Businesses all have a story and it should be told.
When you tell your story people will relate to your product or service.
We are breaking it down on what types of stories you should be sharing with your customers in this weeks episode of Moron Monday.
If you missed last weeks episode, you can find it here.
Hey guys. What’s up? Jace over here at Ydraw.
Today we’re going to be talking about one of my favorite subjects. We’ve been trying to push this down companies throats for years now, and I just thought I’d sit down and break it down for you guys so you know why stories matter.
Here are six stories you should be telling your customers. We have another blog that has seven, but I put two together.
I’m going to go over these and then, at the end of this video, I’m going to show you guys what we did for Ydraw. We just created a simple video to show you step number one, a history of our business case.
So let’s run through these real quick.
HISTORY
Very first thing, every company should be talking about their history. They should be telling the stories of how their company got started. And that does matter.
Think about the story of Apple, we all know it.
Think about the story of Tesla, about SpaceX, about Facebook. Zuckerberg…young… didn’t know what he was doing, built a billion dollar company. We all get pulled into the stories, and majority of companies don’t tell their stories.
So it’s important that you go out there and tell them how you got started.
HOW YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE WAS DISCOVERED
Next is how your product or service was discovered. What did you do to figure out your product or service?
Now, you can combine these a little bit, but people want to know….how did you discover your product or service?
And by doing that, what happens is, they’re like, hey, I was in that same guy’s shoes.
I was looking for the same solution to a problem. And if you tell people how your company came about or how the problem was discovered, then they’re more likely to buy into your business.
And remember, what all of this does is it gets multiple touches so people want to do business with you.
People do business with those who they like and trust. And all these stories get people to like and trust you so that they’ll give you money.
Back in 2011 explainer videos where the hot thing, everyone went out and got explainer videos because they were told that’s what they need, but they didn’t realize there was a bunch of other stuff that needs to go with it.
So they would have a great explainer video, stick it out on YouTube and hope they get business but it didn’t happen that way.
But a good explainer video is simple. You need to do a strong opening, a headline, problem, solution, and call to action.
That should be your formula because it just shows, here’s the problem, here’s how our product solves that problem, and then it gives them a call to action.
You need people who will talk about your business, it’s like a case study, or if somebody gets on a camera, that’s good social proof, so you need those.
WHY YOU OVER THE COMPETITORS
You need, “why you over your competitors?” I get asked this all the time on sales calls, businesses will say, “hey, Jace, why should I choose you over your competitors?”.
And I just tell them, we have videos that discuss that.
When somebody buys your product or service, it’s best if you can give them tutorial videos so they know how to use it.
And then within those you can always ask for referrals. Got it.
HISTORY
So let’s talk about history.
Last month I went and spoke at PPAI conference, and it was on video marketing. I always start off with my story, my struggle, my triumph, and then why it matters to them.
Now why do I do this? It’s so that people can look at me and be like, “hey, he’s relatable, he’s been in the dumps, he’s had to overcome some trial stuff like that”.
If you ever go listen to really good speakers, they always start with their story.
Jimmy Fallon, in one of our articles, which I’ll link to this, we talked about the first night when Jimmy Fallon came on the tonight show (I think it’s the tonight show).
All he did was tell the story, he explained where he came from and people loved it.
So when you’re telling the history, tell them where you came from, the struggles, and then how you overcame those struggles, and then why it matters to them.
A video that we just created for Ydraw, I’m going to show you how we did it. Well, I’m just going to show it to you and you’ll get how we did it.
We basically talk about where we started, why it mattered, and then there were stakes at hand.
You have to have some type of stakes in your story. And when I say stakes, that means you have to overcome something.
There has to be an obstacle. If you just go out and say, “oh yeah, I started a company made millions of dollars”, no one really cares.
What they care about is the struggle that it took to start that company.
What were you going to lose? Did you put up all your money? Did you put up everything? And every business out there has stakes.
So, if you’d take a look at Apple, if you take a look at Facebook, the history of all these great companies, they had stakes.
They had something that they were about to lose. They were about to go under. They put all their life on line, stuff like that.
If you go into the movie theaters, every good movie is structured like this.
You have a Star Wars, it starts off with Luke, whose parents die, finds a guide Obi-Wan Kenobi, and he trains him. He overcomes great odds and happily ever after.
And you’ll notice Pixar does the same thing. They have a certain formula that every single one of their movies follow.
YDRAW HISTORY
So, I’m going to show you the video that we have, but make sure your company is doing these stories.
Go out there and start off with a history. Tell people (and it doesn’t need to be some big production) how you got started, why it matters, and why it should matter to them.
Tell them what you overcame, and just from doing that, you’re going to get more business. And then also it gives you content to put in front of people.
So, if you have questions on this, we would love to help. We do create scripts for this, we do create videos for this, we’d be happy to help you go to ydraw.com and that is it. Peace.
At one point or another, each of us have had that gut feeling that defies the facts and numbers. When everything looks right on paper but for some reason it just doesn’t “feel” right.
So where does that feeling come from?
Contrary to what you may be thinking, it actually comes from the BRAIN!
Simon Sinek, a British-American author and motivational speaker, does a great job explaining this in his book called “Start with Why.”
He talks about the two parts of your brain
The Neocortex or “the what” and the Limbic or “the why”
The Neocortex being responsible for our rational and analytical thought and language and the Limbic being responsible for our feelings, behavior and decision making. He also talks about how our Limbic brain has no capacity for language.
What this means is the part of our brain that DRIVES BEHAVIOR, our Limbic Brain, doesn’t even understand the vast amounts of information you are throwing at it. It just hears BLA BLA BLA!
So how does knowing all this, help make better videos?
Studying the human brain helps us understand what motivates our audience leading to lifelong business.
Like Simon mentions, when we first communicate the “why” and get our viewer believing what we believe, we establish an emotional connection. After that connection is formed, it doesn’t really matter what we have to offer them or how we have it because “people don’t buy what you do they buy why you do it.”
You can explain to your viewer till your blue in the face what all of the facts, features, benefits and details are of your company but at the end of the day, if they don’t trust you, they aren’t going to click on your website or set up that free consultation or even think about contacting you.
So before smack your viewers in the face with 7 million reasons why your company is exponentially greater than your competitors….
Ask your self WHY you do what you do. Ask yourself if you actually need all that nitty gritty, technical jargon in your video. Ask yourself if you are selling a product or selling an idea.
Understanding the role of the emotional unconscious and how it plays a role in the decision-making process of your audience is critical in making your video successful.
Remember…. “People don’t buy what you do they buy why you do it.”
Have you ever had one of those weekends? A food fueled smorgasbord that leaves you with a meat hangover?
I did this last weekend.
(Pictured: a heart attack)
It was AMAZING! Three racks of ribs, two full home grown chickens and ten bratwursts.
I spend over 9 hours making this. That picture was taken near the very end and I had spent a very long time making sure that everything went perfectly. Boy did it ever.
(Pictured: Drool Factor 5)
The same thing can be said about anything: School, children, career, business. They all need nurturing. They all need taking care of. They need time to be mastered.
It’s the same with writing. You have to nurture the skill if you want to master it. Perhaps some think that it’s all just a matter of left to right, up to down, put it in an order to make sense and viola! You have some magical sentence that will change the world.
Or not. It does matter what the words say. I forgot to mention that.
In my line, that’s really all that matters. Especially when trying to write and explain concepts for companies that not only make sense, but are engaging and entertaining.
But hey, that’s our job.
There’s nothing that feels quite as nice as when a video comes together. Especially when that video is now creating traffic to your website.
The numbers don’t lie. 80% of Internet users recall watching a video ad on a website in the past month. Video sharing websites like YouTube are getting millions of hits a day. Since nearly the entire world is on board with this whole Internet thing, that’s a lot of people that could be watching videos about your company.
When Ydraw started we were making good videos that held audiences attention.
Then as the years went by, the videos went from good to great. Sort of like how the Beatles only got better after they replaced Paul after the car crash.
So as we venture into the future, we write.
Writing has always been second hand nature for me. To accurately represent feelings through action and dialogue have been a staple in my life ever since I can remember. A lot of it has been from working on movie sets with my dad, an accomplished Special Effects Technician.
Since I was a little kid I’ve always been on a movie set. My first memories of a movie set was going down to San Diego and seeing some jets used on ‘Top Gun’ and getting yelled at by Tom Cruise. I started working on movies since I was 15 and have a decent resume (not that my name appears on all of those movies, not a lot of people’s do).
But my passion wasn’t into making the production, but rather into creating the story. So I started writing and writing and then after that nap, more writing.
I still have some of those first attempts to put pen on paper and they are BAD.
In the same way when I started to smoke ribs, those first racks of ribs were terrible. Absolutely and horrifyingly terrible. I even made friends of mine eat them.
I still feel bad about that.
But today, my writing and my ribs are something I’m proud of. It took years to accomplish. Hours upon hours of practice. Now I’m being recognized for both. I have a great writing job here at Ydraw and my whenever anybody takes a taste of my ribs are blown away at the quality. The reason is simple.
Through nourishment and time-consuming effort, I have been able to cultivate the type of result that is extraordinary. And more importantly, a result I’m proud of.
Ok this is rather funny and embarrassing so please, no judging.
Our First Whiteboard Video Ydraw In The Making
This is where it all started for Ydraw. Every company has a starting point and this was ours. 10 trips to Best Buy, 3 weeks of figuring things out, and a bunch of YouTube videos tutorials later. Ydraw was born. It is really an amazing story. Curtis and I (Jace) had zero experience in the video world and we figured it out. We just had a new idea, a demand by customers, and a heck of a lot of determination.
Video Number 2. As you can see it was a trial and error with our videos. We had to figure out our style, and what markers, papers, font, etc…worked the best for what we were trying to do.
As you can see we have improved the process a bit. Now we have some of the best artists, editors, and writers in the business instead of just two best friends trying a new business idea. We’re still going strong and growing, giving others the opportunity to do what we did. Come in and learn, and become the best. It took time and a lot of work, but eventually we figured it out.
Moral of the story: Don’t give up. It might take multiple fails, but eventually you’ll figure it out. And once you do, you can begin to figure out the best way to do what you’re trying to do.
Here at Ydraw we have tried and failed a few times and have since perfected our video process along with our marketing process. If you have any questions or comments for us here at Ydraw, let us know and we would be happy to pass on some of this sage old wisdom. If you haven’t found what you were looking for on our blog yet, let us know, so we can take care of that immediately. We’re all about free tips.
5 Government scandals you didn’t realize involved whiteboard animation
Because whiteboard animation is a relatively new internet sensation, it would make sense to blame video scribing for the trouble our country keeps getting into. You thought it was the Obama administration, didn’t you?
Here are 5 surprising ways in which whiteboard animation has played a hefty part in the latest US scandals:
1. NSA
Americans everywhere were outraged when news of the National Security Administration’s sifting through private emails and phone calls reached their ears. There are many rumors circulating about why the NSA felt the need to invade civilian privacy – but only one is true. And that is that James Clapper’s nephew’s girlfriend had told everyone at a family Christmas party how much more business her mother was able to generate by purchasing a whiteboard advertising video and hosting it online. Unfortunately for Clapper, and ultimately America, he had never heard of whiteboard video before and was simply trying to find a way to learn more. He figured the best way to do that was to listen up on millions of internet-surfing Americans to see if he could piece together bits of information and finally figure out what whiteboard explainer videos are all about.
2. IRS Scandal
Let’s not be hasty in blaming poor old Lois Lerner for the recent IRS party-targeting debacle. No, let’s do – because she can’t possibly blame her viewing of a whiteboard video wherein a little girl and her mother were having a tea party for a scandal like that. Mommy issues can be resolved with the help of a good therapist, and she definitely could have afforded one.
3. GSA Conference Fiasco
The lavish GSA conference held in Las Vegas is said to have excessively spent on ultra-fancy suits, gourmet dining and no doubt all the call girls $800,000+ will buy. But what the GSA is unwilling to admit is the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent actually went toward producing and viewing some of the most hilarious whiteboard animation videos known to man. Including the infamous Star Trek parody, which was so funny they laughed themselves sick – or maybe it was just the memory of the $50,187 that was spent on producing the video that upset their fragile stomachs. Either way, Martha Johnson had apparently developed an unhealthy obsession with explainer videos, and used the conference as a way to get her fellow employees hooked – thereby putting an end to any and all teasing and “whiteboard fetish” remarks around the office. I mean, what would you do in a situation like that?
Sadly, those hilarious whiteboard videos will never be seen by anyone else, because they were soon after destroyed by sheer embarrassment and shame. After all, that money could have paid the welfare of almost 900 Californians for a month!
4. Rising National Debt
Because Martha and President Obama have gotten together to play crazy eights every Tuesday night since his inauguration, it was only a matter of time before Barack developed a fascination with whiteboard animation, too. After billions of dollars were spent without reason Americans became suspicious. Some would have started questioning their own political moral codes if it hadn’t been for all the focus they put towards lobbying for Green Energy and Obamacare – which as it turns out are just excuses for him to develop more explainer videos – because producing whiteboard marketing videos is what he wants to do when he grows up.
5. Politicians Exempt from Personal Responsibility
Politicians across the nation say whiteboard videos are so engrossing that they can’t help but do whatever they are told while watching. A whiteboard video’s call to action is simply non-ignorable. Any self-exemption from responsibility by a politician can almost always be traced back to viewing a whiteboard marketing video, and statistics have shown this to likely be 100% true.
Well, now you know. America is on the path that it is because of whiteboard animation videos. Now, you can either be offended and turn to the streets to protest, or you can recognize the kind of great things whiteboard video can do for your business and jump on board the gravy train.
9 ways whiteboard animation can help a total sissy survive in prison
Listen, no one wants to end up with a prison sentence. But if you’re one of America’s stupidest unluckiest, you could face doing time, and you’ll need all the surviving-prison-tips you can stand to hear. Ydraw is here to help with a list of 9 ways whiteboard animation can help you, a total sissy, survive the big house:
1. Whiteboard videos are popping up throughout the nation’s prison yards as the preferred form of prison currency. By now everyone is aware that smoking kills, and inmates are becoming increasingly health conscious – making whiteboard videos the obvious choice over a pack of Newports.
2. When you’re a youngblood, you automatically become a prime target. Old boys are always looking to take their troubles out on some greenie’s face, and others are just bad tempered and missing their girlfriends pretty badly lately. Playing a whiteboard video can be a great distraction from any promised poundings while you hurry and pump up in the weight room.
3. Eventually, you’ll have to join one of those infamous prison gangs. If you’re having a hard time trying to decide which gang to affiliate yourself with, why not ask each gang to come up with a whiteboard video representing all the benefits of joining them? I promise, this will make your next ten to twenty years go by like a breeze.
4. At some point during your stay, you might find yourself in The Hole. The Hole, while very safe, can get pretty boring. Watching whiteboard videos is a great way to pass the time and help get your mind off the walls of the ten-foot-square cell you now call home.
5. Prison rules are very different from life on the outside. You stare one second too long at someone and they’ll come after you. Either because they think you’re hostile toward them, or want to be more than just friends. Keep your eyes occupied with a whiteboard video so you don’t accidentally stare at someone for longer than is acceptable.
6. Every prison inmate and/or guard loves a talker. If you’re having trouble explaining just what it was you were booked for, use a whiteboard animation video to explain in-depth the crime you committed – no wait, absolutely do not do this.
7. Did you realize you can use whiteboard videos to impress your gang leader into promoting you as his right-hand man?
8. Once promoted, use your video to explain in easy to understand, eye-catching animation what kind of prison shank you will fashion to stab your enemies with if they mess with your new incarcerated family.
9. And last but certainly not least, once released from prison, a whiteboard video is useful for proving to others just how tough you are by depicting your most terrifying prison moments.
