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Make them Laugh, Make them Cry

Written by: Mark Macias

Article Overview: Advertising gurus say we have only 6-seconds to capture your attention. Here's why we need to throw out the old rules of advertising when reaching consumers on the web. We don’t use the same communication methods from 20 years ago, so why are we still using the same advertising tactics?

Make them Laugh, Make them Cry

If you believe all of the advertising gurus, I have only 6 seconds to get your attention. In the amount of time it takes you to complete a full yawn, advertisers must grab your attention, communicate a message, compete with outside distractions, and ultimately drive you to action. It’s a challenging task, considering we are all conditioned to ignore any form of advertisement.

Just today alone, you saw more than 1100 ads, but can you remember one of them? Do you recall any image or even a message that was conveyed to you? Probably not, and that’s because most advertisements and commercials don’t have the time to touch your emotions. It’s hard to make a person laugh or cry when advertising executives know they have only 6 seconds to get through to you. But all of these advertising rules are thrown out the window with something called, webisodes, also known as short entertaining video clips with a plot.

Webisodes continue to provide a new opportunity to entertain, enlighten, motivate and inspire customers to action. They allow consumers to engage in escapism. Life is tough right now, which is why most people will make the effort to watch a video clip that helps them forget the trials of life. They want to laugh or even cry while watching these video clips. Unlike the 30-second commercial or full-page newspaper ads, webisodes give you time to tell a story about your product or service.

A close friend of mine works for a large Internet retailer that caters to women. I keep explaining to him how a short webisode will cost far less than any full budget commercial or ad campaign that his company continues to engage in. He, like most entrepreneurs, wrongly believes a webisode will cost tens of thousands of dollars to produce. If the plot is scripted out in advance, it can be produced for as little as a few hundred dollars. In some cases, the cost of a professional photographer isn’t even needed if the plot involves a home video camera. That’s far less than the cost of paying a man on the street to hand out fliers for a month. It’s a wise investment when executed in the proper way.

Of course execution is key. Webisodes should be viewed like a short comedy or drama that centers the plot around your product or service. If your business is selling cars, the plot can revolve around a sleazy salesman who continues to try to take advantage of consumers. Exploit the stereotypes with your webisode. Have fun with it. Forget about political correctness for a moment. The purpose of your webisode is to entertain. If viewers are entertained and your product is properly placed, they will remember your ad and likely forward it to their friends. In your ideal situation, viewers will also post it on their social networks page, giving you instant credibility with strangers.

Webisodes also need to be authentic. If you’re hiring someone to produce a webisode for you, try to use ordinary people. Don’t feel the need or pressure to hire an actor. The best salesman is the person you relate to. If you’re business caters to mothers, use a real Mom in your webisode.

Webisodes can also increase your ranking among search engines. Forrester Research found that sites with a video were 50 times more likely to appear on the first pages of Google when they integrated video search engine optimization (SEO) tactics.

There is also a growing appetite for these types of videos on the web. In August 2009, comScore Inc. estimated 158 million people viewed a video online – the most for any month ever. Think about it. These are people who actively sought out a commercial without even knowing it. If produced in an entertaining way, these webisodes will be passed from friend to friend, introducing your new product to new potential customers with zero distribution cost.

The world is rapidly changing. We don’t use the same communication methods from 20 years ago. We use smart phones, laptops, Twitter, Facebook, so why are we still trying to advertise in the same way from when television was first introduced? It’s time to promote your product in a new way. Throw out the 6-second rule and start trying to touch the emotions of your customers.

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Article Tags: advertising, commercial production, producing, webisodes



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