This article was contributed by a member of the community. Thank you Michael Stone of Tektured! 

Video is a powerful form of content marketing. Social media is flooded with ‘viral’ videos. If you spend any time on Facebook, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Instagram, or if you ever used the app formerly known as Vine, you've most likely seen them. These ‘viral’ videos include the elephant trying to get out of the river,  most anything produced by Batdad, Ed Sheeran doing carpool karaoke with James Corden, or anything of the like.

With all these publicity stunts, what social media is lacking is personal, self-made videos, where people show their true colors and who they really are.

Why is that?

As human beings, we yearn for appreciation and recognition, but we also desire a personal connection. Most viral videos fulfill only two of these three yearnings, which come in the form of likes, comments and shares. For many, that may seem like enough. 66% can be considered a passing grade, right?  In my opinion, we can do better.

I have been in the promo industry since May 2017, and in this short time I've explored many marketing avenues. All have done pretty well, but nothing has done as well as my three-minute videos. Now, none of these can be considered viral, but they have shown the greatest ROI.

I have learned in the past two months that video strips away all preconceived notions and many of the misconceptions. Text based status updates and comments are simply unable to convey emotion in the same way as video does.  Video shows people how you are in real life. It helps build a personal connection. The videos I use were filmed on my iPhone and mostly completed in a single take. These are the truest, most realistic version of me and of my product I can offer. That, I feel, makes these videos even more powerful. People remember that!

At the recent PPAI Expo, I was pleasantly surprised how many people dropped by our booth and said ‘Oh, you are the 3 Minutes or Less video guy!’ I couldn’t be happier that people recognized me, because that tells me they are not only watching, but that they are paying attention and enjoying them enough to keep watching. That’s how you start to build a brand!

With the use of video, I have learned that people not only remember me, but they also tend to remember more of my message and they are able to understand the concepts surrounding what I’m talking about, whether it is a product feature, idea, or a solution to a problem. Most importantly, my viewers are learning more about who I am as a person, and it gives our brand personality that people can relate to and want do business with. 

By putting yourself out there and showing your true colors, it allows you to foster trust among people that you might not have, and in some cases will never, meet in person. At the end of the day, trust is what people buy. Not products. 

I recently watched the movie Tommy Boy (for the umpteenth time). If you’ve seen this movie, you’ll remember that Tommy doesn’t start finding success until he stops trying to be like his dad and begins to relax and be himself. After Tommy starts to show people who he really is, he can connect with his clients and they begin to trust him!

Video connects you with your audience, and your audience with you, but it can't do anything if you're not using it. So, give video a shot and see what happens!

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Are you using video to build your brand? How do you record it and how often do you post? What kind of returns are you seeing? We'd love some inspiration. Feel free to post a link to your favorite self-produced video in the comments!