People watch a staggering amount of content these days. Probably unhealthy levels, but all the same, they do.
It has to be compelling to them in some way, and we’re all suckers for story and drama.
A few years back, I saw this advertisement that was disguised as a mini film starring Christian Slater that had Mr. Robot energy. The series called The Wolf by HP follows Christian as a cybersecurity bad actor who infiltrates a large company via their printers and internet network.
It’s fun to watch and tells the scary reality of what’s possible while selling the viewer on the underlying message that HP is the company to go to for protection.
In more recent years, there’s been a trend of what’s called microdramas. I first came across these a few years ago, learning that people were buying credits to watch short reel-style dramas that are like mini love stories about vampires or all sorts of similar storylines, and the views have piled up as well as the dollars.
Today, the world is a noisy place, and the audience’s attention is fleeting. So you have to be smart to grab their attention and move that attention where you need it to go.
This is where the microdrama comes in for business. Imagine for a second, creating a series of 8 to 10 90-second episodes that piece by piece tell a whole story and keep the audience’s attention and interest and at the same time sell them on the offering.
Telling the right story that is both entertaining and engaging about something that could seem dry like cybersecurity but making it fun and cool like watching a mini Bourne film. The idea is to get and hold the audience’s attention long enough for the message to sink in, and that leads them to reaching for more.
Using the cybersecurity example, perhaps it entertains the audience while also educating them on a key differentiator for the product or service that makes them have an aha moment while watching.
Because here’s the thing -- fake AI-personalized emails aren’t going to sell the audience. We know that attention is the front door to sales, and content plus story that is watchworthy will.
We also know that it will take reps. It’s not a one-and-done. It takes commitment to build around the content to create something people want to watch and look forward to what comes next.
And there is no reason why a B2B company can’t make something engaging and fun that people willingly consume. It all comes down to the idea and story that form the content.
Brands are investing millions in vanity metrics like having their name on an F1 race car that has no real linear proof to ROI, but something like a micro-drama could and for a fraction of the cost.
