Are you still relying on the written word to sell? Get with the times! The language of persuasion has evolved beyond the humble word, and if you arenāt keeping up, youāre falling behind.

Evolve or follow his lead
Multimedia used to be magic. Once upon a time, Marketers could rely on a multimedia production to have a certain level of inherent seductiveness, simply by existing. An image in a shop front or the most humble television commercial would capture attention, simply because it was big and colourful. Today, anyone with a passing interest in photography and a few hundred dollars can print out their own life-size photo. As for video… 72 hours of (mostly amateur-made) video are uploaded to YouTube each minute. Multimedia is no longer the exception, itās the rule.
But unlike the languages you may have been made to learn in primary school, being āliterateā in multimedia is much easier than you may think. In fact, we live in such a media-saturated world that you may just be surprised how fluent you are. Letās look at some examples of companies utilizing this new language to great effect:
ASOS.com is a popular online clothes retailer. Obviously, images of the item of clothing youāre about to purchase are a must, but theyāve gone one step further. Now you can watch a short 10 second video of the model striking a pose or strutting down a catwalk in your item of interest. ASOS have brought the customer closer to a āhands onā experience in a way that few competing online clothing stores have. As a result, customers will be more confident in the product and more likely to make a purchase. Now consider going to a competitorās website… these photos are nice, but Iām used to seeing videos of the clothes Iām going to buy.
One of our clients, eStore, is an Australian online electronics retailer. As well as selling familiar hardware and software, they also sell unique accessories like lens kits for your iPhone camera (view the video here) and portable business card scanner.Ā While these items might grab interest, a customer may be understandably hesitant given itās an unfamiliar product. Fear not! Jump onto eStoreās YouTube channel and youāll find handy product reviews, again giving as close to a āhands onā experience as possible.
This engagement in multimedia isnāt just reserved for the online environment. Have you entered a surf shop, cosmetics/clothes department or cinema recently? Video is now being used to brand companies and communicate information where a static image would once try. Youāre competing for your customersā finite attention, and the bar for stimulation has just been lifted.
So how can you start talking the talk? You no longer need to get a professional production house to create multimedia, with a computer and a camera youāre more than halfway there. If it suits your brand, efficiently shot and edited videos (like eStoreās) are a great way to occupy a space your competitors may not have. Simple editing software often comes standard with most PCs and uploading video is childās play (if you donāt know how, ask a child). If youāre brand is more premium, thereās an army of super-savvy multimedia graduates keen to whip up professional-looking multimedia for far-below industry rates. If you donāt know where to find such a graduate, email your nearest Uni or TAFE and get ready to sift through expressions of interest.

A smartphone and an internet connection is all you need!
For the retail environment, invest in an L.C.D. screen and loop a multimedia production to spruce up your storefront. For audible branding – donāt pay for generic radio, pay for music that expresses your brand. With license free ambient tracks from The Groove Gallery, achieving this has never been lighter on the wallet.
Okay, but what can I say about my business? Youāre primary goal is to be āheardā, so saying something is far better than nothing. Clothing store? Do a photo shoot with some local models and make an animated slideshow then post that to Facebook.Ā Deli? Get your most charismatic butcher to star in a YouTube video featuring a specific cut and a matching recipe. Accountant? Film ten one-minute ātax tipsā videos.
And weāre not at endgame yet. Many forward thinkers have stated that programming is the new literacy. In the future, deeper interaction will come from progressively more immersive media that will rely on user interaction with programs, and the standard multimedia of today will seem like the āFor Saleā signs of yesterday. But until then ā lights, camera, action!
– Jakub