Branding: Emotional Video Content is Key to Connecting with your Audience
Whether you’re doing a corporate video, a book trailer for your author platform, an explainer video for a new business,or a series of videos for marketing & sales purposes you want to make sure you’re striking an emotional cord with your target audience. Studies suggest that 65% of the population are visual learners and video is the best way to communicate with them. If you are in the process of creating videos for your youtube channel or just getting started with using videos, here are four ways to create effective, emotional, video content:
Tap into Emotional Realism
Connecting the message to a real life experience so people can identify with it – is key. The biggest risk when creating a video is portraying a TV commercial or explainer video that really doesn’t resonate with an audience – something that looks fake. In order to avoid doing that – telling true stories that draw on genuine human experiences to create a beautiful, inspiring story is key.
In 2014, Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s released an Oscar-worthy commercial to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the WWI Christmas Truce of 1914, when British and German soldiers called a ceasefire for the holiday. Sainsbury’s told a story about real, historical human experience to reach consumers, triggering high-level emotional responses from thousands of viewers. Despite some public disapproval for its use of war imagery, it was an effective ad. The commercial had the company selling 5000 chocolate bars per hour, with all proceeds (over £500,000) going to benefit the Royal British Legion.
Choose the Type of Video Shots Wisely
According to Lindsay Blair, Founder of Blair Global Media based in Ottawa, Canada – “tight video shots showing emotions of the face will help to bring across heavy emotions and drive engagement”. In the case of a highly emotional video showcasing a Non-Governmental Organization trying to fundraise to help victims in a disaster, for example, the background of the person and the context – showing the type of lifestyle, the struggle and devastation will bring forward emotions.
Your Music Selection has to be Appropriate
Music is one of the key elements of creating an emotional connection with your audience. Consider your audience demographics when choosing music. If you’re looking to target a broad range of age groups – look for music that is broadly appealing. You don’t want to alienate your audience with anything that is too genre-specific.
Be careful with copy written songs. YouTube’s Audio ID technology automatically scans and detects copyrighted songs inside videos and, depending on who owns the rights, disables the audio or serves additional advertising on the video that is paid back to the rights holder. Stock audio libraries are one option and work just like stock photo libraries, allowing you to license music for a particular application. Costs are reasonable with sites like iStockphoto offering music rights from $3.60 to $95 depending on the license selected and type of payment plan you choose. This may be the best option if you’re considering well-known classical works from famous composers or versatile sound loops. Another option is to use pay-per-use licenses, which tend to be more expensive – but present another option.
Have you had success with creating emotional video content? Let us know.