Let’s be honest. To the average person, hearing complex data and numbers is about as exciting as watching paint dry. So unless you’re into that kind of thing, creating marketing videos that feature number and data sets probably won’t get a whole lot of engagement.
But maybe you do have something data specific to share around your industry, your audience, or maybe your product. How do you feature that data in videos in such a way that they’re not…well, boring?
The answer to this problem, is to turn data into stories!
Making data exciting is easier said than done, right? How exactly do you go about communicating it in an engaging way on video? Here are a few tips on making those pie charts and data graphs compelling:
Everybody loves a story
The first step is to find a way to turn your facts and data into a story that will resonate with your audience. But why a story? Why not just throw the graphs up on the screen for a few seconds?
We’re hard-wired for stories. Stories are a universal language that everyone in every culture understands. Some of your audience may not understand your data–at least not at first glance. But a story they’ll get right away, especially on an emotional level.
While facts can be a great way to inform potential buyers, ultimately, stories sell. Buying decisions are influenced by emotion, not just facts.
Focus on how the data affects people
One way to turn your data into a story is it humanize it. Meaning, focus on showcasing how the data actually affects people. Show how your product improves the lives of your customers. Have some data on how your industry is declining in a particular area? Show how people’s lives are being affected by that.
Ideally, find a few actual examples to include that will help drive home the point that your data is trying to make. “85% of our customers say their lives are being improved by using our product” is not compelling. You have to show it in the form of story if you want your audience to be gripped by it.
Use analogies
What if you don’t have examples to help tell your story and humanize your data?
Using an analogy can help bring your data home while still keeping it in a storytelling format. Think of a good visual analogy to explain your data. Are two products being compared in your data? Find a good analogy to compare those products and their benefits.
Use real life photos
We’re visual people who think in images. Your fancy data graph can be enlightening, but can you add even more visuals for viewers to really understand the data?
You can cater to your audiences’ natural understanding of images and show some well-chosen photo or images on-screen. This will help make the mental association between the data itself, and what the data is actually saying–because we all think in images.
It’s not enough to just display static data for your viewers to digest, you need to tell a story. Follow these tips to help turn your data into a compelling story that your audience will want to engage with.
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Kevin Kolbe is an online video marketing specialist, producer, storyteller, and creative dude who head’s up Kevin Kolbe Media, LLC. Find out more: http://kevinkolbe.com
