It is my belief that the human brain is story-orientated, rendered as such by evolution.  Long before the rise of the printing press, people communicated using the narrative. Through a visual approach, people shared ideas, news and stories.  Effective digital marketing is just that – the telling of a story.

The story-telling medium: ‘Explainer’ videos

Investors are drawn to a vision, a visual stimulation. Therefore, the most successful means of marketing anything these days is via video. The notion of the ‘explainer’ video, to be exact. We are so conditioned to communicate using story-telling as a medium that people tend to respond well when they come across such a form of advertising.

A perfect example of these ‘explainer’ videos can be found on Kickstarter. Kickstarter, is an initiative that provides people with an alternative means to source funding for fresh, creative projects. It makes use of Crowdfunding, which has indeed become a mainstream model for fundraising. No more endless applications for loans from the bank!

A brilliant model – but then there is the factor of convincing people to invest in your brainchild. When submitting your project on the site, Kickstater will recommend that you add a video to your post, to increase its appeal. The video grabs the audience’s attention by incorporating the following characteristics into its presentation:

1. The video is narrated
2. It is interactive
3. It emphasizes the concept’s uniqueness
4. It is demonstrative
5. It is attention-grabbing
6. Throughout, the video holds an inspirational undertone
7. The message is short and to the point, no longer than 3 minutes

The reach of the ‘explainer’ video

This video not only explains your concept to investors, but it is also a source of innovation. Kickstarter is a site used by journalists who are looking for fresh ideas and new technology to report on. This brings forth a free form of marketing – if your story is interesting enough. 

Some Kickstarter statistics:

• 5.9 Million people have backed Kickstarter projects.
• 1.8 million of those have backed more than one project.
• 199 000 people have even invested in 10 or more projects.
• To date, around 55 000 projects have been funded successfully.

It is because of Kickstarter’s high success rate and its vast reach, that one may use it as the metaphorical launchpad of the ‘explainer’ video. One of the website's most striking success stories is that of the Pebble: E-Paper Watch for iPhone and Android. Your mobile phone -in a wristwatch.  The California-based inventors of this concept listed their brainchild, set a goal for the funding they required and posted a video explaining the benefits of the watch.  68 929 People backed the idea and the total of $10,266,845 needed to fund the development of the watch, was collected. They originally pledged a goal of $100 000.

Food for thought

Muse upon the fruitfulness of the ‘explainer’ video. Ought every page on your website not to have a video that sums-up the contents of the page? Would that not add to the appeal of your website, upping its ranking and increasing its reach?

Mobile Browsers Prefer Video Content



Sound Idea Digital is a full service digital marketing agency that specialises in content marketing | www.soundidea.co.za | info@soundidea.co.za