It’s a pretty cool premise: creating a digital avatar or “twin” of yourself that stars in your business’s video content so you don’t have to.
Looking polished on camera while rocking bird’s-nest hair IRL? Yes please! Removing the cringe factor that comes from having a phone pointed at your face? Sign us up! Never having to edit out those annoying “ums” and “ahs” because they didn’t exist in the first place? Sounds like the content creation dream!
Except… as with everything that seems too good to be true, there’s a trade-off that comes from trading your real face for a virtual one.
AI-created video – is it right for you?
Platforms like HeyGen, Captions and VEED make it easy to generate talking-head videos of yourself from just one genuine recording. Basically, you upload the script, and – voilà! – there you are on screen without actually having to set foot in front of a camera.
These types of videos can come in handy if you’re time-poor, need to film a huge amount of content for an online series, or can’t physically be on camera due to travel, illness or another logistical barrier.
But, here at Crisp, we don’t recommend using them as part of your general marketing strategy for one very specific reason.
The authenticity question
At first glance, these videos seem amazing – flawless, even. But the longer you watch them, the more you get a sense that something’s different, even though you can’t put your finger on what that is exactly.
Although the technology has come a long way, there can still be small glitches, weird head movements and blinking, and eye contact that’s just a little too intense.
As a relationship-based business, the aim of your videos is to create trust with your audience. You want them to feel like they know you, understand you and have a genuine connection with you.
The best way to do that? Show them the REAL you, with all your human quirks – not your AI twin, no matter how flawless it may appear. Because those things aren’t something to be edited out – they’re part of what makes you YOU.
Why you’ll always see our real faces in our videos
The era of AI is well and truly here, and at Crisp, we love using it for streamlining our processes, automating basic administration tasks, managing our workflows and brainstorming ideas.
But when it comes to creating our videos, you’ll find our real team in front of the camera – every single time (like this one introducing our team and this one sharing 7 learnings from 7 years of Crisp).
Yes, filming real content takes more time and effort – but it also feels more authentic, builds trust, and helps strengthen relationships with existing and prospective clients.
And the value of human-created content extends beyond video, with a recent analysis finding that human-generated written content received five times more traffic than AI-generated content.
Human-created content that converts
Love the idea of a video-led strategy but don’t know where to start? Confident in front of the camera but need help writing scripts and editing? Need a review of your existing content and a plan for moving forwards?
Wherever you are on your content creation journey, we’ll meet you there. Our team will take the mental load of video marketing off your plate – so the only thing you need to do is take a deep breath, show up, and put your best (real) face forward.
Book your free Marketing Kickstarter to discuss how we can help, or browse our Crispy content on our YouTube channel.