Why do people like watching TED talks?

Isn’t it faster just to read about them? All you’re really looking at – aside from the occasional slideshow – is some brainiac standing behind a podium for 20 minutes… right?

TED Curator, Chris Anderson, believes that the reason video is such an effective tool is because there is so much more information being transferred from speaker to viewer than on paper: eye-contact, body language, audience reactions and hundreds of other subconscious cues.

In fact, vdeo is such a powerful medium, Anderson explains, that TED is now translated for over 70 countries, and some estimates predict that in just 4 years 90% OF THE WEB’S DATA WILL BE VIDEO!

By the way, have you updated your Youtube channel lately?  Wait, your affiliate has a Youtube channel, right?!?

The power of what Anderson calls “crowd acceleration” provided by internet video cannot be underestimated. Connecting with anyone at all in the digital marketplaces is going to become increasingly difficult if your communication mediums are outdated. None of us can afford to be apathetic about the enormous shift in communication from written to video form that is taking place online.

Yet, with our busy lives, we all need an occasional reminder that Facebook and Twitter are not the only social media platforms that business owners need to stay on top of. Think how many more people you could reach with workout videos that got shared in your CrossFit community and spread to connections outside of CrossFit. Would switching to a monthly video newsletter be more engaging than continuing to send out the old fashioned version?

Ask yourself right now – if you’re not creating any form of video content to entertain your community and promote your brand – why not?

Don’t think too hard on the answer – just jump in and get started; the content doesn’t have to be perfect to connect with viewers. The hardest part of creating video content is making the decision to do what Anderson calls “shining the light:” deciding to “give away what you think are your most valuable secrets.” Once you let go of the notion that you have to charge money for all of your best ideas, video can be one of the cheapest and easiest ways to provide for your clients and fans, what Burch refers to as “surprise and delight.”