Why it doesn’t take much to make someone’s day…and why it’d be worthwhile, even if it did.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPTION

Let’s talk about making someone’s day. Why it’s easy, and why it would still be worthwhile even if it was ten times harder. 

OK, bit of a departure this week. It’s going to be less about boosting content, and more about boosting positivity…’cos that's a fairly pressing need at the moment, let’s face it. 

Now, in this relentlessly high-speed online age, when it can feel like you’re connected to everyone and no-one at the same time, there are moments that cut straight through the white noise and, as my fellow millennials would say, 'hit you right in the feels.’

This came into focus recently having spent a lot of time on Linkedin, where everyone tends to be super-nice, super-interested, and super-polite to everyone, which don’t get me wrong, is a blessed antidote to a lot of other online spaces. And it’s obvious why, let’s be honest - everyone’s touting for work, and it pays to be polite!

Now, a lot is said about the importance of creating meaningful connections within that space, but the fact is, the human brain is known to only be able to handle a relatively small number of those, so doing business online can feel like a wash of level niceness, to the point that you kind of become numb to it after a while. Like I said, you feel connected to everyone, but connected to no-one, and the Covid situation has made it even more acute for some people.

But then you get those moments. The form they take almost doesn’t matter. It can be an email that specifically remembers a long-gone personal detail, or a text that asks a thoughtful, timely question. Could be a card in the post saying congratulations, could be a heart-felt referral, or as happened to me not so long ago,  a whatsapp audio message saying well done on the launch of Captain. 

That particular message came at the end of a viciously busy day where nothing seemed to be going right. I was wound up so tight I could barely get my thoughts in order, and then that message (From Rav at Be Inspired Films, I don’t think he’ll mind me saying), just seemed to reach through the chaos, silence the noise instantly, and create a moment of peace where I could take a breath and go…’ah. that’s nice.’ 

Of course this way of thinking is enshrined in business lore as the ‘critical non-essential’. Something that isn’t crucial to the day-to-day running of your business, but can become incredibly important in the minds of your customers or workforce. A box of chocolates sent to a participant in a video shoot, or hand-written note from a CEO to a new employee, that kind of thing. I suppose the danger there is that it can become systemised and lose a bit of the personal touch that make the moments so special in the first place.

But on a basic level, the reason those gestures are so powerful is because they just remind you that somewhere out there, someone who’s just as busy and hyper-connected as you are,  took a pause and thought of you. And if it’s genuine, man I tell you what: it matters. 

So as you know, I usually bring these tips back on course with a ‘so what does this have to do with your video content?’ Well not this time. For now, that’s it, that’s the tip. Let’s keep the business side out of it. What can you do right now, to make someone’s day? I guarantee it’ll be easy, and I guarantee it would still be worth it if it was ten times harder. 

Next week, we are going to bring smartphone video back into the mix. We’re going to take the idea of making someones day to the next level - we’re going to talk about making voices heard. It’s going to be powerful stuff.  So I’ll see you next time. Until then - this is Captain, helping you plan, direct and perfect smartphone video content to build trust with your audience, and enhance your brand.