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.”
We love simplicity. It’s something we try to focus on.
Maybe we are just simple minded…:)
Anywho…
Our process is the same way.
There are 4 simple steps: Scripting, Storyboarding, Recording, and Editing.
The video below will explain everything.
Most of our Videos are completed in 25 days, but we can have them done in 3 days if a rush is needed. Our timelines are usually based on the customers’ needs.
Pubcon: A Forbes list must attend conference. Thousands of professionals. Las Vegas, NV. The perfect setup for one of the best online marketing conferences I look forward to attending every year.
But, this year was a little different.
I was invited to speak on Video Marketing, which all of you know is my favorite topic.
Since I am not famous, I have to rely on a simple story formula to establish my persona. Without the formula I wouldn’t get the attention my message deserves.
Here it is:
My Story
My Struggle
My Triumph
Why it matters.
I open with this formula whenever I speak in front of audience, because it works. I get to introduce myself to the audience by sharing what makes me real.
People listen to and do business with those they trust. The quickest way to build that trust is by telling a story that they can relate to.
Do you want to know who else does this?
Jimmy Fallon, Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, and all other speakers. Check out this 6-minute video when Jimmy Fallon took over The Tonight Show.
It’s a great example. He simply walked out and told his story.
I must confess.
This conference, I did something a little bit different. Instead of telling my story, I started off by telling the story of a client. I used the same formula, but instead of showing my struggle I showed his.
Which leads me to the reason for writing this blog.
All businesses need to be telling more stories. So I have created a simple checklist that we all can use.
These are 7 Stories you should be telling your prospects and customers.
How was your business started? (The founder’s story)
How was your product or service discovered? (The discovery story)
The problem you solve and how you solve it.
Who have you helped and how have you helped them? (Case study)
A Testimonial Video that shows proof.
How are you different from your competitors?
How can customers get the most out of your product or service? (Tutorials)
Click below to download a simple story telling checklist.
Let us know if you like these articles. We want to make sure we are giving you important content that you can use right away. If you need a video, reach out to us. We can help!
Whiteboard videos are a dynamic marketing tool with lots of benefits. They incorporate many aspects of a traditional animated video yet they have an imaginative twist–the animation is drawn on camera as the whiteboard video progresses.
The artistic aspect of a whiteboard video has the advantage of engaging an audience in a unique way. Drawing out the message of an ad while viewers are watching helps keep them focussed intently as the point of the ad is presented. It takes more to distract a viewer who’s eyes are glued to the sometimes hypnotizing movements of a pen in hand on paper as the story and point of a video are revealed.
The creation process of whiteboard videos breaks down to the message, script, sound and animation. All of these key factors work hand in hand–no pun intended. Pinpointing the message your organization would like to share with the world is essential and guides the process.
Message:Choosing your message is relatively simple. Decide what you want your viewers to take away from the whiteboard video. The takeaway may be your organization’s values, service, or the quality of the product being marketed.
Script: Once you are confident in your message, begin writing your script. Scripting is where imagination comes in as you write your message in story form. You’ll also want to write out what is going to be drawn during the art phase.
Voice Over: Next, consider what your whiteboard video is telling viewers and then decide what kind of voice over you want to have–if any. Typically there is either one person narrating the whiteboard video or none at all.
For instance, if you are creating a video for a political campaign you may choose to use a narrator and have the Star Spangled Banner playing in the background.
If you prefer to produce a video free of narration it can be drawn and animated to music as words pop on or are being written out on camera. Your audience doesn’t necessarily have to hear spoken words to get your message.
Animation: When your script is finalized and you are ready to step into the wild world of animation, the sky is the limit. Use your imagination and have fun with it!
As most of us are visual learners, the whiteboard video style of drawn out animation helps us grasp the message(s). It is truly an art form and can translate your message into something exciting and fun. Just as children love cartoons, grown-ups are still captivated by animation.
Financially speaking, creating a whiteboard video advertisement is very economical. Compared to a typical television commercial there are overall lower production costs.
Because whiteboard videos are produced for the internet, there is an added aspect of consumer sharing.This means that your whiteboard video can be shared between internet users via social media and is, in a sense, a form of word of mouth advertising.
Choosing a whiteboard video as a way to advertise has many benefits and is an excellent way to promote brand awareness.
There are many platforms where you can launch your whiteboard video including the landing page of your website, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, email blasts, etc.
Enjoy the creative process and add whiteboard animation to your brand marketing.
Try using a whiteboard video for your business today.
If you want to know more about Whiteboard videos click here post.
Since I’ve started here at Ydraw we have put in place a simple Script Writing Formula that we like to call the The Made to Stick Formula. I’ve gotten familiar with the Made to Stick method, the formula that makes an idea remembered. It is categorized in 6 principles.
Simple
Unexpected
Concrete
Credible
Emotional
Stories
Each of these principles represents the methods to help stick your ideas in the heads of the consumers. Let’s look at each one individually.
Simple
What are the core elements of your message? There is a lot that goes into a company and a lot that goes into a product, but the audience doesn’t need all of that background knowledge. That’s the difficulty of having knowledge, thinking that everyone will be able to absorb what you know when they can’t. By adding too much information you can confuse the audience in what they are supposed to know. Find the core of your message and share that message with others. In doing so, you will motivate them to a decision.
Unexpected.
If there’s nothing to grab your audience, why would they remember your video? Try and pique the interest of your audience by introducing a mystery that they can’t wait to figure out. Humans like to think in patterns and to keep their attention all you need to do is break these patterns.
Concrete.
The easiest (and most quoted) example of this is Aesop’s fables of the concept of “sour grapes.” The Fox cannot reach some grapes and decides that they must be sour anyway. He wasn’t bitter over not getting what he wanted. But the term ‘sour grapes’ is a lot easier to say than ‘don’t be bitter from not getting what you want.’ Something becomes concrete when it can be described by the human senses.
Credible.
How do you look credible? Base your idea on authorities – experts, if you will. If you can’t do that you can use 5 other methods. An anti-authority (the dying smoker), Details of about your product, Statistics, Using the ‘Sinatra Test’ (“If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere” – the one test case that proves what you can do) and Testable Credentials (allows consumers to test it themselves).
Emotional.
I’m not suggesting that you should make your audience cry or anything, I’m suggesting you get them to care. For people to take action, they have to care. To do that focus on the individual, as Stalin once pointed out, “a single death is a tragedy, one million is a statistic”. Association also works well by associating between something the audience doesn’t care about and something they do.
Stories.
What really makes an idea stick? Tell it as a story. Stories can reflect oneself in the minds of the audience and can go a long way to enter the long-term memory storage of an individual. There are three major types of stories to look for. The challenge plot (underdog, rags to riches), the connection plot (developing relationships that bridge the gap), and the creativity plot (somebody making a mental breakthrough or solving a long standing issue).
When following these six principles, your ideas can stick better in the brain of your target audience. But let’s see it in action, here’s a video we did for Atlas, an IT service management company.
How well did this video accomplish the 6 principles of ‘Made to Stick’?
Let’s go through them.
Simple. Atlas is the choice for your IT service management.
Unexpected. Using a monster truck as a metaphor for being stuck without knowing what to do with your IT services is something out of the blue and no one saw it coming.
Concrete. “We are your IT service management contact.” That is a concrete promise to the consumer. By using Atlas they won’t need to go any further to get their IT service management needs met.
Credible. At 1:15 the video talks about costumer satisfaction and shows a graph to show how they are improving on that concept. In the next scene they go over the benefits of using Atlas, cooperation through get together sessions, using webinar training and choosing ways to save money while increasing the user experience.
Emotional. There were a lot of emotions that are felt in that video. Worry and frustration, because the truck was stuck in the mud. The relief when Atlas came along and helped them out of the mess. Finally, gratitude, when they chose a better path and Atlas filled their gas tank and cleaned up their truck.
Story. If I worked in IT service management, I would certainly remember this story of how Atlas came to the aid and helped an ITSM company out of the mud and back on the right track.
There are so many great ideas out there that are just waiting for a story to tell the world about how amazing they are and how that idea can improve the lives and companies around the world.
I hope this little Made To Stick formula will help you create your next script. If you need a video, reach out to us. We would love to help craft the perfect script for you company.
Hey by the way, if you want to check out how to write a script the Made to Stick way, check out this guide on writing a script.
I’m not saying I broke my chair by doing something irresponsible or life threatening or trying to race down the parking lot or anything.
No.
I sneezed.
I sneezed and broke my mother-flipping chair. How does that happen? HOW?
Let me explain it as best I can. My desk is in the front, you might think I was the receptionist, but I’m not. Thankfully, for them at least, I would be a terrible secretary.
“What paycheck?”
I was doing some writing (it is in my job description as ‘writer’) and I was wedged up to my desk nice and snug. I was sitting more towards the edge of my chair and typing out something as I was listening to some music on my Bose headphones.
“Makin’ my way downtown, walkin’ fast, faces pass and I’m home bound!”
Without warning, I had a surprise sneeze. Not a super violent sneeze or anything, just a normal sneeze.
Immediately, I heard a small pop. I thought the quick action had popped the lever out of its place. You know, the little lever on the side on the chair that makes it so the chair will either lean back to stay up straight.
So I didn’t really think anything of it. I do like my chair up straight so I tried to lean forward to put the lever back into place.
When I tried though, the lever was already in place and the chair was wobbling wildly.
I still had my headphones on at this point, so I took them off to maneuver easier without a cord wrapping around me. When I took off the headphones I could hear my coworkers calling out to me.
Coworker: “Are you okay, out there?”
Me: “Uh, yeah.”
Boss: “Did you fall over?”
Me: “No. I think I broke my chair.”
Coworker: “What? How?”
Me: “Um, I’m not sure.”
So I finally wheel back a little and realize how bad the wobbliness really was. It was obviously broken more than I thought it was.
I overturned the chair and found this.
Yeah. I broke metal. METAL.
Now sure, I’m a big fella, like a pretty big fella. I’m 6’2” and look like I’m about 250 to 260 pounds when in actuality I’m heavier. My shoulders are incredibly broad and if I really put my mind to it I probably could be some sort of heavy weight lifter. It’s not for me, but I could do it.
So now I’m in my new job and within the first month of being here I broke my chair, by sneezing.
About this time is when I try and merge this anecdote into some sort of marketing or video production “life lesson”, so I’ll give it a try.
Don’t be caught feeling comfortable in what you’re doing, whether it be video scripting, writing, animation, marketing, or creating; a sneeze might come along and force you to stand all day with a cardboard box propping up your keyboard so you can type.
Because you’ll look like a full-fledged moron standing next to a broken chair.
