Video or Written Success stories which one is more influential?

Martinsx1 Level 1

November 13, 2018, 7:28 am

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Video or Written Success stories which one is more influential?

Success stories are what makes new investors believe in whatever is being offered to them. How real the success stories are presented is what determines how these prospective investors are convinced on whether to invest or not.

So, when it comes to giving success stories, do you think the ones done in video form are more influential or the written ones?

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Everett

Everett

Well I tend to believe that all "success" testimonials are faked one way or another. This is probably due to years of marketers telling me to do this and that and I can be sitting on the beach sipping a martini and reading a book whilst listening to the waves break on the shore. Umm. No. This may be true for some but not all. So this is why I have a hard time actually being success stories. Now the only exception that I will have is from websites like Kickstarter, or GoFundMe. I have seen some amazing success stories on both of those websites I mentioned.

Now if the success story was related to some online program for making money, then I will automatically deem it as a scam, not the person not being very truthful. But as I have said, this is from years of lies from marketers who try to paint a pretty picture of people relaxing on the beach.. lol

6 years ago

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amelia88

amelia88

Sometimes I wonder about the authenticity of testimonials too. Often I think about whether or not people are paid actors in video testimonials...some of them can be so over the top and cheesy, don't you think? It wouldn't surprise me if loads of businesses went down that road with it, just so they were guaranteed good reviews. Kind of shady, though!

6 years ago

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jaybee19

jaybee19

I'm on the same boat. I also don't believe on success stories that are advertised by websites for making money especially those that ask for investments. Just recently, I actually had an experience about a Cryptocurrency investment website where I accidentally clicked while searching for websites that gives free bitcoins. After opening their website, a video immediately played on their home page where some obvious actors are talking about their success from investing on the website, and Just by looking at their expressions, I have immediately realized that they were paid actors because of their very bad acting.

6 years ago

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amelia88

amelia88

Just by looking at their expressions, I have immediately realized that they were paid actors because of their very bad acting.

Right?! They look so insincere and robotic sometimes. Even down to the words some of these people use in testimonials, I always think "no one would be that over the top when endorsing a product!"

6 years ago

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jaybee19

jaybee19

True. They are very exaggerated especially when they say these similar lines i.e. "I am so rich right now!" and "I have finally found my financial success!" and etc. I mean, with such excited voices paired with unexcited eyes and sometimes unsure eye expressions, they're really unconvincing and worse.

6 years ago

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Youngshark

Youngshark

Yeeah there are always those testimonies that are too false and even with a video it is difficult to believe. they Include the ones where people are over excited and telling stories of massive succcess within a few days or even hours.

6 years ago

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jaybee19

jaybee19

True. And what's totally funny is their eye expressions. If you observe properly, their eye expressions are a bit different with what they say. I mean, it's not convincing to hear such exciting stories with unexcited eye expressions. And yes, if someone is truly sane, he/she will never believe that someone would be successful within hours or a couple of days. Financial success takes a lot of time and hard work.

6 years ago

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Youngshark

Youngshark

I skip those kinds of videos or unsubscribe from such accounts with the speed of a lightning whenever I come across any. It is always a scam that is waiting to happen if it has not yet happened.

6 years ago

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Jelineex

Jelineex

It does happen because some people like to fool others. So, they created a drama out of their success stories. But, I also believe that there are credible and reliable testimonies who really are successful in their chosen field.

6 years ago

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davedaot04

davedaot04

Yep that's the sad reality of it, I also think a website is a scam if its some money making program, like it's obviously a scam, I mean maybe not of all and maybe you can get maybe a little value out of it but it't not worth your money and really not worth investing in, what I found to be influential is really celebrities or to be specific a Mix Martial Artist who came from nothing to something to everything he is Conor Mcgregor and he inspires me a lot to reach my goals to be the best version on myself and to believe in myself.

6 years ago

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Corzhens

Corzhens

I also think that most of the success stories are not accurate because the biographer who is the person that tells the story can make the story interesting not because it is true but for the melodramatic. Anyway, given the choice between a video or a written testimonial about success I would always go for the written because I can easily grasp the whole idea after giving it 30 seconds of scanning the first page. With the video I have to spend 1 minute before I get the gist.

6 years ago

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warrenP

warrenP

Success stories are what makes new investors believe in whatever is being offered to them.

I think that it is not true that investors are influenced by video or any other medium if they are successful.
Sure they will watch or read a success story but they will not be guided by those.

You become successful by swimming against the current, against all ods. Not by being influenced by maybe true success stories.
Time is precious good, can't be wasted.

6 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

I agree with you, it depends on the story not how they deliver it.

6 years ago

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stbrians

stbrians

The hashtag here is what attracts investors. I believe it is not one thing but many put together.

6 years ago

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Youngshark

Youngshark

Yeah this is important too as many times the people who want to invest also want to read real facts about how money multiplies for them.

6 years ago

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jpk0007

jpk0007

I think that when it comes to the question of investing in a project people will do a wide research about the organization to ensure that their investment is safe. I guess they will definitely not rely completely on the written or even the Videos of success stories. But if you have to choose between the two, I think that the Video success stories will definitely have more impact than the written success stories.

6 years ago

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jayjaydimson

jayjaydimson

Yes, same here, it has more impact than the written success stories, because you can see it and even read it.

6 years ago

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Youngshark

Youngshark

The video story is also better in some way since you are able to interact with the person, their challenges and success using more senses and actually relate better than reading and imagining.

6 years ago

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Jelineex

Jelineex

You are right. Anyone who ventures into business should do there research or make a feasibility study on a particular business. It takes a wider understanding and knowledge before deciding. Testimonies serves as inspiration to do well in any chosen aspect.

6 years ago

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amelia88

amelia88

Personally I think these days, the video stories are more effective. Why? I feel like people enjoy that connection of watching someone speak about something - it makes any kind of testimonial feel easier to relate to. You get to see a person's facial expressions and mannerisms too, and that also makes it easier to judge a person's true feelings about something.

6 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

Yes, true. When you see the facial expressions of the person who is telling you the story and you see how genuine he/she is.

6 years ago

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allyn2017

allyn2017

You have a point. And the fact that we can see the face and the emotion of the person that is telling the story.

6 years ago

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warrenP

warrenP

The distinction lies in Investor. An investor is not people. There is a difference in spending 10$ or spending 1000 $ Specially when you only have 5000 to invest.

Do you really someone would buy 10 BTC because he sees a video?

6 years ago

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theresajane

theresajane

I think you have a good point, since people are more into video streaming sites. Videos for this purpose could have a bigger audience than the other one. But, I think, the written success story is still effective. It all depends on how it's made.

6 years ago

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TheArticulate

TheArticulate

What makes video so powerful is its ability to capture and hold the viewers attention (if done correctly, though) very quickly. Written pieces don't have that immediate hook, as it takes a little more effort for someone to delve into the piece and start putting everything together.

I think written pieces are still very effective, but on social media at the moment, video is definitely king.

6 years ago

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Judas2018

Judas2018

In my honest opinion, it's not the presentation of the story that matters - but instead the details of it. You can have a video success story that contains very little juicy or interesting details...And a written one which reads like a literal adventure. Even in text format, that written story is still going to stay with me far longer than the video story does. I'll also probably learn more overall from the written tale as well.

6 years ago

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amelia88

amelia88

That's a good point. I initially said video testimonials straight away, but I get your point about a well written success story reading much better than a boring, uneventful video. Some people don't perform well on camera either, even if they do have an excellent story to tell - so that can be part of it too.

6 years ago

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Judas2018

Judas2018

In addition, there can also be a bit of 'overacting' as well. If your success story runs in peaks and valleys, then the story should be visually told in such a way. The exciting parts are where the video star should be 'excitable' or 'excited.' If the star of the video or its subject are going a million miles a minute throughout the whole video, it looks like they're trying too hard.

6 years ago

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allyn2017

allyn2017

I agree with you, the content matters the most.

6 years ago

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esteban123

esteban123

I think I will prefer the video success stories because it saves me some time in reading and fir me it is very convenient since I like watching videos since I can easily catch up the stories unlike in reading that it is time consuming and needs a lot of patience to understand.

6 years ago

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allyn2017

allyn2017

K don't think it matters how it is made, I think what matters is the content of it.

6 years ago

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TheArticulate

TheArticulate

That depends, as different kind of media perform better under certain circumstances. Most social media platforms allow for native videos to play automatically when someone scrolls by them, which makes them a really powerful tool online. If you can capture the viewer's attention effectively with a video, the nature of social media could lend itself to spreading that video across a truly enormous audience.

I manage the Facebook page for a local university in my city, and our videos consistently perform better than any other form of post we make, whether written, photo, or article/link-based. It's all about knowing the strengths of your media and where it performs best.

6 years ago

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theresajane

theresajane

I think both have their impacts. It all depends on how it was presented and the organization of the story. We all can hear a lot of success stories, but only few can totally move us, it all depends on the approach of a writer or the video producer.

6 years ago

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Barida

Barida

The way it is being presented can have it's way as well. There are motivational ways that people can tell success stories in written form and you will moved as well to act on that. It totally depends on how they make the package look super.

6 years ago

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Alymae

Alymae

I totally agree with you. It depends on how it was presented, it doesn't really matter for me whether it is written or in a video. Sure, a video can be more interesting but written stories has also their own charm. I prefer to read because I can make my own imagination regarding the story.

6 years ago

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TheArticulate

TheArticulate

This comment has been split into a new thread here.

6 years ago

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cmoneyspinner

cmoneyspinner

I prefer success stories in writing and distributed to a large population. It's just a matter of convenience. Books are much easier to circulate and get the word out and because of that, they can be more influential. People don't always have Internet access to watch a video and may not have a device to view a video. But it's usually easy to just pick up a book from the shelf at home or in the office, read it on the bus or the subway, etc.

6 years ago

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TheArticulate

TheArticulate

The only downside is that publishing and distributing a book (especially to a large number of people) is going to be relatively expensive and time consuming. The nature of social media allows for us to easily share content and potentially spread it "virally" through the platform.

While it's true that not everyone has a phone or a means to access social media regularly, I'd argue that even fewer people have the initiative to purchase a book and then carry it around with them until they finish it. According to Statista, 75.1% of Facebook users access the platform from mobile devices. And as of this year, Facebook as nearly 2.3 billion active users, which leads me to believe firmly that success stories are far more likely on social media (and through the use of video) than other means.

Certainly not discrediting other mediums, just that social media and video are incredibly powerful right now.

6 years ago

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cmoneyspinner

cmoneyspinner

Yes, I know what you're saying. I have heard a statistic that in China everybody now reads books on their cell phones. One of my friends had a debate with his father. He told his dad that one day all content would be in digital format. I get chills just thinking about the fact that I won't be able to hold a book in my hands. All reading material in a digital format? Perish the thought!

6 years ago

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TheArticulate

TheArticulate

We see this written articles too. The power of video is incredible currently because of its ability to catch a viewer's attention very quickly (if done right). Something that written articles, even ebooks, just can't do as efficiently right now, especially given our shortening attention spans.

What statistic did you read and where can I see it? I'd like to know what the statistic is specifically?

6 years ago

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cmoneyspinner

cmoneyspinner

Here is a link and this report is dated 2012.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/11/in-china-25-million-people-use-only-their-cell-phones-to-read-books/265622/

6 years ago

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burgosmichael24

burgosmichael24

Success stories are great influencer whether it was written or a video clip. However, when it comes to business and investors they don't matter that much. Investors are not gullible. You can't convince them with just success stories but with a concrete business plan with a feasibility study support. They aren't impressed with intangibles, they want facts and figures.

6 years ago

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mosesoscar

mosesoscar

Video. Videos engage more senses than written words, and because of that it drives more attention than books. And we learn more when we pay more attention, and when more of our senses are engaged.

Sometimes we read books and in a bid to paint a mind picture of what a particular part of the book is saying, we may lose concentration. But with videos, the picture is already painted, the background, the looks on the peoples' face, their body language, and the tone of their voices. It is videos for me.

6 years ago

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jayjaydimson

jayjaydimson

For me, a video with subtitle on it is more influential to me because I'd rather watch videos than to read books.

6 years ago

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Jeane

Jeane

IMO it would be hard to accurately evaluate how the same success story might be more successful at convincing people to buy what you are selling depending on the medium used to convey the message.

The medium used doesn't matter much IMO. It is but a delivery channel. The content however most certainly matters. If you want people to believe what you are saying then you need to be both persuasive and convincing. After that you can make both the video and write an article. That way you would reach more people anyway.

6 years ago

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Kakashi2020

Kakashi2020

In my opinion the written testimonials are more believable and effective than video testimonials because people think of TV Shopping Channels when watching video testimonials. While i really think that written testimonials are more believable.

6 years ago

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Barida

Barida

Video stories always look real to me. I mean when you are watching people narrate how they got to where they are today is a way to boost our mind that if they can do it, we can always push and make it happen as well.

6 years ago

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theresajane

theresajane

You have a great point. Many people also like wtching videos that can inspire them. In most leadership trainings that I'd been when I was a student, I have seen a bunch of motivational videos that discuss topics like this.

6 years ago

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Janie1994

Janie1994

Written success stories, in my opinion shoud be more for the numbers aspect while video success stories tend to put human emotion more on dispay. If you're trying to impress some with written numbers then go for the text but if you're looking to impress people with the intangibles that lack easily plotted nubers then go with video so viewers can see the emotions that whatever product you're selling brings to light.

6 years ago

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Corzhens

Corzhens

When I read about success stories, it must be seasoned with a grain of salt especially if the purpose is to convince investors of a planned project. More often than not, the success story is blown up just like making it into a movie. With the choice of a video and written article, I would prefer the written because I can already see the gist and it is up to me to read or not. With a video I had to watch it for 1 minute before I could make a decision. It is a waste of time watching a video.

6 years ago

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luv2xacosta

luv2xacosta

It can be both, but when you talk about video success and written story success aren't both of these are easily to manipulate people. For some instances, In writing, the company can just hire good writers to convince the people that it is true. The same to video as well , there actress/actors that are willing to get paid act when they are told to. Sometimes Video interviews can be very over acting or too much and exaggerated. It is also the same with writing because writers use flowery words to entice the readers that it is truly correct.

6 years ago

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Adrian120501

Adrian120501

When it come's to giving success stories i think the video form is the more influential that the written ones. Because we know that these day's only few people are interested in reading written storie's some pretend's to read but not actually. These day's people are spending more time watching video's than reading book's that's why i think the video form of success storie's is more influential that written storie's.

6 years ago

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overcast

overcast

I think videos tend to be more effective. And you should be investing more time watching them. Because they can add some script in your head. And that gets you motivated quicker than the written word. So I'd say that videos which are made to motivate tend to perform better. And people should be definitely focusing that. It seems like a good idea for me.

6 years ago

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agbuyarashel

agbuyarashel

I think videos.

I knink both crafts are influential but I choose videos as more influential because reading does not satisfy me much and I sometimes get bored easily and videos can easily touch our hearts because we are not just reading it, we are actually watching it.

6 years ago

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mhingnhormz

mhingnhormz

Video or written success stories which is one is more infulencial: Base on my observation nowadays, video is much more influencial because most of people choose to watched a video that read a piece of writing.

6 years ago

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stormbreaker10

stormbreaker10

It really depends on the authenticity of the company producing success stories (e.g. starbucks) starbucks is so many success stories its either video or written (e.g articles). If the question is the new known company produce the success stories, i think in ordinary people the video success stories is one way to go because they just imagining of what in the video says but in the business minded i think written is more influencial because in written, it had names of testimonials which they can search the person if saying the truth (e.g. checking their backgrounds)

6 years ago

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Jeane

Jeane

Considering how many people pay for fake testimonials, I wonder of the two (written or video testimonials) which ones are more believable? Would it be easier to tell if someone is lying (when you watch a video testimonial) because they may not be that good at acting?

I mean if someone is all stoked about "how awesome" a product or service was, you can read their body language to find the underlying truth. It would much harder (to determine if one is telling the truth) if the testimonial is written.

Thoughts?

6 years ago

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warrenP

warrenP

What I see happening in this thread is that most contributors do not distinguish between an Investor and people. The Facebook crowd is superficial mostly. I seriously doubt that an investor will give me 100k because he liked my vid or my facebook page so much.

He might give it to me after seeing my instagram profile, My website, the domain age, where and how do I live, plus some banking data and much more etc. You can see a lot in a vid, but you can employ actors which have more insight in body language. So don't fool yourself.

There is big lack of seriousness saying:

Success stories are what makes new investors believe in whatever is being offered to them.

What is an investor? Some Santa Claus? I beg to differ.

6 years ago

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jaymish2

jaymish2

I agree. The only way to prove what you have done is the experience of successes. The best way to do this online, is through people’s testimonials.I think that testimonials can be quite powerful in attracting customers. I think that video testimonials are especially effective. In video people can see people’s body language which in most cases can convey whether you are telling the truth or a lie. I would believe a video testimony more.

6 years ago

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Jelineex

Jelineex

I will go video testimonial since it's more lively. I can hear the sound and see the emotion of the speaker. It feels like I'm a part of the conversation while listening to their experiences. Success stories is always an inspiration to strive hard to the best we can.

6 years ago

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Bravosi

Bravosi

Hey there!
I'd say video stories are more superior in convincing people, simply because we live in a more digital generation, where people prefer to watch something rather than read. At least that's how I am. If the first reading story paragraph is interesting then I might continue reading it, but overall, a video has a better chance to capture your eye.

6 years ago

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knnon

knnon

Video success stories are more influential in my opinion. Videos give the viewers more grasp at the reality and authenticity of a story as opposed to just reading an article statement. Videos also have a better chance at connecting with the audience as it gives them first hand look and a sneak peak at the lives of the story tellers. The right background music also sets the mood and helps out with the emotional aspect of the story.

6 years ago

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davedaot04

davedaot04

For me Video success stories are more influential because it makes it more realistic more dramatic especially in today's technology where people have access to unlimited tools that produces amazing results like video editing tools that gives emotions to simple videos and people really get motivated when they feel the emotions, emotions are energy in motion and that's why for me video success stories are more influential.

6 years ago

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angie828

angie828

I would not say one is more beneficial than the other one. I think that it really is up to who you are showing. There are people that like to read what others have done. Yet on the flip side, there are some that just do not have the time or like reading, so they turn to videos. Some may be turned off by one or the other. It just depends on what your client likes.

6 years ago

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