STORY IS NOT A MARKETING BUZZWORD. IT'S A CONNECTION.

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.
  

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