Today's Guest

Ben Oliver and Justin Plant first met in 2012 when Ben was hired as a freelance videographer. After hiring each other back and forth on projects for a few years, they finally decided to join forces and launch Storyboard Media in January of 2014. Ben’s career in the video industry began with a lie. At the time he was consulting small, home-based startups when one of his clients asked if he knew how to edit video. Desperate for more billable hours, he lied and said, “Yes.” Three editing projects later, he knew he had stumbled upon his calling. Ben shares how businesses can use video to create trust with buyers and engage them early on in the buyer journey.

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Episode Summary

When Justin and I started the company our background was videography and naturally we wanted to shoot, edit, and script the best videos possible. However, what we learned when we followed up with clients 6-months later is that often they had either not used the video or only used it in a small way. The bottom line was even if they were a raving fan of the video they didn’t have a strategy on how to use it to grow their business. The connection we made was creating great videos but ignoring the strategy wasn’t going to generate the repeat business we needed to grow.

So we started asking clients what they wanted the video to do for their business, it was like a deer in headlights. Which made it clear to us we needed to help our clients make the connection between the creative element of a video and the business impact. Over time that evolved into our seven-phase approach to creating an impactful video that drives value to the business. We position ourselves as a video agency vs. a video production company because we take a more consultative approach to help our clients understand the business impact.

No matter your business type or size videos have become almost an expectation from consumers. The reason videos are so powerful is the show and tell aspect that helps people connect with the message. There is nothing wrong with shooting a basic video on your smartphone and getting it out there because you don’t have the budget for a larger production. It will do more to help your business grow than doing nothing. Where we make a big difference for clients is when they realize videos are going to be a key part of their strategy and they need help fitting them all together seamlessly.

I came across some research that said, today prospective buyers are 83% of the way through the buyer's journey before they even contact a business. That is due to the vast amount of information that is available online and buyers are self-educating. Thus, content that reaches buyers during the awareness stage of the buyer's journey is critical to positioning your business as the one to solve their problem when they reach the decision stage. People are interested in learning how the work gets done, sure some may watch the video and try to do it themselves but when they get stuck or they realize they don’t have the desire to do it, you are the person they are most likely to call.

Resources Shared

• Storyboard Media Co
• The Video Reformation Podcast
• Rework by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
  

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