Businesses love to use numbers to sell their products. Videos that tout something as “25 percent more efficient,” “50 percent off,” or any other number-based line can convey important information, but these methods can get lost in a sea of similar sales tactics without something that will connect with your audience.
Having a multimedia studio like TRG help you tell a good story can be the difference between being just another ad and the message that makes your customers remember your business. People love stories. From heroic tales to dazzling documentaries, a video with a good story can entrance an audience and help you build a connection beyond that of just customer and company.
The Power of Using Story to Sell
Why can stories have such a powerful effect on people? They’re typically more personal and relatable. Sales pitches and statistics can be boiled down into basic numbers; stories allow you to put your company in a position to relate to your audience. This personal touch is typically more memorable than a hard sell.
For example, bestselling authors Chip and Dan Heath shared an example in their book Made to Stick that involved an exercise where Stanford University students shared facts with each other to see what information people would retain. Only five percent of the students remembered the statistics their classmates cited. However, 63 percent of that same group remembered the stories they were told.
Another benefit of storytelling is that it can make your products or services seem more like an even better deal. Marketing agency Hill Holliday and market research company Origin teamed up to test how two separate test groups perceived various online products. Their goal was to determine how story impacts perceived product value.
The groups were given two different pages for the same products – one with basic product information and another with some form of story, such as the history of the artist for a painting or a former visitor’s experience for a hotel room. They were then asked what their perceived value was for each product. According to the study, products with story-based pages were perceived to be anywhere from five to 64 percent more valuable. In addition, the members of that test group also said they were more likely to choose those products because of the stories.
Why Video is the Perfect Storytelling Tool
Fortunately for businesses, stories aren’t limited to movies and TV shows. Commercial video production gives business the means to tell stories on a variety of platforms.
In short, video is the most interesting form of content to potential customers. In a time with short attention spans, a good video can help you grab people’s attention and position your products to be a part of their lives. Of course, you not only need to have people pay attention to your message, you also need them to remember it. The good news here is that video tends to stick with consumers. According to Forbes, “80 percent of users recall a video ad they viewed in the past 30 days.”
Of course, not just any video will do. You need to identify how your products or services relate to your consumers’ lives to figure out what type of tale you should tell. Subaru stopped talking about gas mileage or low APRs to focus on the memories made in a family’s vehicle. John Lewis Insurance made people think about what’s important to them instead of discussing quotes or special terms. TRG helped Medical Mutual share three separate stories about the same family and how insurance helps them cover everything they love. These videos focused on creating a bond that makes their products as an integral part of a viewer’s life. That’s a connection that will endure long past the video ends.
Do you need a multimedia production company to bring help you tell your story? Contact TRG today to talk to our experts about how we can help you create a connection with your audience through professional video services.
