As for back as time takes us, we know that one constant has risen above all other forms of communication and that is story. Story may evoke images of your children laying down at night and not a targeted means of connecting, but the reason it connects with children and the reason it connects with you is because it's a time tested process.

Story is about a journey where someone overcomes a problem with the help of a guide and achieves success. Think about the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy needs to get back home and finds a trio of guides with their own problems that need a solution. We all know how it ends, Dorothy clicks her heels and returns home. The process of story can be applied to anything; from a company overview to a client testimonial. Your customers and clients are no different than Dorothy. They need someone to help them solve their problems and your business may have a solution to that problem. Stories create stronger emotional bonds and are therefore easier to remember. At Media Masters, we believe there are two pathways to connect with the brain and help it remember; through the heart and funny bone. A story must be genuine. It must be told with emotion. Think about the best commercials from the 2016 Super Bowl, whether serious or funny, they have a genuine story that resonates with us, can easily understand, and therefore remember. According to a Nielsen study, consumers seek a more personal connection in the way they gather information and we believe that happens through one of those two pathways. Consumers are wired to engage with brands that market with story, rather than reciting facts about why they are great.

To hook your audience of potential customers, your business needs to have a great story told with your company as the guide. Whether it's a company overview, customer testimonial or product demo, here's what you need to consider when considering a compelling story: 

• Keep it simple. Clarity is remembered. Complexity is forgotten.
  
• The best marketing videos are concise and genuine.  They are real and to the point with very little fat. Potential customers care about genuine sentiments and feelings, as their attention span is limited.  Studies show a video that goes beyond 2 minutes loses most viewers.
  
• Who is your customer and what do they want? Who are you selling to? What's their profile? What do they want and what are the pain points that prevent them from getting what they want?
  
• How does your product or service ease that pain, solve their problem, and help them get what they want?
• What is interesting and unique about your product or service? What are the simple steps that your business provides customers that give them satisfaction, happiness, or success?  Who are the people behind it? What's your mission of your company?
• What does success look like if a customers chooses your product or service? Equally important is to consider is what failure looks like if they choose not to do business with your company. Success when measured against failure is that much more powerful.
  
• The focus of any marketing video should fit into one sentence.  Keep it simple.  Your videos should prove your commitment to this focus.
• Great marketing videos are stories with interesting people, who have benefited from doing business with your company.
• Good videos focus on people who have experienced "happy moments" in their lives or overcome pain from engaging with your business.  A great marketing video should elicit some emotion from someone who watches it—that's how you connect with the customer.
• Good videos stick.  They help us persuade. Savvy business leaders use video marketing to inspire and motivate the customer to action.
  
• Define your brand with what you offer that others don’t by creating stories customers can relate to.  This is ever-evolving. Don't think of it as just one marketing video, but a series of videos that fit a well-defined strategy that help define your brand. Begin with the end in mind. Create a lasting message that you continue to add to and doesn't get stagnant.
  

We have dealt with a lot of companies big and small over the last few years. We have had countless conversations with C-Suite leaders, mid-level managers, and a variety of business owners. These are the decision-makers.

Our initial conversations with decision-makers tell us that they can be intimidated by video. It's generally a new medium to them, so we don't blame them if they get overwhelmed by the idea of video marketing. They've been exposed to print, web design, and other creative services for years now, but more often than not, these are professionals with no experience in video marketing. When I worked in corporate marketing and communications, we would triage all video requests for necessity. Our resources were small, but the demand was large, so we had to make sure everyone had a plan for their final product, so as not to waste our time and theirs. Dollars to donuts, when we started discussing strategy, we would quickly discover there wasn't one and likely that came from a lack of experience with video. I've heard "We just want a video." more times than I care to count. If I only had a nickel for every time we heard "We don't know what we want, but we'll know it when we see it." That's not a strategy. Would that be said to a team of web designers working with a five figure budget? Probably not.

Decision-makers often come to the table confused about strategy, time commitment, and cost surrounding high-quality video marketing. It's a palpable struggle they are facing. They struggle with the idea of failure, burning budget, or not understanding the scope involved with executing a video production plan. Using the example of a web design, you wouldn't expect a well strategized website to take a week, so you shouldn't expect the same thing from a video. Our experience tells us video can sometimes be a misunderstood and undervalued tool in the marketers digital tool box. Hiring experts to guide you through those fears and execute a well orchestrated plan is essential to any journey.

We believe that journey should begin with understanding the power of video. Please refer to this infographic to understand just how powerful this medium can be and why you should trust it to a team of professional video marketers.

This week I was driving to pick my son up from school and as I often do, I tuned into the Rich Eisen Show. Sportscaster Al Michaels was his guest.  Michaels was on because this past week was the 37th anniversary of The Miracle on Ice. Most people know The Miracle was the U.S. defeat of the Russians in hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid. Michaels was a young sportscaster working his first Olympics in 1980. He was the play-by-play announcer of the game that featured a rag-tag group of kids defeating a team of the best hockey players in the world. A true David and Goliath moment. Just two weeks prior, this same Russian team beat the Americans 10-3 in an exhibition game at Madison Square Garden. For so many reasons, this game was a moment that transcended sports and prior to the game, Al Michaels said he felt tremendous pressure of making the inevitable crushing defeat interesting to his viewers.

During his interview, Michaels delved into some of his personal memories of the game he called. This was a game that launched his career. He had only announced one hockey game prior to this, but it was with 5 seconds left that he made his mark on history. As the clock ticked to 5 seconds remaining, Michaels voice raised to a fever pitch, the puck was cleared from the corner to center ice and Michaels screamed "Do you believe in miracles?! YES!"

Eisen asked if the call was scripted. Michaels said there was no way to script it, because no one gave the Americans a chance. He said he had so many things racing through his head, but as the clock was winding down and a U.S. victory was at hand, the word "miraculous" popped into his head. This is where I think he connected and we can learn a lesson. What if he had just yelled "Miraculous!" or "It's a miracle!" Would the moment be so memorable? Perhaps, but I believe there is more to it. There are so many reasons this is something we all remember, but I believe the fact that he phrased this as a question to the viewer is why it connected. He brought the viewer into the moment. He connected what was happening on the ice and all of the drama surrounding it with those watching the game at home. He asks "Do YOU believe in miracles?" That "you" is also making a connection. We already had feelings about the game, but he helped us remember those feelings. I still cry when I hear the call. I can hear his excitement and the tone of his voice in my head. I think it's that simple. It's something so easy, yet so often glossed over in marketing. The path of least resistance to your customer is achieved by making the message about them. Asking a question is the easiest way to create a sincere connection. If you are on a first date and you ask lots of questions, your date most likely thinks "Wow, this person is really interested in me." I believe your chances are greater that you get a second date, than if you talked solely about yourself or asked no questions at all.

Michaels went on in the Eisen interview and asked, "What are the major moments we remember where we were?" The Kennedy Assassination, The Challenger Explosion, 9/11? All horrible tragedies in our history. Rarely is it something so uplifting and so positive that we can say "I remember where I was for that moment in time." The Miracle on Ice was that positive moment. I remember exactly where I was for The Miracle and I can see it in my mind's eye. I was only 7 years-old. A rare shining light in a sea of tragic memories. We remember for many reasons, but it's part of us because Michaels did the simplest of things that escape us in today's selfie society. He asked us a question that made us feel. The phrase is now synonymous with the moment. It defines the moment and it defines how we feel about the moment. Remember this when trying to connect with your customers and clients.

Perhaps this gives the old adage of "Ask and you shall receive." new meaning.

As I was making my way around the world wide web this week, I noticed an article in Fortune titled 15 Trends Every Business Leader Should Watch in 2017. Ok, you got me. I'm a business owner. I serve business owners, CEOs, COOs, CMOs and other business leaders, so I checked it out. The contributor lists "15 trends and changes in products, marketing, and leadership to keep an eye on in the new year." What intrigued me most was #13 - Video Content. If you are a business leader and you are just now starting to watch video marketing trends, you have already been left in the dust.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was quoted in July of 2016 as saying, "We see a world that is video-first with video at the heart of all our apps and services." That was 6 months ago folks. Facebook has been on this train for awhile. Zuckerberg can thank the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and Chewbacca Mom for being the canaries in the coal mine. The canaries are now eagles soaring high above all other forms of content.

Video marketing is no longer the special your server tells you about when you sit down at your table. It's the featured item on the menu. It's the main course. It's breakfast, lunch, dinner and a late night snack.

So here's the disconnect and maybe the reason why the Fortune contributor says video is something to watch out for in 2017. According to HubSpot, of the sales and marketing professionals they surveyed, 65% of them said lead generation and traffic was their biggest challenge, more than any other challenge they identified. The same article points out 43% of people want more video from marketers. At the same time, marketers say those who do use video saw revenue grow 49% faster than non-video users! Who doesn't want that kind of revenue growth?! Thank you video marketing!

But are you seeing what I'm seeing here? The ingredients are there, the dish just needs to be cooked, served and eaten. If the sales team is looking for more leads and customers want more video content and marketers are saying they are seeing more revenue from video, we just need to get everyone at the same table to enjoy a meal together!

Video influences. Video is authentic. It creates trust. Video is not the future. Video is the present and the future. The time to embrace it has long since passed. Sales team, give your customers what they want. Marketers, give your sales team what they need. Ring the dinner bell. IT'S TIME TO EAT!

Media Masters is based in Austin, TX and produces video marketing content for small local businesses to large international corporations.