Jim Erickson and Steve Moran sat down at the 2017 Boomer Summit for a conversation about his unique company, Erickson Stock, and how senior living communities shouldn’t be intimidated by using video to tell their brand story.

By Michelle Seitzer

Carrying his guitar and wearing his signature white cowboy hat, Jim Erickson and Steve Moran sat down at the 2017 Boomer Summit for a conversation about his unique company, Erickson Stock, and how senior living communities shouldn’t be intimidated by using video to tell their brand story.

Steve and Jim both agreed: video is where it’s at. Jim, a self-proclaimed “brand identity guy” says it this way: “In today’s marketplace, video is really a message that people want to connect with. It’s kind of hard not to push the button, you know?”

To that end, Erickson Stock offers high-quality, emotional lifestyle stock photos and video footage—specializing in seniors and healthcare—available in a variety of formats. Browse the site and you’ll see the body of Jim’s wonderful work, collected and crafted over decades.

But as Steve says, many senior living operators and marketing teams know they need to use video, but are totally intimidated by the cost, how to use it, and how to get started. Jim gets it, and believes inertia holds many people back.

“Creative choices are overwhelming,” he says. “Our company recognizes that pushback, especially for communities doing their own marketing. So we provide a framework by giving you characters to build your story around. Essentially, we’re trying to make it easier by giving you a head start,” Erickson says.

3 Steps to Create Your Motion Story

First step? Head to the website and explore the content there, particularly, what Jim calls the “character studies.”

Next, pick the three most compelling clips/image stills: the ones that match the feeling of your brand, the ones that represent your audience and demographic, the ones you can imagine integrating and personalizing with your brand’s story and messaging.

Finally: with your favorite clips/stills in hand, contact Jim and his team of writers and editors, all of whom are ready to help you with your creative goals. They’ll help you match a voiceover narrative to the piece, work on titling and messaging, and eventually, you’ll end up with a product—a “motion story,” as Jim calls it—that you can use across your multimedia marketing platforms, from emails to your website to your company’s social media accounts.

Can’t decide which ones to choose? You can still contact Erickson Stock to share your company’s messaging and branding specs, and they’ll work with you to design the best collection of images and video to meet your needs.

Video, the “Perfect Vehicle”

The senior living and healthcare market has long been saturated with the same-old stock images and moving clips. Besides bringing fresh, creative content to the space, Jim Erickson believes that video is the perfect vehicle for telling your brand’s “everyday story.”

As he puts it, “People connect with who’s in front of them—you know, the models and the actors. Then you add the voiceover, and soon, you have a motion spot that talks about you and your brand,” he explains. “And for me, in this day and age, that is kind of the go-to thing: to have an emotional story about your brand.”

Click the button below to watch this clip and see Jim’s storytelling in action: