How Video Can Help Your Business
“Photography is truth. The cinema is truth twenty-four times per second.” ~Jean-Luc Godard
When recently returning from a production overseas, I was asked a somewhat peculiar but frequently asked question by the U.S. Customs agent that I interacted with after telling them my profession: “So you make videos for businesses, what kinds of videos?” My response was simple, “whatever kind of video that can help solve their problem.”
A Multi-Use Tool for Your Business
In the age of digital information sharing, businesses have a wide array of options to raise brand awareness and expand customer reach. From assets as simple as digital flyers about a seasonal sale to more complex projects like a six-part series detailing your company’s impact on the local community, these assets can provide great value to your business, especially when you consider the multitude of platforms that you can share these assets on such as your company’s website, social media channels, and targeted advertising. However, of all the digital media choices available, video still makes the largest overall impact.
When some people think of the term “a video for my business” they limit the selections in their mind to an advertisement on TV during a commercial break. In 2022, video provides the opportunity for company growth in so many more ways than a general audience aimed video that you hope people catch between scenes of Better Call Saul (because you know you’re not changing the channel on the last season). Company websites often use videos to provide an overview of what the business is, what problem it solves, and why they do what they do. Online retailers utilize product lineup videos to showcase their product in a real-life environment being used as intended and to convey the spirit that powers their brand. Video can also be employed for a business’ internal needs such as new team member orientation or to provide updated training models for your operations. And for budding business ventures, what better way to give your company a boon than a video to compliment your crowdfunding campaign?
A client reviews footage during the production, a crucial step in our process as we aim to get creative input and quality assurance from our clients when it matters most.
Making an Impact on Several Senses
We’ve all heard the saying that “a picture is worth a thousand words” and I think that we can all agree on the accuracy of that sentiment, too. A lot of people think visually before they think in terms of words and even for the people who’s brains work in the opposite direction, the connection between imagery and wording is undeniable. If I were to say the word “strength” what imagery pops up in your head? An image of someone showcasing physical strength, a moment where you or someone you know showed their emotional strength, or is it a symbol of strength that you see like the famous Fist of Joe Louis? Regardless of what you saw in your head, a word led to an image and the process works in the reverse direction, too. The way that an image is presented to you can invoke thoughts of certain words or feelings. For example, a pumpkin could be displayed in a way that invokes fear and makes you think of Halloween. That same pumpkin could also be presented in a way that invokes comfort and makes you think of a bountiful fall harvest.
Now that we have established the impact that can be made from one single image, take into account how many impactful images can be displayed over the course of one video (think about the Godard quote above). This exponentially increases the chances of your content reaching your audience and leaving an impression on them. The impression from these images are reinforced by the music, energy, and whatever written content your video contains, allowing you to deliver information in the most efficient manner. All of these elements then combine to craft a video that emulates what you intended your business to be; an experience.
It’s the stories that change lives like the production you see before you that drives our passion for visual storytelling.
A Medium That Enables You to Tell Your Story Your Way
Whether you’re in need of a short highlight video of product images paired with select music or a series of client testimonial videos, the purpose of each project is to tell your story. Prospective clients can find out exactly what your business offers from a simple online search but it’s the story behind your business that helps you stand apart from similar companies. Each product or service offered by a business aims to solve a problem. The problem can be as hefty as needing legal representation in a civil suit to as trivial as wanting a phone case with your dog’s picture on it but each problem has a solution out there with a company behind it. Your business also offers a solution to a particular problem and behind that solution is a story.
Video content allows you to reach out to your future customers and inform them as to why you chose to dedicating your life to solve this particular problem; your story. It’s your story that fuels what problem your business solves and how it goes about creating the solution. Maybe your business is the most efficient option, perhaps it’s the most eco-friendly solution, or it could be that you’re a local vendor in a sea of faceless corporate competitors. No matter what your story is, through targeted and crafted video content you can tell this story in the exact way you want to; whether that be from the heart, through simple facts and figures or with a little bit of the edge that you’re known to have. It’s your story, tell it the way you want in the most impactful way with a video for your business. I think the next time I’m asked what type of videos we make, I’ll simply answer, “impactful ones”.