketing, and LinkedIn.
 

When Your Matter of Perspective Backfires – the Story of the Starfish

I heard this simple, yet profound, story on a matter of perspective in making a difference the other day … and would like to share it:

matter of perspective
It is a matter of perspective.
 

Once upon a time, there was a wise man that used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he started his work.

story of the starfish
Awesome story of the starfish.
 

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. As a result, he walked faster to catch up with this individual.

 

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that so a young man and he was not dancing after all. He was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects and throwing them into the ocean.

 

As he approached, he called out “Good morning. May I ask what it is that you are doing?”

 

The young man paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean.”

 

“I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?” asked the somewhat startled writer.

 

To this, the young man replied, “The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”

 

Upon hearing this, the writer commented, “But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish along every mile? You can’t possibly make a difference!”

 
wise man
A very wise man.
  

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it sank into the ocean, he said: “It made a difference for that one.”

  
  share

My takeaway from this story?

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are … and a difference will be made.  

 

Credit to Loren Eisely … source unknown. 

 

All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.

 

When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step.

  

Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.

 

Are you devoting enough energy to improving your enthusiasm?

 

Do you have a lesson about making your motivation better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?

 

Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change.  We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way.

  

More inspirational stories from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:

A Story About Living as Told by a Six-Year-Old Boy

Never Give Up Your Dreams

The Story of Tank the Dog or Is It Reggie?

Surprising Story Lessons on Making a Difference

 

Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on  FacebookTwitter, Digital Spark Marketing, and LinkedIn.

 
 
 

A Story for the Ages: Samson and Goliath

It’s a story of something that happened 3,000 years ago when the Kingdom of Israel was in its infancy. And it takes place in an area in what is now Israel. It is a story about small versus mighty. Or is it a story for the ages: Samson and Goliath?

story for the ages
Samson and Goliath: a story for the ages

But more importantly in the history of this region, it’s had a real strategic function.

It is the means by which hostile armies on the coastal plain find their way into the mountains and threaten those living in the mountains.

And 3,000 years ago, that’s exactly what happened.

But remember, the truth is that ideas need ecosystems to support them and that doesn’t happen overnight. To make an idea viable in the real world it needs to continually connect outward, gaining adherents and widening its original context.  That takes more than an initial epiphany. It takes the will to make the idea subservient to its purpose.

Let’s examine this story in more detail. The Philistines, who are the biggest of enemies of the Kingdom of Israel, are living in the coastal plain.

They’re originally from Crete. They’re a seafaring people. And they may start to make their way through one of the valleys of the Shephelah up into the mountains.

What they want to do is occupy the highland area right by Bethlehem and split the Kingdom of Israel in two.

And the Kingdom of Israel, which is headed by King Saul, obviously catches wind of this, and Saul brings his army down from the mountains to confront the Philistines in the Valley of Elah. It was one of the most beautiful of the valleys of the Shephelah.

And the Israelites dig in along the northern ridge, and the Philistines dig in along the southern ridge, and the two armies just sit there for weeks and stare at each other, because they’re deadlocked.

Neither can attack the other because to attack the other side you’ve got to come down the mountain into the valley and then up the other side, and you’re completely exposed.

So finally, to break the deadlock, the Philistines send their mightiest warrior down into the valley floor, and he calls out, and he says to the Israelites, “Send your mightiest warrior down, and we’ll have this out, just the two of us.”

This was a tradition in ancient warfare called single combat. It was a way of settling disputes without incurring the bloodshed of a major battle.

And the Philistine who is sent down, their mighty warrior, is a giant. He’s 6 foot 9. He’s outfitted head to toe in this glittering bronze armor, and he’s got a sword, and he’s got a javelin, and he’s got his spear.

He is terrifying. And he’s so terrified that none of the Israelite soldiers want to fight him.

It’s a death wish, right? There’s no way they think they can take him.

And finally, the only person who will come forward is this young shepherd boy, and he goes up to Saul, and he says, “I’ll fight him.”

the shephard
The shepherd.

And Saul says, “You can’t fight him. That’s ridiculous. You’re this kid. This is this mighty warrior.”

But the shepherd is adamant. He says, “No, no, no, you don’t understand, I have been defending my flock against lions and wolves for years. I think I can do it.”

And Saul has no choice. He’s got no one else who’s come forward.

So he says, “All right.” And then he turns to the kid, and he says, “But you’ve got to wear this armor. You can’t go as you are.”

So he tries to give the shepherd his armor, and the shepherd says, “No.” He says, “I can’t wear this stuff.”

So he reaches down instead on the ground and picks up five stones and puts them in his shepherd’s bag and starts to walk down the mountainside to meet the giant.

And the giant sees this figure approaching, and calls out, “Come to me so I can feed your flesh to the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field.”

And the shepherd boy takes one of his stones out of his pocket, puts it in his sling and rolls it around and lets it fly and it hits the giant right between the eyes. Right there, in his most vulnerable spot and he falls either dead or unconscious.

Then the shepherd boy runs up and takes his sword and cuts off his head, and the Philistines see this, and they turn, and they just run.

And of course, the name of the giant is Goliath, and the name of the shepherd boy is David. So David, in that story, is supposed to be the underdog, right?

In fact, that term, David, and Goliath has entered our language as a metaphor for improbable victories by some weak party over someone far stronger.

Now, why do we call David an underdog?

Well, we call him an underdog because he’s a kid, a little kid, and Goliath is this big, strong giant.

We also call him an underdog because Goliath is an experienced warrior, and David is just a shepherd.

But most importantly, we call him an underdog because all he has is — it’s that Goliath is outfitted with all of this modern weaponry, this glittering coat of armor and a sword and javelin and a spear, and all David has is this sling.

the Philistines
The Philistines.

Well, let’s start there with the phrase “All David has is this sling,” because that’s the first mistake that we make.

In ancient warfare, there are three kinds of warriors. There’s cavalry, men on horseback and with chariots.

There’s heavy infantry, which are foot soldiers, armed foot soldiers with swords and shields and some armor.

And there’s artillery, and artillery is archers, but, more importantly, slingers.

And a slinger is someone who has a leather pouch with two long cords attached to it.

They put a projectile, either a rock or a lead ball, inside the pouch. They whirl it around like this, and they let one of the cords go, and the effect is to send the projectile forward towards its target.

That’s what David has, and it’s important to understand that that sling is not a slingshot. It’s not this, right? It’s not a child’s toy.

It’s, in fact, an incredibly devastating weapon.

When David rolls it around like this, he’s turning the sling around probably at six or seven revolutions per second.

That means that when the rock is released, it’s going forward really fast, probably 35 meters per second. That’s substantially faster than a baseball thrown by even the finest of baseball pitchers.

If you go back over the history of ancient warfare, you will find time and time again that slingers were the decisive factor against infantry in one kind of battle or another.

But David has absolutely no expectations. He’s not going to fight him that way.

Why would he? He’s a shepherd.

He’s spent his entire career using a sling to defend his flock against lions and wolves. That’s where his strength lies.

There’s a second piece of this that’s important. It’s not just that we misunderstand David and his choice of weaponry.

It’s also that we profoundly misunderstand Goliath. Goliath is not what he seems to be.

There are all kinds of hints of this in the Biblical text, things that are in retrospect quite puzzling and don’t square with his image as this mighty warrior.

 So to begin with, the Bible says that Goliath is led onto the valley floor by an attendant.

Now that is weird, right? Here is this mighty warrior challenging the Israelites to one-on-one combat. Why is he being led by the hand by some young boy, presumably, to the point of combat?

Secondly, the Bible story makes special note of how slowly Goliath moves, another odd thing to say when you’re describing the mightiest warrior known to man at that point.

And then there’s this whole weird thing about how long it takes Goliath to react to the sight of David.

So David’s coming down the mountain, and he’s clearly not preparing for hand-to-hand combat. There is nothing about him that says, “I am about to fight you like this.”

He’s not even carrying a sword. Why does Goliath not react to that? It’s as if he’s oblivious to what’s going on that day. And then there’s that strange comment he makes to David: “Am I a dog that you should come to me with sticks?”

Sticks? David only has one stick.

So the Israelites up on the mountain ridge looking down on him thought he was this extraordinarily powerful foe.

What they didn’t understand was that the very thing that was the source of his apparent strength was also the source of his greatest weakness.

The bottom line

And there is, I think, in that, a very important lesson for all of us. Giants are not as strong and powerful as they seem. And sometimes the shepherd boy has a sling in his pocket.

All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.

When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step.

Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.

Are you devoting enough energy to innovating your social media strategy?

Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change.  We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way.

More leadership material from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:

Build an Effective Team by Being a Talent Hound

Success Enablers of Highly Creative Leaders

Secrets to Becoming a Remarkably Mindful Leader

Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on FacebookTwitter, Digital Spark Marketing, and LinkedIn.

Difference in Perception … the Devil is the Details

Mark Twain once said: It ain’t what you don’t know that will hurt you. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so. A difference in perception?

difference in perception
Pay attention to generational differences.

Do the details guide you in distinguishing reality versus perception? Or do they create a difference in perception? What do you think? Maybe this story will help elaborate.

difference in perception
Disney knew about the difference in perception.

Disney knew the value of a story.
Let’s define each term to be sure we are on the same page. Perception is how you see things. Reality is how things really are.
An important difference to you? Yes.
Here is a short story to illustrate why:
A heart surgeon took his car to his local garage for a regular service, where he usually exchanged a little friendly banter with the owner, a very skilled but not especially wealthy mechanic.
Another story: The Story of Tank the Dog or Is It Reggie?
“So tell me,” says the mechanic, “I’ve been wondering about what we both do for a living, and how much more you get paid than me…”
“Yes?” says the surgeon.
“Well look at this,” says the mechanic, as he worked on a big complicated BMW engine, “I check how it’s running, open it up, fix the valves, and put it all back together so it works well as new.
We basically do the same job, don’t we? And yet you are paid ten times what I am – how do you explain that?”

Surgeon
Interesting perception from the Surgeon.

The surgeon thought for a moment, and smiling gently, replied quietly to the mechanic,
“Try it with the engine running.”
Very subtle but significant difference between perception and reality in this story, no?

Key takeaways:

Do you think both the heart surgeon and the mechanic love what they do? More than likely yes.
If the mechanic lived with the perception that his job was essentially the same as the heart surgeon and he was therefore underpaid, would he be happy?  Probably not.
If we focus on details between perception and reality, we will ultimately live a happier and more content live.
Another great story: Never Give Up Your Dreams
A big deal, yes?

 

 

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Do you have any perception stories from the experience vault that you could share with this community?
Need some help in capturing more customers from your marketing or advertising campaigns? Looking for creative ideas to help the differentiation with potential customers?
 
Call today for a FREE consultation or a FREE quote. Learn about some options to scope your job.
Call Mike at 607-725-8240.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to improving your enthusiasm?
Do you have a lesson about making your motivation better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?
 
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change.  We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed at how reasonable we will be.
  
More inspirational stories from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
Great Stories and Storytelling Can Have a Very Healing Influence
Never Give Up Your Dreams
The Story of Tank the Dog or Is It Reggie?
 
Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on G+FacebookTwitter, Digital Spark Marketing, and LinkedIn.