Since the dawn of YouTube, way back in the dark ages of 2005, online video has sought to educate, engage and empower people. These are essentially the three golden rules of video marketing: Educate, engage and empower.
Just about any video you create will fall into one (or more) of these three categories. A quick look at YouTube will reveal that most videos follow these three key tenets:
Educate: The sheer number of “how to” videos on YouTube validates that teaching, demonstrating and informing is a mainstay of online video. If your video sets our to teach or instruct, you’re on the right track. Your “educational” video should inform, enlighten and even inspire your viewer. If your video is able to be the solution to someone’s problem, or the answer to their challenge, you’ve done your job. Whether the ultimate goal of your video is to establish your credibility or sell a product, you must add value in the process.
Engage: Great videos not only educate, but engage or entertain the viewer. A video can educate, but still be painfully boring. Once you add engagement to the mix, then you’re really on to something! Engaging videos connect, they pull the viewer in and capture their attention and imagination. Engaging videos create a relationship with the viewer, establishing a powerful bond. Engaging videos fascinate and captivate – they involve and enthrall your viewer. These are the videos that get shared and spread. Of course, engaging videos also entertain – clearly a key element of any successful video!
Empower: Videos that empower, enlighten or inspire your viewers may be less common, but they are incredibly powerful. Empowering videos have the unique ability to enable your viewer to make a change or open up new possibilities. Videos that empower can also influence and motivate your viewer. Empowering and inspiring videos may be the most difficult to create, but the rewards can be awesome.
When your video meets one of the three golden rules of video marketing, you’re on the path to success. If the video hits two or three of the golden rules, then you’ve hit a video home run. So always swing for the proverbial fences as you create your video, and endeavor to educate, engage and/or empower.
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