The stunning power of visual communication in video (that most marketers neglect completely).

14 replies
Video marketing is obviously very powerful, very persuasive, and it is becoming more and more dominant and necessary for all of us every day. However a lot of the people making videos totally waste the power of visual communication.

What you SHOW can be even more important than what you TELL. The more primitive parts of our brain can consume and process imagery drastically faster than we can read text or even decipher spoken language.

And yet, marketers tend to focus on text-based slides and reading them into the microphone verbatim. My argument is that you're already making a video. Make some choices and give some thought to the visuals and you can do some amazing things.

To demonstrate the power of the visual element in video, watch this 3 minute micro-movie. Here's the deal - it won a contest wherein people had to make a movie using ONLY these exact lines of dialogue.

"What is that?,"
"It's a unicorn,"
"Never seen one up close before,"
"Beautiful,"
"Get away, get away," and
"I'm sorry."


Pretty amazing example of how what you SHOW can deliver massive amounts of story and information that never needs to be put into words when you're using video. Visuals "say" things and imagery can deliver impact, emotion, plot, setting, context, and so much more.

Anyone else use visuals as a part of their videos? If so, how? And how do your viewers respond when you do?
#communication #cry #power #video #visual #warning
  • That's a powerful little movie. The filmmaker used the dialogue in places where I didn't expect it.

    I use visuals but I also use music to evoke emotion -- a technique employed in the unicorn video as well.

    fLufF
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    • Profile picture of the author Tina Golden
      That was an incredible video. I can't believe they managed to convey such a powerful and complete story in 3 minutes.
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      • The filmmakers were able to do that because they used ideas and historical context we are all familiar with. An old man holding out a box as an offering.
        The boys in their Hitler Youth uniforms, the room obviously vacated very recently, the entrance to the hideout in the bottom of the cabinet, the yellow Star of David armband.

        I'm not sure they even needed the "Germany - 1943" caption.

        Where it gets tricky is when you're trying to communicate something new and unfamiliar.

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  • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
    I guess most marketers neglect it (i.e. the visual communication) because it requires more thought (and equipment) than just a screen capture gizmo
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  • Profile picture of the author Gene Pimentel
    Brilliant. Imagery is powerful.
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    • Profile picture of the author Colin Theriot
      Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat View Post

      The filmmakers were able to do that because they used ideas and historical context we are all familiar with. An old man holding out a box as an offering....

      *SNIPPED*

      Where it gets tricky is when you're trying to communicate something new and unfamiliar.
      Visual language is symbolic and representational. So for example, the old man holding the box as an offering - that's symbolic. You know that what's in that box is very important within a few seconds. You can use the same sort of visual analogies to convey something new and exciting by say, having people looking to the stars. Or trailblazing new territory. These are symbolic actions that show the emotional meaning of your message.

      Originally Posted by Istvan Horvath View Post

      I guess most marketers neglect it (i.e. the visual communication) because it requires more thought (and equipment) than just a screen capture gizmo
      Yes, totally true. Of course, the equipment needed is available built-in on most smartphones and handheld cameras are cheap. And as always, the people who take the time and make the effort to be creative and interesting will drastically outpace the competition. Just like the first marketers who started using video outpaced the people who weren't.
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  • Profile picture of the author BabyMama
    Very powerful little video. I am all about the power of videos. I think that pretty soon video will have taken over pretty much everything online. There won´t be any article writing etc as people preffer to watch videos and are more visual
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  • It's a VERY powerful video, but not because the script but mostly because of the historical background (Nazis, Jews, Berlin 1943, etc). It's a scenario that triggers emotions on all of us, regardless of the unicorn story.

    Non the less, terrific video, thanks for sharing.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dan Allard
    I started using stock-footage in my videos. So for example when I talk about internet traffic, I usually show a clip of a high-traffic freeway in a city. By using actual footage in my videos instead of just powerpoint slides has gotten us a lot more leads on a JV project I'm working on.

    Especially in the "make money online" niche, you need your videos to stand out from the competition. When we see the powerpoint slides or screen capture we don't think quality anymore, because it's been done so many times.
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    • Agree totally, Dan. Half the time I can't even see what's in the screen capture. I groan whenever some marketer does a screen recording video instead of writing an article I can read (and search for again later).

      Using footage instead of still photos has made all the difference for me, both in personal creative satisfaction and in making a product that sells. I just did a video for a client and I wish I could show it to you. We talk about customers disappearing and show an abandoned umbrella drifting down the street.

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    • Profile picture of the author Rashell
      Originally Posted by BabyMama View Post

      Very powerful little video. I am all about the power of videos. I think that pretty soon video will have taken over pretty much everything online. There won´t be any article writing etc as people preffer to watch videos and are more visual
      The thing is... after awhile you get sick of watching video after video. Guess that's why long after film/TV was invented people still read books, newspapers, magazines. Sometimes you just need to mix it up.

      Rashell
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      • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
        Originally Posted by Rashell View Post

        The thing is... after awhile you get sick of watching video after video. Guess that's why long after film/TV was invented people still read books, newspapers, magazines. Sometimes you just need to mix it up.

        Rashell
        I don't know... First they just erase "hand-writing from curriculum... next may come the writing and reading in general
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  • Profile picture of the author VladWorks
    Couldnt agree more...We have been steering clients to use video as part of their homepage.

    You can so clearly explain what an experience is like with a video. Show why your company is the right choice, your product better then others or just why you users need it.

    I have been advising all clients to start looking at investing in professional video for home pages.
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