You probably don’t realize it, but when you watch business videos you’re triggering all types of chemical reactions in your brain and body. From when those animations first hit your retina to the animated call-to-action at the end, you’re experiencing the content in a way that text cannot compare to.
We already know that video is more exciting than text, but let’s talk about what’s going on in the noggin when you’re watching video. So go ahead and watch the video above if you haven’t already, orif you don’t want to kickstart those visual reactions in your head, read on below for 6 scientific reasons why video is the best way to connect with your audience.
1. MEMORY STORAGE
First off, visuals are stored in your “long term memory bank”, which has more space than your short term one. This makes a video for your business more likely to stick with the viewer down the line.
So, if a prospective customer is weighing you against the competition, a homepage video may work better when they’re making a final decision or proposing different options to their boss. There are a lot of ways to stand out, but corporate video tucks itself away better than the written word.
2. PROCESSING SPEED
Not only do visuals last longer in the brain, they’re processed a lot faster on the front end too. In fact, visuals are processed 60,000 times faster in the brain than text is. That means you can pack a lot more content into video than text, because your viewer’s brain can handle the workload.
Although that processing speed is impressive, don’t try to push the human brain too much in your explainer video. People shouldn’t feel like they’re working hard when watching your video.
3. PROCESSING LOCATION
So, visuals are processed faster but how will that better connect with the audience’s feelings? Well, visual memory is encoded in the brain’s medial temporal lobe, the same place where emotions are processed. That makes it easier to strike a nerve…literally.
While people are processing your video at such high speeds, they’re also connecting with the material on a human level and attaching emotions to what they’re seeing on screen. So, use that to your advantage. At Demo Duck, we’re always thinking about the story we’re trying to tell and the emotion we’re looking to evoke from our audience, since we know viewers will always have a visceral reaction to business video.
4. GREAT CONNECTIVITY
Speaking of which, 40 percent of nerve fibers to the brain are connected to the retina. It’s like an expressway of info from your eyeballs to your brain cells. Considering that our brain essentially powers our entire body, that’s a lot of nerve fiber real estate dedicated to our eyes.
5. VISUAL LEARNING
That connectivity is a big reason why 90 percent of all information that comes to the brain is visual. That leaves a pretty small amount for non-visual info. This is a big reason why it’s estimated that 65% of people are considered “visual learners.”
If the majority of people prefer to learn through visuals, why not produce an explainer video to connect with them. Whether your video has narration or not, these visual learners will appreciate a well executed video to help them better understand your message.
6. KEEPING FOCUS
Video doesn’t mean you can just pile any visuals into your 60 second project and make a meaningful connection with your audience. For example, when off-topic graphics appear on screen learners will subconsciously try to figure out the message and reason for the image – getting distracted without really knowing it.
Try to craft visuals that make sense to the narration or core content, so that viewers stay keen to what you’re saying. It’s okay to have viewer’s connect some of the dots, but don’t just throw in a random character because you think it’s cute or force viewers to do too much. You’re no Stanley Kubrick.
CONCLUSION
Given the above facts and figures, it’s obvious that video needs to be an essential part of your business. This shouldn’t be limited to your homepage, you can use video across your customer’s entire buying journey.
So, if you haven’t yet, maybe now’s the time to experiment with some video for your busines whether it is a customer testimonial video or educational video.
REFERENCES
https://www.eyeqinsights.com/power-visual-content-images-vs-text/
http://info.shiftelearning.com/blog/bid/350326/Studies-Confirm-the-Power-of-Visuals-in-eLearning