I am working on gathering sources to do a weekly round-up of local social and viral campaigns. In so doing, I came across this video promoting Metro Taxi in Denver:

Believe it or not, this is the most-watched recently-uploaded video on YouTube that promotes a local Denver business. (Ok, it’s the most-watched excluding those that feature pretty women blowing smoke rings.) So, on the one hand the taxi video reminds me of a Saturday Night Live spoof of a bad cable commercial, but on the other hand Dale Finney (the guy in the video) inspires me. He inspires me because with no budget and apparently little knowledge of video production, he went ahead and did it. And people are watching. Not all that many people, but I’m guessing the ROI is pretty good. I’ll be calling Dale when I need a taxi, in any case. If you didn’t take the time to watch the video, I’ll tell you that he offers free, high-speed internet access in his cab. That’s pretty cool.

So, thank you and congratulations Dale! I’m no expert at video production either, but let me share a few of my thoughts. Unless you are a cute baby animal (or a cute smoke-ring-blower, apparently), telling a story is always a good idea. People like stories, and I bet you have a few to tell. In your case, I can imagine a story or two that illustrate the lengths you have gone to to serve your customers – maybe involving a blizzard or a trip to the maternity ward. People will forward a good story to their friends, and a great story will catch fire. Here’s an example of a great one: Shep Hyken: Customer Service Cab Story.

Ira Glass, the creator of This American Life on NPR, did a series of videos describing the art of storytelling. I found them incredibly helpful. And media theorist Gord Hotchkiss recently did a fascinating analysis of why stories work: The Psychology of Entertainment: How Our Brains Connect With Stories. There’s a real art to telling short, compelling stories. But in my experience it is an art that many cab drivers have mastered.