Video is everything in advertising right now. This is true in every avenue. But it must be a good video. If not, your reader will not just stop watching they will stop reading. Read on for some useful information to get you top-grade video.
Andy Stickel: Hey, everybody. Andy Stickel here today. I brought in our social media manager Chris Vander Kaay to show you one really, really cool trick that’s going to make your videos more interesting and more effective. Check it out.
Chris Vander Kaay: Hey, everybody. It’s Chris Vander Kaay from Social Firestarter. I get a lot of people who ask me a very specific question, which is, “There’s a piece of information that I have and I want to share it with people. But because it’s a legal situation, it’s very detailed. Sometimes, it’s a little bit abstract. And it’s not necessarily the most compelling thing in the world for people to want to listen to. But it’s very important. And if people understood that and they understood what it meant, they would be very interested in what I had to say.
How do I create a story that is very compelling? And how do I create a hook that will get people to want to pay attention to what I’m saying so that by the time they get to the thing that’s very important to them they’re still listening?” I get that question a lot and so I decided I would write the answer on this card. And so I did. On this side of the card, I wrote the answer to that question. And I’m going to hold this while we talk. And at the end of this, I’m going to turn around and I’m going to show you the answer. Okay? So you’re going to get the answer by the end of this. Now, the first thing I want to do before I do that. There’s actually only one thing I want to do. I want to tell you a word and I’m going to give the definition of that word and then it’ll explain why the answer on this card is helpful to you. Okay? The word is MacGuffin. If you’ve ever heard of it before, It’s something that they use in the film. It’s a term that they use for a specific kind of thing in a film. And what that thing is… I’m going to give you an example. Right? If you’ve ever seen a spy movie – you’ve seen a Mission Impossible movie, right – there’s usually some kind of a case. Right? There’s a disc, maybe, that somebody has lost and they have to get it back or there’s a case full of some sort of technology that someone has stolen and they have to get it before such and such happens. Right? Whatever that object is, that is the MacGuffin. But what does that mean? What is the MacGuffin? Alfred Hitchcock invented it years ago, probably back in the 30s. And it’s basically a term that means a thing that is an excuse to get action moving. In the story, ultimately, it doesn’t matter what’s inside of that case or what’s on that disc. It’s really not important. The goal in the story is you want them to be interested in what’s that case or what’s on that disc. Because if they are, they’re going to pay attention to everything else that happens in that movie. And if we’re being honest, ultimately, it doesn’t matter all that much. I’ve recently watched one of the Mission Impossible movies. You know what I remember about that movie? I remember a scene where somebody tore their face off and they were actually Tom Cruise underneath. I remember a scene where he was hanging off the side of an airplane. You know what I don’t remember? What was inside the case. I have no idea what was inside the case anymore. But I had a good time watching that movie. And that was the hook that made me sit through the movie. It was, “What’s going to happen with that thing that they have?” That’s a MacGuffin. And that is one of your most powerful tools in being able to tell a story. Figuring out what your hook is, what your MacGuffin is means you’re going to provide a serious suspenseful thing at the beginning that they’re going to want an answer to. And they’re going to wait around in an attempt to get that answer. And in waiting around to get that, they will be provided with something important. Right? It’s almost like saying that you’re going to get dessert after you eat your vegetables. Except in this case, we’re not doing it so obviously. Right? We’re not saying, “Here’s the thing you can’t have until…” We’re saying, “Here’s the thing you do get to have.” And then as you’re showing it to them, you’re also giving them other important pieces of information. If you have something that’s legally complicated to explain or something that’s a little bit more detailed, if you’ve already offered them the answer before you go into the detail on what it is that they’re going to get, they’re going to stick around just like, as you’ve been watching this video, you’ve been waiting to see the answer on the back of this card. And the thing is I already gave you the answer. It was just a little bit more complicated to explain than what I could write on the card. So when I actually turn this card around and I show you the answer, the thing is that it doesn’t matter anymore. Because by the time I show you this, it doesn’t matter what’s on the card. You already had the answer. It took me a little longer to tell you. But that’s the framework that we create. Give them something to expect, something to look forward to and then they’re hooked and waiting and listening until you get to the reveal of the thing. And then, secretly, you’ve already revealed the thing.
