What Is Video Storytelling And How Does It Work?
There is no doubt that video storytelling is a powerful and dynamic weapon when it comes to communicating a message or a story through video content.
Seeing the growth of video consumption on digital platforms, it is evident that video storytelling has become an essential tool for marketers, advertisers, and content creators to engage with their audiences.
By combining visual and auditory elements, video storytelling can evoke emotions, convey information, and create a compelling narrative that resonates with viewers.
In this mini-guide, we will explore what video storytelling is, how it works, and how you can use it to captivate your audience and achieve your goals.
What Is Video Storytelling?
Video storytelling is all about taking advantage of the captivating format of video to narrate a story about a business, brand, or product. The main goal behind this effort is to make it a valuable marketing method that provides a great ROI.
Video storytelling involves leading the audience through relatable, narrative-driven content that touches upon their pain points, elicits an emotional connection, and presents a satisfactory solution.
Keep in mind that various elements, such as camera angles, soundtrack, characters, and emotions conveyed by the story, all work together to draw the viewers into the experience. It is a joint venture indeed.
Last but not least, video storytelling is not merely a sales pitch, as it prioritizes storytelling over product promotion. It offers an immersive and potent approach that is highly effective in promoting engagement.
You want your target audience’s eyes to be glued to the screen when it comes to your brand, right? Well, that’s where video storytelling can help.
Why Is Video Becoming So Popular?
Video is already among the most popular content formats out there. But, why does it seem like it’s going to be #1 soon?
Well, there are a few reasons. First of all, video has the ability to capture and hold a person’s attention like no other content format.
With the proliferation of smartphones and high-speed internet, video content has become more accessible than ever before.
The rise of social media platforms, such as YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, has further popularized video content by enabling users to create and share videos with ease.
Video content is also highly versatile, as it can be used for a range of purposes, from entertainment to education, marketing to storytelling. Videos can convey complex information quickly and effectively, and they offer a more immersive experience than text or images alone.
Additionally, videos can be easily shared and have the potential to go viral, which is particularly appealing to businesses and content creators looking to reach a wider audience.
When you add shorter attention spans into this equation, well, it becomes quite clear why video is the future!
Step-By-Step Video Storytelling Tutorial
If you want to take advantage of videos and video storytelling, it is crucial to have a few essentials in mind.
To be precise, you need to follow these steps to successfully craft effective videos of this kind.
Identify your goal and audience
Identify your goal and target audience, as this will help you move forward with confidence. Before you start recording, you need to know why you are recording and who is supposed to see what you are recording.
Narrative
Create a narrative that is clear and memorable, with well-defined characters. It may be useful to hire individuals with screenplay experience to assist with this.
Pick your format
Decide on a video format that fits within your budget and timeline, whether it be animated, live-action, or special effects.
Production team
Assemble a production team or hire a production studio with prior experience that aligns with your goals. You need professional help if you don’t have the required expertise and staff.
Craft a strategy
Create a strategy that includes social media coverage, press releases, and events to draw attention to your brand and the new video.
Ensure that the promotion plan is in place before the video goes live to start spreading the word immediately.
Essential Video Storytelling Tips
Now that you have been introduced to the basics it’s time to move on to the tips that are designed to make your videos better.
Let’s take a look.
Repurpose and promote your content through video
Let’s say you have loads of great blog posts that have performed well in the past. Now, they are just sitting there archived and you really have no idea what to do with them.
Well, you could repurpose them!
After putting in the effort of researching, writing, editing, and designing your written content, taking advantage of video storytelling can help you amplify it in new and exciting ways.
Keep your audience’s attention span in mind
When telling a story, it is important to capture and maintain your audience’s attention throughout the entire ordeal. The same applies to video storytelling.
Many people wonder about the ideal length for a storytelling video, and this can vary depending on the platform.
There is a study involving an analysis of millions of Facebook posts containing videos and it determined that the optimal length was between two to five minutes, regardless of follower count.
In some cases, it may be necessary to create multiple versions of your video story at varying lengths.
For example, software company SAP created online ads ranging from six seconds to one minute, based on a TV ad featuring actor Clive Owen telling stories of how the brand's customers utilized its products.
Emotions
If you want to be successful at engaging and really striking a chord with the audience, you need to keep a few things in mind when it comes to people’s emotions.
You need to know a few methods that almost all experienced filmmakers use. Techniques like slow motion can emphasize the weight of a particular emotion, while exaggerated facial expressions can help the audience internalize the feeling of a scene.
Although video storytelling ads are typically shorter than feature films, the same principles can be applied to create emotional connections with the audience.
Music is crucial
This is one of the oldest ‘tricks’ in the book - the right music can take a video to a whole new level!
Music has a compelling ability to elicit emotions that viewers can relate to events in their lives. The type of music you choose to incorporate into your video story will depend on the mood you are aiming to convey.
While an upbeat track might appear to be an ideal choice, as it induces feelings of joy, studies have suggested that sad music can also have positive effects.
On the other hand, somber music has been linked to better emotional regulation and ignites the listener's imagination. If a slow, contemplative melody fits your storyline and characters, you can opt for that instead of happy tunes.
CTA!
What’s the point of a great video if it doesn’t stimulate people to take action?
It doesn’t matter what you want to achieve, one thing is for sure, you have to include a CTA somewhere.
Is it a button to subscribe or instructions to visit the official website?
It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you have a mechanism or a button that will guide viewers to where you want them to be at the end of your video.
Quality is your top priority
Although smartphones are capable of recording video content, it is recommended to either invest in professional quality equipment or collaborate with a professional media company when creating paid commercials, brand videos, or corporate videos.
It is important to remember that the quality of your video can shape someone's perception of your company.
Final Thoughts
You now know that video storytelling is a highly effective weapon that you need to have if you want to engage and keep your audience engaged.
This content format can make people feel emotionally invested in your story. And, you can also use it to educate people about your company and its products and services.
Just remember to evaluate your business needs and your marketing strategy to come up with the best possible videos in terms of type, style, length, tone, etc.
