It’s Viral, It’s Video Storytelling – Live Visuals Rule

For a period in human history, all we had were spoken words.

Later we learned to communicate through written symbols and today it seems the most preferred communication medium is words shared through video.

Great customer experience brands are not only “visual storytellers” but they are supporting their customers as those brand loyalists visually communicate about their brand journey.

Let’s start with some numbers on the sheer power of video today. Thanks to livestream.com we know:

81% of internet and mobile users watched more video in 2016 than 2015.

45% of live video audiences would pay for live, exclusive, on-demand video from a favorite team, speaker, or performer.

YouTube reports mobile video consumption rises 100% each and every year.

If you have video on your retail site your likely to increase conversion by 30%.

Not only is video essential to the human experience but live streaming video is captivating more attention than video on demand (VOD). According to livestream.com:

Average time spent on VOD on mobile is 2.8 minutes and 3.5 minutes for live streams.

Average time spent on live streaming video on tablets is 7.1 minutes versus 4.1 minutes for VOD.

Average time spent on live streaming video on desktop computers is 34.5 minutes versus 2.6 minutes for VOD.

According to Tubular Insights, viewers spend 8x longer with live video than on-demand: 5.1 minutes for on-demand vs. 42.8 minutes for live video content.

It’s also important to remember that excellence in experience creation often involves celebrating and amplifying the video storytelling of your customers. This is evidenced by the supportive and responsive video provided by Kohl’s following the record-breaking Facebook LIVE post by Chewbacca Mom – Candace Payne. (Just in case you missed it or if you just need to hear that infectious laugh again – of course, I provided a link to VIDEO below.)

Without missing a beat, Kohl’s (which was mentioned as the store where Candace bought her personal gift – the Chewbacca mask) added to her story by videotaping a surprise gift run to her home. The Kohl’s employees were loaded down with Chewbacca masks for all of Candace’s family members and a generous $2,500 bounty of Kohl’s gift cards. (To see VIDEO of Kohls visual storytelling amplification – click the link below.)


Ecclesiastes 3 notes, “To everything, there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven”.

In modern communication parlance – we are deep in the season of video storytelling.

How effectively are you using the visual medium, particularly live video, to connect, celebrate, and amplify the stories of your customers?

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Joseph A. Michelli, Ph.D. is a professional speaker and chief experience officer at The Michelli Experience. A New York Times #1 bestselling author, Dr. Michelli and his team consult with some of the world’s best customer experience companies.

Follow on Twitter: @josephmichelli

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