Empire Studios conducted a one-question survey this past September, asking business owners and those heavily involved with their company's marketing to tell us: what is the one thing holding them back from jumping into video marketing? We received 105 responses from across the United States, from large corporations to non-profits. Here are the results:
- Supervisor does not see the value / lack of management vision: 7%
- No audience to watch it: 9%
- Unsure of the return on investment: 14%
- High cost / no budget for video: 31%
- Creating a compelling story / having content worthy of video: 36%
Granted, we did not get thousands of responses, but from our widely varied demographic, the majority of businesses do not see cost as the thing prohibiting them. It is the lack of great content to film. This is big news. Companies of all sizes are seeing the tremendous value of video, so the upfront investment cost is taking a back seat to the worry of not producing solid content.
The majority of businesses don't see cost as something prohibiting them, but the lack of great content to film.
We are going to tackle the solution to each of these top 5 reasons. Today we are taking on number one, creating a compelling story:
1) Keep your ear to the ground. Watch for potential story ideas from your customers and employees. Has your company helped improve someone's life, even in a little way? Find that emotional connection. Hold a meeting and ask everyone to bring at least one example of a customer whose life the company has touched. You could even run a contest asking customers to submit their story for a chance to win merchandise or a gift basket. There could be a powerful story there that can be told through video.
2) Create a story of your own. Imagine how your product or service improves someone's life or makes their day brighter. Bonus points if it includes babies or puppies. Most importantly, it needs to come from the heart and elicit an emotional response. Write the script, ask a few people to read it, and see if it has the intended effect. If so, run with it.