Why including people in videos is important to your business
Have you ever wondered why we always notice our friend’s face in a crowded room? Even a brief glance is enough to understand what the person is feeling right now.
We start seeing faces from the moment we are born. When we grow up we continue to explore the world around us looking for something familiar. That’s why we can easily notice the people we know in a crowded place or see faces in everyday objects.
According to the Caltech research, there are special areas in the brain called “face patches”, which are responsible for face recognition. Scientists showed pictures of different faces to people and monitored the electrical signals in their brains. They even discovered a Jennifer Aniston neuron – a brain cell which activated only when the picture of Jennifer Aniston was shown. Each cell corresponds to a certain feature, and their combinations recreate different types of faces. No other objects cause such reaction in the brain.
Whether you’re making a commercial video, a guide, or a presentation, including people is a must if you want it to perform well. Here are 5 effects videos have on your audience:
1. Build trust
Who would you rather trust – a big company or your friend? Of course, you will heed your friend’s advice rather than believing a faceless corporation. Including people in videos will help you build a personal connection with your audience. Include the same person in your blog videos or tutorials, and your clients would think that they know that person.
However, not everyone looks trustworthy. Most people believe that our inner thoughts are reflected in our appearance and manners, so we sometimes don’t trust people who look a certain way. According to the NYU study, the 2 main factors that define trustworthiness in a person are high inner eyebrows and prominent cheekbones. But don’t worry if you look different – be honest, smile, and people will trust you.
2. Attract attention
Eye contact is a very important aspect of communication. No matter where we look, the person looking straight at us immediately catches our attention. Take a look at this photo. What do you see first in this picture?
The same is with video. We don’t know what we should focus our attention on if there are no people in a video. Don’t be afraid that people will divert attention from your product, conversely, they would help demonstrate how it works and show its best features.
3. Convey emotions
If we see a smiling person we start feeling happy ourselves. The same is with negative emotions. You can use people to convey certain emotions which you want to be associated with your product. A video tells a story, it provides much more information than a picture or plain text, so you can fill it with joy, inspiration or excitement.
That’s why so many brands use celebrities in advertising. They are authoritative and trustworthy, and videos with them create potential synergy between a celebrity and a brand. Sometimes we start to associate ourselves with people in videos, so it’s important to plan how you are going to position your brand.
4. Personalize your brand
The Internet is an impersonal place – the web provides us with an opportunity to express our thoughts anonymously, and many people hide behind their nicknames. You don’t need to meet anyone to make a purchase, to do business or to discuss information. We don’t see real people behind brands. That’s why it’s so important to personalize your content, and the easiest way is to include people in your blog, website, and videos.
What video would you rather watch the first or the second one?
5. Drive people to action
Video is a great tool to drive people to action. But how are you going to motivate your clients do something if there are no people in your video? When you see an ad, you concentrate on the emotions it conveys. These emotions can motivate you to make a purchase, follow a brand or download an app. If you create a video review of a product people would trust you more if they see your face. Show them the benefits of using your product or service by adding a personal touch and they won’t be able to resist buying it.
