gelatin without whipped cream
Do you like jelly? It’s okay, I guess; I mean it’s not a hot fudge sundae is it? But if you add some whipped cream to it, then, my friend, you have something worth calling dessert. My question to you is, does your website have something extra, that dollop of whipped cream on top that says, “Oh Mom, let me do it,” or just squirms on your plate to the sound of Peggy Lee’s voice? . ringing in your ears, “is that all there is?”
If your website lets you down, you need something that provides the ‘eureka factor’ and that can be provided with a creative and informative Web-video.
The Chicago Bulls without Michael Jordan
How the powerful have fallen, at least in terms of brand personality. I mean, isn’t it like the stink of the Chicago Bulls? It’s just that without MJ it’s not the Chicago Bulls of yore. When Michael played, we all saw him, he was magical, not only was he a great basketball player, he had a great personality and he brought his character to the team; No Michael, no personality.
Is your website like the new Chicago Bulls, a talented group of players with skills but no singular personality? It’s time for an injection of humanity, add a web video with a unique character presenter that can generate some buzz and establish your unique business personality.
television without sound
You’re watching your favorite TV show, say CSI, the one in Las Vegas, not the one in Miami, and the phone rings. it’s your mother You turn down the volume on the TV so you can hear it but you keep watching the show. You love your mom, but Grissom just discovered a new killer miniature clue and you need to know what’s going on, but your mom keeps saying your dad needs new dentures or something… Frustrating. No audio, no information.
Does your website have the same effect as watching TV without sound? It is there, people visit you, but they leave without receiving your message. It’s time to add some life to your presentation in the form of a web video that tell your story out loud.
words without meaning
Have you ever reread someone’s website copy multiple times and still can’t figure out what the heck they’re trying to tell you, or maybe you understand every word but still can’t figure out what they’re selling?
Words have meaning, they are meant to convey a message, not hide it. A lousy video script is no better than a lousy print copy. Your web audience has no patience for nonsense masquerading as information or for text and dialogue that says nothing in as many words as possible in an effort to attract search engines. words have meaningsay them with style and deliver them with conviction.
The Rhythm Without Rhythm
Have you ever sat at a wedding and watched people dance? There are the people who know how to move, how to respond to their partners and communicate with the slightest gesture or movement. And then there are the others who seem to have something gross stuck to the bottom of their shoes and are desperately trying to get it off.
If you want to communicate with your audience, you must use all available techniques. Communication is more than just a copy, your voice, gesture, movement and meaningful dialogue.
romance without kisses
Ah… the first kiss, something special that can seal a relationship or make it bitter forever. Your landing page is like that first hug. Is yours as exciting as it could be, or is he like the guy who spends their entire first date talking about his double-booking skills?
A well-crafted and expertly presented marketing message is like a seduction; If you’re not generating excitement, don’t expect to generate sales either. Boring mission statement gibberish and keyword-laden verbiage are not the same as engaging video. A compelling business story, well told, is like a juicy, wet story planted right on the lips of your audience.
A joke without a punchline
Everyone likes a funny story. A good joke is nothing more than a short story with a montage, an escalation, and a twist, but the real key to a good story lies in the storytelling. Even comedians with second-rate material can make their audience howl if they know how to deliver their material.
It’s all very well to repeat the mantra, “websites are all about the content,” but if that content isn’t delivered with a certain flair and panache, don’t expect anyone to pay much attention to it.
A song without a hook
Hit songs are highly structured stories with verses that function as chapters or acts, and a chorus that provides the hook that sticks in the audience’s head. Add a tapping rhythm and some instrumental flourishes and you’ve got something people will listen to over and over again.
Does that sound like your website presentation? Are people willing to come back to your site just to see your presentation, or does your website leave visitors with the impression, ‘I was there, I did that’?
information without knowledge
Just because you’re in business doesn’t mean you have to be boring. And just because you’re spewing a lot of facts, figures, and bullet points on your web pages doesn’t mean you’re making a compelling case for someone to buy your stuff.
Web audiences demand more. If you don’t give it to them, you can be sure someone else will, like perhaps your competition.
purposeless interactivity
Can we all stop and take a breath and think about all this interactivity stuff? Let’s all get interactive, why? I mean, what is interactivity anyway? Are you developing a hugely expensive game that people can play on your website to avoid work, or are you getting them to click the “Tell me more” button?
I vote for the interactivity that leads to opening a dialogue with a potential customer, one that makes visitors pick up the phone and call you to discuss their needs, not the one that generates a “Game Over” message. Of course, that assumes you’re willing to talk to customers.
Frequency Without Resonance
I liked vinegar on my fries, ok that’s weird I admit, but the Dutch like mayonnaise on theirs even weirder. I once had a chef at a Tucson restaurant come out of the kitchen and confront me when I asked the waiter for vinegar (it’s a Canadian thing). The chef came to the table and asked who ordered the vinegar. I raised my hand reluctantly. “You must be from Canada,” he said, “I’m from Victoria, where are you from?”
Good advertising is all about delivering a message that resonates with your audience. It doesn’t matter how many times you run an ad if that ad doesn’t impress your audience. You can’t be afraid to be creative or even a little weird.
humor without laughter
Dr. Max Sutherland in his ezine report, “False Alarm Theory: How Humorous Ads Work” describes how laughter is a residual hard-wired mechanism that evolved in our ape days as an ‘all clear’ signal. once a danger had passed. The “all clear” message is passed from one ape to the next, until the entire pack screams with the ecstasy of survival.
Some guy slips on a banana and breaks his neck, that’s not funny. A guy slips on a banana, jumps up and looks around to see if anyone saw him, that’s funny. Humor is based on creating a certain feeling of uncertainty or tension that is eventually alleviated with a humorous punch line or a comforting resolution. The safe or funny resolution creates a chain reaction in the audience that states: “Hey guys, everything is fine, everything is back to normal.”
Without tension there can be no relief, no opportunity for an entertaining resolution that creates a cascading viral reaction among your audience. So don’t expect your website to be passed on to friends and colleagues unless you deliver a compelling presentation that offers an opportunity to signal to the rest of the world that all is well.
