5-1/2 Questions to Ask Before Making a Video The Pagano Video Method Part 4

5-1/2 Questions to Ask Before Making a Video:

The Pagano Method: Part 4 - Audience

Welcome back! 

In our previous articles, we've looked at the first three questions in my method to producing a great promo video.  As a result, we've built a back story for our product, learned about it, and decided what we want the video to accomplish. 

Now it's time to learn about the audience. 

Question 4:  Who are you talking to?

Question 4:  Who are you talking to?

Your video won't be effective if it doesn't make a connection with viewers.  If it's a sales video, it won't be effective unless it addresses their needs.  To connect with viewers and address their needs, you've got to know your audience -- not just who they are, but what they care about. 

There's no set formula to figuring out this stuff.  Although there is plenty of audience research available, determining who your audience is and what they care about takes thought and insight. 

Let's do the easy stuff first.  As a business person, you should be keeping data on your customers.  So you probably already know lots about your customers' demographics:  Their age, gender, occupation, income, and so on.  Demographic information forms the base layer to your video approach by supplying key facts about your audience.  If the product to be featured in your video is an expensive luxury car, then a video that appeals to high school students won't do you any good.   Your video needs to appeal to people with high incomes.  That's basic marketing. 

Then there's psychographics -- the attitudes and beliefs of your target market.  What do they believe in?  Do they believe in showing off their success?  Are they more modest?  Do they care about the environmental impact their purchases make?  Or do they just want to have fun?

Let's say the expensive luxury car that's the star of our video turns out to be the biggest car on the road, a giant SUV.  From the list above, which group(s) do you think will be interested in it, and which would not?  I'd say the guys who want to show off their success would be interested in the 2013 Guzzler, and possibly also those who just want to have fun.  Given the car's gas consuming nature, the Greens aren't going to like it very much. 

Many of the videos I produce involve heavily regulated industries.  They may be my client, or my client may provide services to these industries.  At the moment, I'm working on such a video, and I've been thinking a lot about the people who work in this industry.  What are their concerns?  How did they get into the business?  And how do they feel about recent calls for even more stringent regulations? 

Well, I think these people are proud of their work.  They're responsible.  I suspect they're quite nervous, maybe even scared that increasing regulation might drive them out of business.  

So the video I'll make for my client will appeal to the audience's attitudes.  We'll respect their pride, and acknowledge their responsible behavior.  We'll relate to their love for the product, and even try to allay their fears.

In the end, we'll produce a video that speaks directly to the needs of the audience.  We've taken the time to learn who they are and what they care about.  That's step four to creating a successful video. 

Next, we'll talk about The Pitch as we explore the fourth question of the Pagano Video Method.  See you then!

Best,

Fred Pagano

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Brown Cow Studios of Boston helps businesses of all types

tell their unique stories.  What's your story?  Let us tell the world.

Call us at (617) 230-4019 or visit http://www.BrownCowStudios.com.

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Copyright 2013 Fred Pagano & Brown Cow Studios of Boston.  All rights reserved.  This copyrighted article may be redistributed provided all text, credits, and this copyright notice are intact.  Please let us know you've linked to us.

5-1/2 Questions to Ask Before Producing a Video: The Pagano Video Method

5-1/2 Questions to Ask Before Producing a Video: The Pagano Video Method - Part Two

Who are You?

Question 1 in the Pagano Video Method:
Who are you?

Welcome back to my multi-part series, 5-1/2 Questions to Ask Before Producing a Video:  The Pagano Video Method.  These are the questions I ask my clients when they approach me about producing a video.  The answers provide insight into the client's goals, needs, and purpose, and help me as the producer to make intelligent choices during the production process. 

Although I'm concentrating on corporate videos in this article, the five-and-a-half questions of the Pagano Video Method can be applied just as effectively to your home videos about vacations, birthdays, and even your kids' college application videos.  The five big questions are always the same. 

Question 1:  Who are You? (Part One)

We kick off our five-and-a-half questions with what I think is the most important question of all.  It's so important that we ask it twice:  Who are you?  Though this question may seem  simple, and you might think you already know the answer, don't be so sure.  Take the time to answer it and its sub-questions completely.  You'll gain valuable insight. Here's why:

When actors prepare for a new role, they often create a backstory for their characters.  Although the script might describe the character Julie as "a confident, pretty, single woman in her 20s who is trying to make a living as an artist," actors know this description isn't detailed enough.  They compensate for the lack of detail by creating their own story about the character they portray.  This backstory could go back as far as the character's childhood and may describe where they grew up, their family, personal style, and even key incidents in their lives:

Julie is a 20-year old brunette.  Most people would consider her pretty, but she wasn't always so.  She grew up with a hooked nose, a rather large one at that, and it always made her self-conscious.  She was a plastic surgery success story, because following the operation she had two years ago, she began to like herself more, others found her more attractive, and the dreaded "Mama Hooknose" taunts she had endured through childhood ceased ... 

Wow!  That's a lot of information we didn't have before.  Now we know that Julie's confidence is due to an action she took two years ago -- getting plastic surgery.  We also know that before the surgery her peers teased and taunted her for her funny nose.  They even called her "Mama Hooknose."  None of this is in the script, but it will come out in the actor's portrayal of the character.

The back story gives actors knowledge they need to make the characters come to life.  It's a window into why the character thinks and acts a certain way and what its little foibles and personality quirks might be.   Though Julie is a confident young woman, something inside might still bristle whenever someone tells her that she has an excellent sense of smell. 

And so it is with video.  To make a great video, whatever the subject matter or purpose is, we need an answer the question "who are you?"  We need your back story. 

So, who are you? 

To answer that question, we ask more questions:

• What business are you in? 
• How long have you been at it?
• What's your primary service or product?
• Who uses it?
• What other products or services do you offer?
• How did you get involved in this business?
• Who are your competitors?  The biggest?  The up-and-comers?  The one who most makes you nervous?
• What successes have you had?
• What have you done that hasn't been so successful?
• What problems are there?
• What opportunities exist?
• What do you value?  Customer service?  Profits?  Providing a service or product that improves people's lives? Something else?
• What is your mission?
• And finally, can you describe your company in fifty words or less?

You can probably think of many more questions to ask yourself that will drive you to answer the big question, "Who are you?"  Ask them!

When you're done, you'll have your backstory.  Though it may not overtly come into play in the video that introduces your new widget, the knowledge of who you are will be there, lurking in the background and influencing a myriad of factors that go into a successful video -- specific word choices in the script, camera angles, background music, even whether you are best served by animation or live action. 

That's the first question in the Pagano Video Method.  It's not limited to just corporate videos, either.  You can apply my method to videos about your wedding, family vacation, Aunt Edna's 70th birthday party, or anything else.

Learn your back story.  Ask the big question, "Who are You?" 

Come back next week for a discussion of the next question in the Pagano Video Method, "What do you do?"

Thanks for reading!

 Fred Pagano

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Don't want to wait for the next article in this series?  Get it from the horse's mouth:  Learn more about the Pagano Video Method and how it can help you produce great videos direct from the source.  Contact Fred Pagano at Brown Cow Studios today!  

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Copyright 2013 Fred Pagano & Brown Cow Studios of Boston.  All rights reserved.  This copyrighted article may be redistributed provided all text, credits, and this copyright notice are intact.  Please let us know you've linked to us. 

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Video Needs an Emotional Connection

My favorite TV show of this year's spring/summer season has to be The Next Food Network Star.  Last night the winner was announced, and while watching I found myself so invested in the show’s characters that I was moved to tears.

I don't usually do this, but throughout the season I found myself logging onto the Food Network website and voting for young chef, Justin Warner.

Justin's back story about his deceased father’s mentoring and encouragement to follow his own unique drummer struck a powerful chord in me.  As I heard him tell of his father's influence I found myself getting teary eyed.

But Justin wasn't the only Food Star contestant to move me.  Another, Yvan Lemoine, moved me with tales of his immigrant family gathering food from dumpsters behind supermarkets. "We would peel off the outer leaves and eat the rest — and I thought it was fun!  It was like a game," he said.  "And now I'm on Food Network Star!"And I thought my life was tough ...

Jake Harris of the FV Cornelia Marie

Here's another example, this time from The Deadliest Catch.  The character that moves me:  Jake Harris.  Drug problems.  Rehab.  When his father passes away, he and his brother try to carry on the family tradition of crab fishing.  Since neither is a qualified sea captain, they hire a skipper and work for him — even though they own the boat!  But it's bad fishing and clearly the hired captain is a bad fit, so the brothers let him go.  The captain's final act?  Revenge!  He calls the police on his former employer and tries to get him arrested for drug possession.

Every episode, my heart goes out to Jake.  I want him to triumph!

Great shows, both, that do well in the ratings.  Compelling.  Involving.  Powerful entertainment that hooks us right in.

So what's my point?   It's that great video has to tug on our emotions.  Whether you love the characters or hate them does not matter.  What matters is that you get emotionally involved.  Any video that can reach us on such a deeply personal level is sure to be a success.

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How do your videos make an emotional connection?  Your comments and links to this page are welcome and appreciated!

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Need to make an emotional connection to your viewers?  We can help!

Contact us at www.BrownCowStudios.com to learn more.