Distribution and Why It's Important

When I first come to a conversation about people interested in hiring me for a video gig, the biggest question is always "How much is the video going to cost?" Quickly followed by a variety of these questions: "What camera are you going to use?" "What do you use to edit?" "Can it look like this?" All of the latter are valid questions but they aren't really important in the big scheme of things.

By now you know your business has to have some sort of online presence. If you're not online, then this article is going to be much help. You might also be aware that video content is extremely helpful in boosting SEO rankings, holding longer audience retention on your page, and supporting higher conversion in e-commerce sales. But what's not talked about enough is the distribution of this content. Distribution is defined as how your content is delivered to your audience through certain media platforms. People view most commercial video content on television and social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube among many others.

When it comes to distribution of your content, you need to think about where your specific audience lives. Maybe your commercial is better suited to be viewed on Facebook rather than television or Youtube more than Instagram, all because of the different people and how they react on each platform. You can build an audience for your brand or business in one of two unique ways. Organic followers of through paid traffic. Both are effective. While neither guarantee you certain results, only one gives you a real look into whats happening.

This is where distribution through digital marketing is a huge advantage because you can virtually say who and how often someone gets to see your video. You can target certain demographics like sex, age, race, geographical location, etc. Just that alone is huge in today's visually crowded and over stimulating world.

The biggest importance of distribution is that when it's properly done, it's a huge component, possibly the most important, when it comes to the success of your video ad. Below are two different ads I created for two different companies. Watch them to see the differences and we'll discuss how distribution affected both.

You can see the obvious differences in the two spots. The Align spot was filmed in two locations on a single afternoon with basic lighting, audio gear, small crew and a minimal budget around $3,000. It's not the best thing I've ever created visually. The DWD Protocol spot was filmed over the course of two days at several locations, had a full crew, way better lighting and audio packages, and a budget of $20,000. Its beautiful and emotional. They are both great spots with one same goal in mind: to boost sales. However, they are very different besides the obvious image technicalities.

Align is a direct response commercial designed to get people to act fast by calling in to schedule a consulting session and purchase a diet program assisted with extensive testing. The DWD protocol spot is a brand narrative spot designed to introduce a new product to a colder audience about how a natural diet plan can help rid the symptoms of Type-2 Diabetes. Align's spots were distributed in two ways: on local television channels in the Charlotte, NC area as we as online ads through Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. The DWD Protocol was spot on and was strictly limited to Facebook Ads.

Here's where distribution came into play. The Align spot made the company $80,000 in sales in a 3 month time period. The DWD Protocol spot made less than $5,000 in the same amount of time. Now you might be thinking, "what the hell?" The DWD spot is clearly better in terms of production quality but the factor that came into play the most for its lack of success was the distribution behind it. It simply wasn't distributed properly. The audience was there but there wasn't enough traffic behind it. Facebook at the time was going through very strict protocols for what they allowed to be advertised on the site which hurt the campaign. But at the end of the day there wasn't enough money behind the campaign to make it successful. So just like that, a $20,000 was essentially a waste of money.

The Align spot was properly distributed through its online traffic. The company researched what was working for their audience and they capitalized on it big time. They targeted customers through age, gender, location, and related search terms through social media platforms. While you can reach specific audiences through digital marketing, which grows bigger everyday, Align also knew their audience was also watching local television which helped the campaign tremendously.

A couple things to note. Both companies spent money on ads to promote their spots. The ALIGN spots were just better managed. So the lesson to learn here is that you and your business can have the best commercial ever. It can be the best looking, shiniest, action packed spot money can buy. In fact, you can spend an unlimited amount of money essentially on the production, but if no one ever sees it or more importantly, if the right audience doesn't see it, then it's almost worthless.

So the next time you're looking to hire someone to create a commercial for your business, spend less time thinking about "how pretty" something is going to look. A successful ad has to have the right message, great execution in its production, and the right distribution.

The Business of Emotion

“Feel good Make you feel good I'm looking for emotion So I know just what to show you I can see you See your answers This business of emotion Yeah I know just what to show you, baby”

- Big Data "The Business of Emotion"

If you haven't checked out the song, please do. It's amazing. Big Data plays on the fact that while social media and digital marketing can be intrusive and a violation of the privacy of civilians, it is extremely effective.

In this article, I want to examine why emotion should be at the forefront of everything you create for your business or brand, especially its supporting content. People buy things based on their fears and desires. We think logically in all sorts of decisions in our lives but how many times do we act logically? In short, there's actually quite a large amount of us who like to think we make our decisions based on logic. However, we are emotional beings and even our biggest decisions like who we marry, where we go to school, what we do for a living, and especially big financial decisions are based on how we feel about those things.

When promoting your product, brand, or business, no matter what it does for people it should focus on the emotional state of the customer after that service is completed. Let's say you are a hairstylist. Your potential customers definitely want to see the amazing results you gave your previous clients. But they really want to see how other people feel after they've gone to you. Did they gain more confidence at work? Did they pick up more dates? Do they just feel happier? What do they say about you and how your brand has changed their lives? These are the things that really matter. A great commercial that really drives emotion home is the following Duracell spot.

Man...when his hearing is clearer for the first time in the doctor's office and he looks over at his wife...cue the tears. This is excellent execution of providing a clear benefit for the use of the product AND how it changes someone's life after using it.

And emotion doesn't always have to be sad or heartfelt or nostalgic. The emotion behind a commercial can be humorous or courageous. Emotion, whether happy, sincere, or anything in between, is how we connect with others. It's why you remember certain things in your childhood while forgetting most of everything else. It's why you remember that product or that commercial during the super bowl that year. It's how you connect with your audience. Be real. Be authentic. Be emotionally conscious. It's important and it shouldn't be taken lightly.

The Art of Authenticity

There's a fine balance between selling yourself and being yourself. A constant assessment of what is appropriate to the audience you are trying to reach along with what is truthful to your own identity. I am constantly asking myself the question, "Do I believe this?" Some days the thought drives me into some of my best work, while on others it paralyzes me into a humbled submission. I like to think that all the work I create has some form of my authentic self attached to it. Even the formulated edits or scripts mapped out by my clients have my personal touch to them. Then again, there are times when I have looked back at a video or photo and knew I didn't have anything invested in it. It was solely created for money and nothing else.

Don't get me wrong, I like easy money as much as the next entrepreneur. And I enjoy the easier projects that don't require too much of my energy when I am generally disinterested in them. But I do love a good project that I know will help pay the bills and feed my soul. They don't come around as often as their counterparts and maybe they shouldn't. Maybe their absence makes them special. I think every great artist's ideal scenario would be to make a fortune while making a lasting impact. It isn't impossible, people do it everyday. And thats always been my attitude when seeking my next project or job. How close can I get to that ideal scenario before having to say...okay?