Let’s get visual this time with a selection of clips that should twerk your Fusiform Facial area. Online video has been feted for years and its latest incarnation is as ‘content marketing’ i.e. the radical notion that by making something useful, people will want to visit your website (!). Here are a few examples of online video at work for both small and large budgets. And after all that, a cautionary tale of sorts.

We like video.

Susan Weinschenk, Ph.D. says there are four reasons we love video. As Forbes report:

• The Fusiform Facial area makes us pay attention to faces – this is an actual brain function that hard-wires us to use the human face as a gathering point for information and believability.
• Voice conveys rich information – yes, the simple sound of a human voice speaking to us has an amazing way of converting information into meaningful content.
• Emotions are contagious – here’s a subtle but powerful aspect that we may take for granted. The body language of emotions is an appealing and we naturally love to share.
• Movement grabs attention – another trait that runs deep in our collective anthropological DNA is the power of peripheral motion. Since the stone age, we’ve survived by noticing things in motion – looks like we still do!

So, with all that, and the boggling realisation that YouTube is the number two search engine in the world, here’s a selection of videos that do different things very well. Some are creative and some are businesses promoting themselves (although that can be creative too of course…).

All of them work.

Content, content, content (and hair). I’m not entirely sure what Marie Forleo does to make a living, but she has established herself as an online guru for people developing a business. The production values are dialled up (and I suspect, because it is so flawless, her hair is a Pixar creation) but the advice is solid. So regardless of budget, make sure you have something to say.

Should You Open The Kimono: 3 Ways To Deal With Industry Competition via MarieForleo.com

We like animations and humour too. This short clip from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation cleverly addresses a dirty topic: how best to think differently about sanitation in the developing world. As the top comment says, ‘let’s get our shit together and do it…’.

Can you keep it real? There are hundreds of accountancy firms that will do those unglamourous spreadsheets for you. How do you choose one? This firm uses short, authentic and effective testimonials as a kind of digital word of mouth. Simple.

via RBS Chartered Accountants, London.

Establish authority. Another way to go (as long you actually have the insights!) is to establish yourself as an authority in your sector. I contribute content for yourBusinessChannel whose service involves creating online channels that feature short clips of expertise from movers and shakers in a particular industry. A company or individual partners with yBC to place themselves at the core of a whole host of industry insight. Clever.

Here’s their Hospitality Channel.

But don’t stay behind your screen all the time buying things…

Shimi Cohen’s arresting animated clip examines the connection between social media and loneliness. I share therefore I am…

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Enda Guinan is a consultant and trainer offering advice on social media and product delivery for individuals and small businesses. Get in touch to see how you can make the best use of your time and energy as you put together your social media plans.