Sell Your Brand with Effective Storytelling: A Conversation with Mark Wonderlin - Part 2

Audio Branding

“I think the biggest mistake most people, most businesses make when they go into that project is they think it’s a story about them, but the reality is it’s a story about your customer and how you help them in their story. And that’s the way we try to frame it. With the narration, with the visuals, with the music, from the story. It’s really trying to connect with that viewer on, ‘What is the problem you’re having?’ Why are you reaching out to this company in the first place? What has piqued your interest?” -- Mark Wonderlin

This episode is the second half of my interview with business filmmaker, marketing expert, and Mosaic Media Films founder Mark Wonderlin as we discuss the importance of storytelling when it comes to video marketing, the different social media strategies for local versus global marketing, and about Mark’s philosophy that “the most expensive video is the one that doesn’t work.”

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(0:00:00) - Different Types of Marketing Videos

The second half of our conversation starts as Mark shares his memories of a powerful video he recorded about a cancer patient, and the crucial role sound played in bringing her story to life. “I worked on this project personally,” he recalls, “and, you know, still to this day, like seven years later, I mean, it’ll bring tears to my eyes.” We discuss the two kinds of marketing videos, brand promos and testimonial videos, the different approaches he takes to each one, and how social media has upended some of the old rules. “The thing about TikTok,” he says, “is that people’s attention spans are just getting shorter and shorter and shorter because there’s just so much content out there.”

(0:09:26) - Digital Marketing and Social Media Strategy

We also talk about how Mark’s social media strategies can vary depending on both the company and their customer base. “So, like a B2B company is not gonna really perform really well on Facebook,” he notes, “just because of the pool of the audience there, whereas a B2C company will do better because they’re consumer-based products.” He explains the different approaches between social media videos and more traditional advertising campaigns, as well as what they have in common. “It’s just a matter of the targeting,” Mark explains. “So the better you’re targeting, the better you’re going to be.”

(0:19:53) - The Impact of Sound in Media

Mark also shares his thoughts about the explosion of AI in the industry, particularly AI voices and how commonplace they’ve become on social media lately. “There’s this one AI voice company I’ve heard,” he recounts, “and it’s weird because they were showing samples of it, like, on a podcast or a YouTube video, and I hear that voice all the time now on YouTube.” We discuss whether virtual voiceovers can save a client money, and why he thinks human artists shouldn’t be written off just yet. “You save money on the front end,” Mark says, “but you’ll lose on the back end because people are just bouncing. They’re leaving because they’re turned off by the non-professionalism of the brand.”

(0:27:34) - Creative Design Project Storytelling

Our conversation comes to a close as Mark shares his thoughts on why sound is so important to business branding, and gives us a peek into some of his upcoming projects, such as a client’s work on an outdoor escape. “From a visual perspective,” he says, “it’s going to be a lot of fun. From a story perspective, it’s going to be a lot of fun, and then from, like, a sound design perspective, it’s going to be fun because it’s outdoor.” He also tells us how listeners can get in touch and about the free tools on his website. “You don’t have to put in your email,” he adds. “If you just want information about video and want to learn more on how it can help your business, it’s a great, great place to start.”

Episode Summary

• The power of testimonials and how social media is reshaping our viewing habits.
• How a brand’s audience and market can play a pivotal role in its social media strategy.
• The arrival of AI voiceovers and whether they can replace human voice talents.
• Mark’s upcoming projects and the tools, videos, and quizzes offered on his website.

Connect with the Guest

Website: https://www.mosaicmediafilms.com

Mark has an array of free educational content, quizzes, and checklists here: https://mosaicmediafilms.com/resources

Connect with Mark Wonderlin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markwonderlin/

Follow Mark Wonderlin on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mosaicmediafilms/

Follow Mark Wonderlin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MosaicMediaFilm/

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