Ever heard that old saying, a picture's worth a thousand words?
Yeah, definitely.
Well, get ready to toss that out the window.
Why?
Because we're diving into this article today,
and it claims video is like a million times more powerful.
Oh, wow.
Seriously, we're talking about multimedia plus.
I've heard of them, yeah.
Yeah, they're all about video for businesses,
especially with this Insight platform they have.
Right.
Full disclosure, though, we are working with their stuff.
OK.
So, you know, maybe take it with a grain of salt.
Sure, I get it.
But they actually say, this is from Forrester, apparently,
they say one minute of video.
You ready for this?
Hit me.
1.8 million words.
Whoa.
1.8 million.
I don't even know if that's possible.
What do you think?
That's quite the statement.
I mean, it's obviously not literally 1.8 million words.
But I think it gets at something interesting.
Like, how we actually experience video
is totally different than just reading.
You know, it's not just words on a page.
It's visuals.
It's sound.
Sometimes it's even text on the screen all at once.
Yeah.
Your brain's just way more engaged.
It's true.
When you really think about it, I
remember watching this nature documentary ages ago now.
It was only like an hour long.
OK.
But it had such incredible visuals, the music, the narration,
everything.
I felt like I walked away actually knowing so much more
than if I had just read a book about these animals.
Exactly.
It's that immersion.
Like, you get pulled into it.
It's not just cramming facts.
Right.
It's an experience.
And that's what makes it stick.
Speaking of sticking with you, Forbes says video gets 1,200%
more shares on social media than text and images combined.
That's huge.
That's not even a competition anymore.
Video is just dominating.
And you know, it makes sense when you really think about it.
We are hardwired to notice movement.
Oh, yeah.
Like, that's how humans made sense of the world way back
in the day.
And it's still there in how our brains work.
Interesting.
Video just taps into that instinct
in a way nothing else can.
It kind of makes you wonder if still images or text even
stand a chance anymore.
It is interesting, though, because Multimedia Plus actually
has some other articles about this whole video thing.
Yeah.
Some of them are pretty old, actually, like from 2019.
OK.
Talking about video for training employees and stuff.
And then there's this one from May this year
about engaging young retail workers, specifically, with video.
So clearly, they've been thinking about this for a while.
Yeah, they're definitely onto something there.
But I'm getting a sidetracked.
Let's get back to these stats.
HubSpot says a video on your landing page
can seriously increase how many people actually
follow through, you know?
Like, actually do the thing you want them to do.
Conversion.
Conversions, yeah.
Increase those by, get this, 80%.
That's massive.
It's huge.
I mean, what do you think?
Why is video such a powerhouse for persuasion?
I think part of it is just cutting through all the noise.
We are bombarded with information constantly.
Oh, yeah.
People scroll and scroll and scroll.
Attention spans are not existent.
Right.
But video, when it's done well, it
disquills information, makes it easy to grasp.
And then you're more likely to act on it.
And if you need more convincing,
why Zell's got your back?
Oh, yeah.
What did they find?
They said 84% of people, something like that,
have actually been convinced to buy something.
Wow.
Because of a brand's video.
It's powerful stuff.
It's wild, right?
It really makes you think.
It does.
I know I've gotten sucked in by those really good product
demos online.
Oh, really?
And then I'm hitting add to cart before I even
realize what I'm doing.
It's so easy to get caught up in it.
And it's not even always about the visuals, you know?
It's that emotional connection you get.
Oh, yeah.
Like a good video makes you feel something.
And text.
Text just can't do that in the same way.
Totally.
You can build empathy with video.
You can create a sense of urgency.
And that gets people to actually take action.
It's like the difference between reading about a place
and then actually going there.
Exactly.
Look, when you see it, when you experience it, you know,
the sounds, the visuals, it just hits different.
It sticks with you.
And that's what makes video such a powerful tool.
For pretty much anyone who's communicating, I guess.
Pretty much.
Whether it's businesses or, you know,
just making content online.
Absolutely.
So we've got engagement.
We've got things sticking with us.
We've got persuasion.
It sounds like video is like the magic solution to everything.
It's pretty amazing, that's for sure.
And remember that stat we were talking about earlier?
How we retain way more of what we watch in a video.
Oh, yeah.
Like 95% versus 10% or something crazy.
Right.
Huge difference.
Huge.
But it does make me wonder if it's this effective,
if it's this good at getting us to do things.
Like, are we at risk of being manipulated by it?
That's a really good point.
I mean, it is a powerful tool.
Yeah.
Like any tool.
It can be used in good ways and bad ways.
Right.
I think it just comes down to being aware,
being discerning about what we're watching.
So it's not just enough to passively watch anymore.
Right.
You've got to engage with it.
Be critical.
Absolutely.
Think about what you're seeing.
Ask yourself some questions.
Where's this information coming from?
What are they trying to get me to do?
Yeah.
That kind of thing.
And as it gets even more advanced,
we were talking about AI and stuff.
Oh, yeah.
It's going to get even harder to tell what's real.
Exactly.
Like with deep fakes, AI generated content.
It's crazy.
It's getting harder and harder.
It's like we need some kind of new set of skills
to deal with all this.
We do.
We need to be able to evaluate information critically,
figure out if it's even true.
Right.
Understand how it's all designed to influence us.
That's a lot.
It really makes you think, huh, all this video stuff.
It really does.
What's your biggest takeaway from all this?
Anything surprise you?
You know, it's easy to fixate on those big numbers
they throw around.
Like the 1.8 million words thing.
Yeah, exactly.
But for me, the big takeaway is just
how much video is changing the game.
Oh, OK.
Like how we communicate.
Oh, so.
It's not just about text anymore.
It's dynamic.
It's an experience.
It's true.
And video is leading the charge there.
Yeah.
And as video gets even more, I don't know,
high tech, sophisticated.
Like we were saying, we've got to be even more careful
about what we're seeing, what we're putting out there.
100%.
It's powerful stuff.
It is.
And it's on all of us to use it responsibly.
So what, like as viewers, what are we supposed to do?
You've got to think critically.
Question everything.
OK.
Think about where it's coming from.
What are they trying to get me to think, to feel, to buy?
It's like Multimedia Plus was saying,
with their whole insight platform,
they want to use video for good.
Yeah.
Right, for things like training.
Yeah, exactly.
But like you said, even then, you've
got to be aware of the power it has.
Exactly.
Because if you're not careful, it's easy to get manipulative.
Yeah.
It's a fine line.
It is.
But when it's done right, video has the potential
to be a real force for good.
It's true.
I like that.
So next time we're scrolling through videos,
got to keep all this in mind.
Absolutely.
Keep those critical thinking caps on.
Right.
Engage, question, think.
Who knows what you might discover.
That's it for this deep dive.
Thanks for listening.