You need to pick media that users will want, and fill it with people that they can relate to. Your media needs to fit your platform. If you have a high-energy, innovative SEO techniques on your website, your video should have the same energy.
If your site’s classy, stay classy.
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. Or the frame displayed in the video window should catch their attention. A short video probably makes sense. If a user is revisiting your site maybe a longer video would convince them to work with you.
How To Grow Your Brand And Generate Sales Through Video Marketing
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 businesses felt that video content is an effective tool. Find out how video storytelling marketing can help build your brand.
Have you ever done a Google search, found a post with a great title, just what you were looking for? You start reading. Wow! This is great content.
But as you scroll, it seems to be a never-ending sea of text. It’s some great writing, but your eyes start to glaze over. Staring at paragraph after paragraph almost hypnotizes you.
Is your content boring your visitors? You don’t want your users tediously scrolling. Groaning as they try to extract the information. Find out how visuals can make your content exciting!
Visuals Make Content Memorable
Visuals can break it up and really grab your audience’s attention. Images also evoke an emotional response. Video storytelling marketing basically involves adding a video to your content. But there’s a reason why it’s effective.
Our brains are really good at processing images. In fact, when reading, your brain interprets known words as tiny pictures. Because brains hunger for visuals, you need to satisfy them.
Hubspot recently posted a survey, where the video was identified as the most desired form of content from a brand or business. 54% of respondents said they want to see videos from a company they support.
Your video doesn’t even need an amazing soundtrack or script. Many people watch videos on mobile with the sound off. Include interlude screens or text overlays so your audience knows what’s going on.
Tips for Video Storytelling Marketing
1. Make it funny.
Humor can be rare in business marketing, but it can be effective. Sometimes visitors expect a boring video. But if they find something funny instead, you’ve created a memorable and positive association for your brand.
2. Get creative.
Ask: What’s the main point of my content? Then think of unusual ways to get your point across. If you surprise yourself with an idea, chances are you’ll surprise your audience too.
3. Have a beginning, a middle, and an end.
We’ll have more on this in a bit. But the point is to actually write it out on paper. Create a storyboard. Doing so will help you write a script and help you 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 more emotional investment.
5. Keep it short.
Figure out how to condense the story (and emotion) into a short video. You don’t need a long time to tell your story. You know that funny five-second GIF you’ve watched over and over? It doesn’t take much time to tell a story.
Steps to Visual Storytelling
1. Find Out What Motivates 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.
Their problem is creating an emotional response within them. 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, clever stories can be quite persuasive.
Some motivators might include feelings like:
- Want confidence in their future
- Want to feel free
- Want to belong
- Want to feel secure
- Want to succeed
Keep these things 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 (and probably shouldn’t) make something up. Tell the story of your company. Or maybe you have a customer story that you could follow. It doesn’t have to be a long video. But it needs to tell a complete story.
What makes a story? Start with the hook. This needs to catch attention fast. Then ramp up the action. Until you reach a climax. Now show the resolution. The last part and the most important part of your brand is a call to action. Tell the viewer what to do next.
3. Pick the Right Visuals
You need to pick media that users will want. Fill it with people that they can relate to. Your media needs to fit your platform. If you have a high-energy, innovative SEO techniques or website, your video should have the same energy. If your site’s classy, stay classy.
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. Or the frame displayed in the video window should catch their attention. A short video probably makes sense. If a user is revisiting, your site, maybe a longer video would convince them to work with you.
4. Test, Reevaluate, and Adjust
Nothing’s forever. Adjust your video storytelling marketing like you change any other marketing. Find out what works by staying dynamic with the times.
Think About the Big Picture
Often you probably come across videos that only discuss a company’s products and services. But these aren’t the most compelling videos. Your video shouldn’t be able you, but what you do for others. Find your company’s “why.” Market that.
If you sell telecommunications hardware, don’t focus on the hardware, all the features, how great it is. Talk about how it helps people connect. With those they love. How they can reach customers. How it can save lives.
Tell compelling stories. Not that your hardware is online 0.09% more than the competition.
Make People Feel Something with Video
Emotion has a way of making people take notice. And act. If they take notice, they might remember your story. If they remember, they might be moved to buy.
Specific emotions result in specific actions. If your video makes someone happy, maybe they’ll share it with someone else. If your video makes them feel sad, maybe they’ll give.
Think about those sad-faced puppies with Sarah McLachlan playing in the background. If your video elicits anger, maybe it will lead to it going viral. That’s more like: EVERYONE NEEDS TO SEE THIS! IT MAKES ME SO MAD!
Tell Your Story
Don’t be that boring website with an ocean of text. Or worse, don’t waste time on great writing to have your visitors go numb scrolling the text. Energize your content. Dazzle potential customers with eye-catching visuals.
Add video storytelling marketing to your site. Get quality video and film production services from C&I that will engage your audience. We’ve worked with some of the world’s biggest brands. Contact us today!