You’ve heard it’s important, but do you know the why’s and how’s of video storytelling and building your brand?
Wyzowl’s State of Video Marketing survey says 81% of businesses that added video content to their marketing saw a sales increase. And 94% of companies felt that video content is a useful tool. Find out how video content can help build your brand.
All of that is great, and it’s true. But what makes a story compelling?
What hypnotizes you?
What causes you scroll down the page?
What takes you on a trip and engages your mind, diving it into other realms?
There is a lot of “meh” content out there on the internet. You can search the hallways and closets deep in the far depths of Google, and it goes on forever. So what sets you apart from the content that gets lost in ’Google’s seemingly-infinite wardrobe?
How visuals are displayed and understood is pretty valuable. Aesthetics, pretty colors, strange, engaging, and unique images that resonate with the mind are powerfully effective and thought-provoking in video content.
Leave a Lasting Impression: How Visuals Create Memorable Content
Visuals break up content and hold your audience within a scene for a moment in time. They captivate attention, evoke an emotional response, create ideas, dreams, and even fantasies. Video marketing through storytelling, in its essence, captures the attention of your crowd.
This involves adding video to your content marketing strategy, effectively.
Our minds want to process images, and they’re pretty good at it.
When reading, your brain interprets known words as small pictures designed by the imagination. Brains hunger for visuals; what your business needs to do is ensure these visuals come to life and satisfy the thirst and curiosity of the mind.
Hubspot recently posted a survey which revealed video as the most desired form of content from a brand. Did you know that over half of your customers want to see videos from and about you?
Yup, A whopping 54% of respondents said they want to see videos from a company they support.
People watch all kinds of videos online. What makes your video content stand out? It may not be a massive production with intense music playing in the background. But that doesn’t matter; what matters is the feeling and the impact you make, visually.
5 Tips for Truly Compelling Video Content
1. Funny Content in Video.
Laughter is contagious; you have heard this a million times throughout your life. When it comes to business and marketing, it can be powerful for growth. With the amount of “meh” content all over the place, visitors usually hit play expecting a boring video – don’t fall into that “meh” category. Create joy and laughter. Give them something that throws them for a loop, laughs them to tears, and maybe even disrupts the office. Now, you’ve created a memorable and positive association for your brand.
1. Creativity Sparks Attention
Ask: What’s the main point of my content? Then think outside the box, dig for that inner child that is within and let your ideas play.
Get weird with it, surprise yourself with an out-of-the-box idea. Chances are, you’ll surprise your audience too.
3. Have a Storyline.
More on this in a bit, but the point is to actually write it out on paper. Doodle it up, create a storyboard. Doing so will help you write a script and then you can film it.
4. Show it. Don’t say it.
Think about how you can use your video to share your story. Don’t just start a narration. Can angles, colors, or sound effects tell the story? Videos like this will create an emotional response. We are, after all, emotional beings.
5. Keep it Short and Sweet.
Figure out how to condense the story (and emotion) into a video snippet that captures the overall meaning. You don’t need a whole lot to tell your story. You know that funny five-second GIF you’ve watched over and over? Sometimes, pictures do speak a thousand words.
4 Steps to Visual Storytelling
1. Find Out What Moves Your Audience
A buyer’s persona will give you a lot of the info you need about motivating your audience. Typically potential customers come to you because they need you to help them solve a problem.
Let’s face it; we all have problems to solve in life. Creating an emotional response within them can encourage excitement and growth. Emotions influence who we trust. They connect our past by bringing up feelings of nostalgia. And they help us make sense of complex information. As a result, original stories can be quite inspiring.
Some motivators might include feelings like:
- Instilling confidence in their future
- The feeling of newfound freedom
- A sense of belonging to this beautiful world
- A sense of security
- An inspiration to succeed
Keep elements of encouragement in mind when coming up with your videos. How can you build around those themes?
2. Pick a Good Story
You don’t have to make something up, but creativity is always encouraged. Make it relevant! Or tell the story of your company. Maybe you have a customer story that you could follow.
Maybe your story is told through an imaginative tale; it might leave people on the edge of their seats, wondering about the future. Whatever it is- inspire.
What makes a story?
J.K. Rowling says that “there is always room for a story that can transport people to another place.” We believe that your story, every story, is unique and should be told. That it has the ability to capture attention, transport your audience, reach a climax, and resolve the mind to act.
The last part and the most crucial part of your brand is a call to action. Tell the viewer what to do next without saying it outright. Guide them.
3. Pick the Right Visuals
Choosing the right media that users will want can be tricky. Fill your videos with images and sounds that people can relate to. Create ideas around images that fit your platform. If you have a high-energy website, your video should pop with vibrancy. If your site’s classy, give your audience a class act.
Also, know where your audience is in the journey. If you have a cold prospect that clicked your link, an image may be the hook they need. Get the frame displayed in the video window to catch user attention. A short video probably makes sense. If a user is revisiting, your site, maybe a time extended video might convince them to work with you. Strategic placement is also vital.
4. Test, Reevaluate, and Adjust
Everything Changes, reinvents, expands. Adjust your video storytelling marketing like you would with any other strategy. Find out what works by embracing your own dynamic nature.
Think About the Big Picture
You’ve probably come across videos that only discuss a company’s products and services. We’re guessing these are not the most compelling videos you’ve seen. Your video shouldn’t be about you, but what you do for others. Find your company’s “why.” Market that. If you sell telecommunications hardware, don’t focus on the equipment, all the features, and how great it is.
Talk about how it helps people connect with those they need it to, driving home how it can enhance lives. Share compelling stories, share unique ideas. Not that your hardware is better than the competition, but that it’s sustainable, it’s the next big idea, it’s the missing puzzle piece that brings everything together.
Really Make People Feel Something
Emotion has a way of paralyzing someone into a moment, stopping them in time. To take action, to feel, to notice the way the shirt feels against their back. If they press pause on their day to take notice, they will remember your story. If they remember, they are moved to invest.
Specific emotions result in peculiar actions. If your video makes someone happy, they’ll share it with someone else. If your video makes them feel sad, they’ll search for a way to make things better.
Think about those sad-faced puppies with Sarah McLachlan playing in the background. If your video elicits heightened emotions, let’s just say- it’s going viral. That’s more like: EVERYONE NEEDS TO SEE THIS! IT MAKES ME SO SAD!
It’s Time to Tell Your Story
Go viral with content that tugs at the hearts and minds of your viewers. Give your audience something to laugh, smile, and share. Energize, ignite passion, give way to action. Dazzle potential customers with content that catches their eye and captivates their brain cells.
Add video storytelling to your marketing strategy. Get the video and film production services that launch your brand, from us here at C&I. We’ve worked on empowering some of the smallest mom & pop shops to the world’s biggest brands through video. We’ll create the right video which speaks to your audience the way they want and the way you need it to. Let’s get in touch today.