I made a 39 second video recently which packs a punch and does a great deal of heavy lifting for me. It follows a certain formula I use when making a particular type of video.
Let me explain.
I have previously written about the video formula which involves 3 steps:
- When I was
- I believe
- I am
You can read about this formula in this blog post.
In this post I will take a look at the video I made recently, which is set out below.
You will see that the video only lasts for 39 seconds but it does a lot of work in that time.
When I was
You will see the “when I was” hook in this story is “when I was sacked/fired”. This statement works on many levels including
- The viewer or listener will be curious and interested and will watch the beginning of the video (this is the first goal of any video-to get the viewer to start watching)
- The viewer, if an employee, will naturally draw the conclusion that “this guy knows what I am feeling, he will understand my employment problem”
- This guy is honest and straight, not too many solicitors or professionals will openly admit to being fired and they certainly won’t make a video about it
I believe
The “I believe” leg of the stool follows from what happened at part 1-that is, I go on to describe how, after being fired, I made it my business to study employment law with great diligence because of the experience I had.
This is credible, and understandable; and now the viewer accepts that not only do I understand her problem but I have done the work to really understand employment law because of my own personal experience.
I am addressing, therefore, the viewers emotional and logical perspectives.
I am
The “I am” part is simply an introduction to me, who I am, and how the viewer can contact me.
Conclusion
Each of these parts flow logically and seamlessly into the next and follow that particular pattern.
I am not merely telling viewers to contact me with their employment law problem; I am telling them that as a consequence of what happened me, and what I did then, they can have confidence that my belief that I can help them is rational and well-grounded in my experience.
Not only that, but because I was fired I am just like them, the viewer.
This effective formula can be used to great effect in countless scenarios, regardless of what the purpose is. Because it addresses the question “why”.
Let me explain:
“buy my stuff”
Why?
“pick me”
Why?
Share this
“why?”
Don’t underestimate the power of giving someone a reason as to why they should do something.