The Long View: Building your online library

Your library is your portrait. 


- Holbrook Jackson

 

Let’s talk about libraries.  Multimedia libraries. 

When we mention “breaking up your messages into packets”, we are introducing the Long View approach to your video production and online communications needs. 

After all – if you’ve got a lot to share and you’ve absorbed the wisdom against throwing all your eggs in one basket, you’re going to need a long-term installment plan.  The best approach?  Open a library of online content. 

This library can (and should) include a little bit of everything – text, quotes, testimonials, still photography, video and graphics – and, as we explained in a recent post, audiences will peruse text and photos, explore customer testimonials and feedback, and watch videos that interest them.  It’s the virtual equivalent of browsing through your “store.”  They will be drawn towards what they know they like, and they will be lured into liking something new.

So how do you build this multimedia library?

We’ve articulated four “kickstart” production takeaways below to consider – interesting creative and content considerations shaped by efficient, practical, and cost-effective production approaches.

1) Leverage assets you already have to gain quick wins.

Most companies have their own libraries of professional-grade photography they’ve acquired over the years.  Storymasters can weave existing high-resolution photography of your people, operational settings and projects into engaging multimedia you can use right now.  We can create a suite of video assets that weave music, on-screen typography, and an animation technique we call “Photoscape” – a relatively simple layering process that creates 3D perspective from flat high-resolution photos. Here are two very simple examples of photoscapes: http://youtu.be/abgBwvg95Qk  and  http://youtu.be/ASWlyGRyYT0

2) Create a series of Case Study vignettes that reinforce your brand values.

These are simple, stylish “documentary” stories that introduce your audience to role model employees, team innovation, interesting project challenges, multi-faceted collaboration, or perhaps just a vignette about one of your employees that built a playground structure for a community school.   Here’s an example for PwC that we like: http://youtu.be/Aokm44Sw2dw

3) Establish your Visual Brand and don’t sway from it.

As opportunities present themselves, Storymasters can capture cinematic imagery of key projects, teamwork, and community involvement that can be woven into rich, highly visual stories down the road.  You’ll gain a reputation in the marketplace for the perspectives you take, music you choose, the typography you incorporate – the very style by which you tell your stories.  Here’s an example for Rio Tinto we found on the web: http://youtu.be/w9A5en5zK14

4) Visualize your video library in advance, then build it strategically.

Creating a single introductory corporate video that features your best people, flagship projects from coast to coast, and your international presence can be daunting (and expensive) – especially on a tight timeframe.   If you build up your library over time with engaging vignettes that communicate your brand, that “big corporate overview video” becomes easier to create.  You may have noticed that the Rio Tinto recruitment video (see link above) is a compilation of 10-12 two-minute employee stories shot over many months in different regions of Canada.       

Together, we can create a quality video library that evolves with your brand, communicates your core values, celebrates your people, and engages your prospects. 

Real people = Memorable stories

We were very interested to see this triumphant headline sprawled across The Globe and Mail recently.  (As a rule, we read everything that has "storytelling" in the headline.)

As you fly through the first half of the piece, columnist Mia Pearson covers familiar ground -- this whole online marketing thing is big and going to get bigger.  Then we arrive at the reason why we clicked:  Coca-Cola and Nike are "evolving their storytelling style" and using social media to start conversations and engage their consumers (notice how we don't use that word anymore -- now they are called fans.)

Watch the videos here and here.

What makes it work, Pearson asks?  "Get real people involved.  Let the brand go.  Don't focus on the product.  Keep the objectives in mind."

So which did you like better and why?
As in our previous post, we're big believers in feelings and impressions as being the key takeaways of this visual medium -- so what feeling were you left with?

Coca-Cola wins points for social responsibility and overall heartstring-tugging, and Nike apparently wins points for lingering on bikini girls on the beach (according to the comments on this 4+ million views link.  Stay true to your target audience, non?)

But I wonder if it would have been more interesting if Nike filmmaker Casey Neistat instead took a poor kid from public housing on this trip around the world, rather than his (largely unseen) entourage...  or perhaps a Nike factory worker?

We'd like to add another story, brilliantly told, to the mix here -- "Grow your own way" by PwC.
This one wins on all counts -- it's beautifully shot, it engages our inner mensch, it runs less than 100 seconds and yet feels rich in detail and emotion.

Six months from now, you won't remember "lease accounting" or "Craig Jones"... but you will recall sunlit playgrounds and laughing children and the company, PwC.  You'll be able to recall the impression that PwC does good things, and that their people give back to the community.  With that, their goal is realized.

Depending on your message, your target audience and your desired takeaways, perhaps this brand of storytelling is the answer.  As Pearson says, Get real people involved.  Why not explore your values through the people in your company that live them?  

Message? Check. Target Audience? Defined. Budget? Approved. So what else do I need to know about making a video?

We’ve developed a few best practices we’ve learned along our 30-year journey in the business. Some of these ideas won’t be new to you as marketers, but they’re probably worth a mention nonetheless.

Video is a very powerful communication tool – it weaves images, sound, music, and graphics into an engaging, informative (and often emotional) experience that helps you connect deeply with your target audience. Audiences come away from the experience with a “feeling” about your people, your company, and your brand. Our goal as strategic communicators is to turn that feeling about your company into action.

Video is also a passive medium – complementary to, but distinctly different from mediums like print and web. Unlike a poster at a bus shelter, a video will not allow your audience to linger longer, re-read a headline, or consider content while they wait for their bus. For that reason, data-rich messages like names, dates, bullet lists, facts and figures are rarely recalled (or even absorbed) by your video audience.

Captive audiences, such as a group of people gathered for a meeting or event, have significantly longer attention spans than prospects that are casually surfing the Internet. In fact, viewer engagement by even the most committed Internet prospects drops dramatically after the first 20 or 30 seconds. Unless there is a compelling reason to stay and watch your video, most of your audience will simply move on to risk-free surfing activities they can control.

Web visitors also want to be in full control of their Internet experience – their time is precious. They dislike being held hostage by a slow loading splash page, a fancy banner ad that takes over their browser, or a video that takes too long to get to the point.

The most successful online environments are ones that provide a variety of mediums (text, still photos, videos, graphics) and endless of ways to absorb the content. Audiences can linger longer on the text and photos, explore interactive graphics, peruse customer quotes, and watch videos that engage and interest them - in any order they choose.

With that short primer to the world of video, we offer the following practices:

• Leverage the unique strengths of video …

• … And avoid its weaknesses.

• Resist the temptation to communicate too much.

• Break up your messages into small packets.

• Make each packet relevant to your audience.

• Allow your audience to chose the packets that interest them.

• Engage, surprise, and delight your audiences - reward them for watching.

• Focus most on “igniting a conversation” - not just delivering information.

Sometimes organizations feel pressured to develop a video (or series of videos) that “cover all bases”. They’ve secured the budget so now they want to pour all of the content into one project. In effect, however, they end up doing the exact opposite of the practices we’ve described above.

Storymasters works collaboratively with you and your team to map out an effective long-term video production strategy. And we ensure that the videos we produce dovetail nicely with parallel communications initiatives in print, web or live event.

Facts...

... versus Feelings.

So let’s recap.

Video is a powerful tool.

If you harness its strengths, your video will create impressions that last for years.

If you indulge in its weaknesses – your audience will tune out and click out.

Video’s immediate takeaway isn’t just information, it’s a feeling.

And much more than data and facts, feelings and impressions linger and last.

Short and Sweet

I thought I would share a fun little "brandable" video we produced a while ago. Everyday, it seems to be more relevant than ever. Stay tuned for the Teamwork and Customer Service versions!

So, how much does a story cost?

Costing out a story without any details is a bit like asking a contractor to ballpark a kitchen renovation without revealing the scope of his work. Stories can come in many forms - from a polished 30 or 60-second TV spot, to a spontaneous feeling Facebook video. If you have a specific budget in mind, the creative and production approach can be tailored to suit.

But what are some rough guidelines? An engaging, branded profile of a local customer or employee that can be taped in several hours and edited in one to three days can start around $5,000. More polished videos that require pre-production research, a specialized crew, or additional shoot days, can range $20,000 and up. One thing is for sure, the larger your potential audience, the more worthwhile the investment.

If you think your story can be repurposed or shared publicly, (on your website, Facebook, or YouTube, for example) it makes sense to invest a bit more to ensure your brand (and your message) is communicated effectively.

Depending on your communication objectives, and the audiences you wish to target, you may wish to consider a series of thematic corporate stories that celebrate different employees and customers from various regions or business units. The stories can be distributed using existing communication channels, via social networks, or through video sharing utilities. This long term, strategic approach to marketing and corporate communications can be remarkably cost-effective when compared to traditional tactics – especially ones that involve media buys.

At first glance, video profiles of employees and customers sound expensive, but it’s all in how you measure value. Consider the cost of a themed three-day offsite for 100 employees, including AV staging, travel, meals and accommodation. Consider a recruitment ad campaign, including creative, production and media buy. For roughly the same amount, your company can build an entire library of videos to be shared with every level of your organization, from senior executives to new recruits, for months and years to come.

Corporate Storytelling: Maximizing Your Investment

Well-told stories have a remarkable ability to create common ground and “stick” in the minds of the audience. It’s common for executives to share a short story or anecdote just before they tuck into a serious speech. A two-minute video can achieve this with pictures, sound, and music – and do it consistently, everywhere and every time.

The strategic themes woven into a typical two-minute video make it perfect to share in all sorts of situations from recruiting, to training and development, to marketing - the more venues you can identify, the better the investment. Story content can also be repurposed for web banners, digital signage, or tradeshow applications. If we choose, for example, to dial up product and service features, we can turn an employee story into an effective marketing piece for the company homepage.

The great thing about authentic stories is that they enjoy a tremendously long shelf life. Employees and customers may come and go, but the themes contained in their stories remain timeless.

Understanding The Value of a Good Story.

To appreciate the power of a good story, you have to put on your marketing hat. Like advertising, storytelling is a persuasive form of communication that paints a picture of your organization, educates your target audience, and sells your product and services.

And, just like a marketing campaign, storytelling starts with a clearly articulated objective. You may need to move your audience from A to B, align them to your values and principles, or simply inform them of your products or services. Ad campaigns are well thought out, and stories are no different. Strategic stories can be easily crafted to elicit an emotional response in your target audience and achieve specific measurable outcomes.

Of course, there are many often-overlooked benefits, too. Simply looking for good corporate stories can significantly boost internal engagement within a large organization. The process of researching and identifying the people and stories that shape your brand is very powerful and often the most valuable part of the exercise. The resulting videos are like energizing souvenirs that can be shared with thousands of other potential brand ambassadors.