Do videos need a specific structure?
I don’t want to force my videos into any old structure because I don’t want my videos to be the same as anybody else’s. I want them to stand out.
Why can’t I just tell it how it is?
The answer is simple:
All videos need structure. Unless, of course, you want to revolutionise the oldest art form mankind knows. Structure is the skeleton of storytelling. Try walking without your skeleton.
Now, all successful videos with the same type of purpose use the same type of structure as long as. It is the way you dress your skeleton that makes yours different. That is where the skill lies.
Since all stories have a beginning, a middle and an end, the question is how do we start our videos, how do we end it, and what do we put in the middle?
Rather than reinventing the wheel, we use the help of a famous dressmaker:
AIDA.
Just to avoid confusion, it’s AIDA from the marketer’s bible and not Verdi’s magnum opus.
What does AIDA tell us about structure?
We start our video with a hook that grabs our viewers’ attention.
We have to be fast, though. We have to be on message within 10 seconds otherwise we lose them.
Next comes the part where we develop the problem, and then we show them the solutions we offer.
For this, we use a tried and tested method.
We take a leaf out of the Hollywood playbook.
We make the problem really bad, and then we show our viewers the way out.
We give them three solutions.
Here is a little variation on the theme. If we can, we add an example, a specific case where our solution has worked wonders.
By the way, it is always three solutions. Don’t make it two or five.
It’s an age old, proven rule of rhetoric. Aristotle already explained why, and it has been true ever since. Just listen to politicians trying to explain something, especially those who are great speakers. It is always three solutions.
So far, we have taken care of the beginning of the story and of the middle.
We have shown our viewers the problem, that there is a solution, and what the solution could be. Now, we have to bring our story, our video to an end.
We bring our story to an and by showing our audience how we can help them.
How do we do this?
With our Call to Action!
We tell them to get in touch with us and how to do it.
That’s it.
Now our video has the right structure dressed not only in appropriate clothes but…
and here is the secret:
It is totally unique.
Your solutions are totally unique to you. That is what makes your videos stand out from all the others because that is what makes you stand out from your competitors.
So, what is your story, and how are you going to dress it up?
Would you like me to help you with it?
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