Raising the Bar: The Value of Video

by W. Blair Meeks
Communication Strategist
Jackson Spalding

I’m beginning to doubt the existence of UFOs. As much as I might believe in life beyond our planet, intelligent life visiting Earth is getting harder to swallow for one simple reason: video. It seems half the people on the planet have a camera or device capable of shooting video in their pockets now. I laughed at a recent “unruly airline passenger” story on the local news. A few years ago, pictures of an incident like this would be extremely rare. On this newscast they used eyewitness video of a drunken guy being escorted off the plane, and in that video I counted at least four other people on the flight who were also shooting the confrontation with their cell phone cameras. With all this access to recording equipment, someone should have captured one of these intergalactic visits, if they’re so common, with a video that stands up to serious scrutiny. And yet no – nothing. So, to me, UFOs are becoming doubtful.

The sheer volume of video being shot, edited and shared is staggering. Forty-eight hours of new video is uploaded to YouTube every single minute! Anyone with a cell phone and a basic computer can produce a moving picture story that can be shared and, through the Internet, can be shared around the world. Great marketing tool, right? Absolutely!

But before (Before? Who am I kidding? Most of you already have!) you jump into the world of video creation, there are many things to consider. Video is a powerful tool and when used wisely can move people to tears, to take action, to start fighting or stop it, to sway opinion, build devoted fans and spark legal or governmental change. The secret, as with most things, is using it wisely.

When most people think about shooting a video about their company or organization the first question they ask is, “who should be in it?” The CEO? The managing partner? Maybe a few department heads and some key supporters? With suggestions like these, in no time you’ll have a long list of talking heads to fill your video to the brim. Great. One of the least compelling images you can have in a video is a talking head. Unless that talking head is a truly compelling speaker or the topic is very interesting, it’s usually boredom city.

The better first question I like to suggest is “what do you want people watching this video to feel?” Excitement? Triumph? Inspiration? Confidence? These questions focus more directly on the type of interaction you want someone to have with you, your firm or organization. Once you establish that, then you can work on the audience you are trying to reach, the stories within your organization that inspire these kinds of emotions and how to best capture these stories on camera. Sure there are internal egos which need to be stroked, but you won’t be doing any favors if you’re showcasing important people in a bad light.

Some video considerations:

• Videos should be purpose-driven – the tighter the purpose, the easier to make a strong, focused video. Sometimes it is appropriate to put the top brass in a video. Just make sure it’s for the right reasons, like building the credibility and expertise of a firm or organization.
• Characters drive stories – who will be in the video? How will they appear on camera? It takes some charisma and confidence to pull these off and sometimes it comes from surprising places.
• People bring stories to life – there’s a reason newspaper, television and radio reporters all try to show people in their stories: people make stories relatable and more engaging. It’s personal, and that comes across on camera.
• Identify audience and determine how best to reach that audience –a general information video for a website is very different than a video you’d show to attract new employees.
• Shorter is almost always better – Internet analysts say people love video on the web. They also say people do not love long videos on the web. Your video better be really compelling if it’s more than two minutes long on the Internet.
• Budget – Everyone has access to the tools now. That does not mean everyone has the ability to tell good stories. It’s not about paying a fortune either. The key is clearly defining your purpose and carefully planning to accomplish that purpose no matter if it’s your nephew’s college roommate or a high-priced professional crew.

Video has become a commonplace, even expected way, to communicate. It can connect and engage like no other medium. If you aren’t using it, you are missing an opportunity. Choosing to do it wisely will ensure your audience doesn’t think you are from another planet.