Video is more than an opportunity to go viral. In fact, video is almost always better used to support existing efforts, as going viral is akin to winning the lottery. One of my favorite industry “fun” videos remains the Gap Stick video created by the very talented Jeff Anderton, who is now with SnugZ USA. Jeff also did one of my favorite early Geiger videos before I was a part of Geiger—“It’s a Pony”—before viral videos were popular.
The most basic and useful source of video for suppliers and distributors is to demonstrate products that have benefits not fully clear from a still image. I’ve previously written a blog post on how suppliers should create videos, and even though it has been a few years, the original blog post is great information for suppliers who want to create valuable videos for distributors to share.
Adding video to your presentations is another valuable way to use videos. You can start with the product demonstration videos I just referenced or you can spend a few hundred (or thousand) dollars to create your own. You can use any video to supplement your presentation, as it provides a nice “break” from the standard dialogue. Do be sure to make sure the video is relevant, interesting and more than a break. It needs to reinforce your message, not distract from it.
Recently, I presented with our CEO, Gene Geiger, at our annual event for Geiger sales partners. At this event, we focused on the concept of “breaking through” distractions. Rather than do a standard presentation or a standalone video, we created a series of videos to strengthen our message and keep them memorable. We created the presentation theme and content, and then crafted videos that supported the messages we were sharing in the presentation.
Our first video was the setup, and was just for fun, but reinforced that we can’t do things on our own. Obviously invoking the concepts from the popular show “Breaking Bad,” this first video was titled “The RV,” and was shown as we discussed how many distractions people face today from video to online advertisements.
Our second video was still stilly, but created a setup for more to come. Our second video is “Product Safety.” This video took a humorous approach to product safety to reinforce one of the key themes for Geiger about product safety. This was my favorite video because it was fun but still supported an important message.
Our third video would not have worked as well without our first two videos, but was one of the two videos that drove the original concept. We used the first two videos to establish the characters and the concept of breaking through. Our third video then became more serious, as we focused on our core message of online competition and how to compete with online players. Modeled after the famous “I am the one who knocks” scene from “Breaking Bad”: “We Are the Danger.”
Our fourth and final video was the primary message and closed our presentation. It reinforced all the things we discussed during our presentation and became the rally cry for the rest of our event: “We are Geiger.”
We wrote the scripts internally and, in fact, kept this hidden from essentially everyone in the organization, making it even more fun. We did hire an external firm to film and create the final edited version, which created a professional quality product worth watching and sharing.
For years, I’ve heard people talk about creating the next viral video as well as the importance of using video to promote your company. Instead of trying to create the next viral video or just using video for the sake of using video, find a way to reinforce your message using video.
