Guest Post by Torrey Tayenaka, Sparkhouse, on Video Storytelling

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, videos have skyrocketed in popularity. Audiences of all ages prefer to consume content through video formats – which you can use to your advantage as a brand.

Whether you’re just getting started with video marketing or you’re struggling to gain traction, here’s how you can use video storytelling to build connections with your audience.

Why Is Video Storytelling Effective?

With the popularity of video marketing, more and more brands are using video in their marketing strategies. While any type of video can be beneficial to distill your message and appeal to your audience, storytelling is one of the most effective ways to leave a lasting impression.

Why is video storytelling so impactful?

Human Psychology

Stories are a key part of human social development and understanding what it means to be human. Stories are passed down from generation to generation, describe history, offer a lesson, or simply entertain. All forms of entertainment rely on some form of storytelling, whether it’s a novel, movie, painting, or song.

Human psychology is a crucial part of marketing, as are emotions. Stories build that emotional connection and drive your marketing message home, making your video more relatable to viewers.

Sensory Experiences

While stories can be told through text and vivid descriptions, videos add an extra layer of context that ignites the senses. Videos combine moving images with voice narration, sound, on-screen text overlays, and more, activating all the senses. As a result, your video will stick around in the viewer’s mind much longer.

Shareability

Online users are bombarded with information and content on all their social feeds. It can be difficult to stand out. Videos that are short and eye-catching can not only capture the attention of the viewer but prompt them to share, widening your reach. People love sharing videos with others, especially if it has an emotional connection.

Types of Storytelling Videos

You can use videos to market your products, services, or brand itself, and there are many ways to do so. No matter the tone and personality of your brand, here are some types of storytelling videos to consider:

Customer Testimonials

You know that you have a great product or service, but viewers aren’t just going to take your word for it. The value is still subjective, but a customer testimonial can offer social proof to help viewers take a leap of faith with your product or service.

Consider testimonials that are unbiased reviews of your products or services. They can share how the product solved their product, building confidence in your viewers.

Behind-the-Scenes Videos

Humanizing your brand is an important factor in your success in the modern business climate. Fortunately, videos can do just that by showcasing the humans behind the logo. Behind-the-scenes videos offer a “peek behind the curtain” to show the audience who you are, how you operate, and what’s important to you.

Product Demonstrations

Product demonstrations are always helpful to viewers. Creating a series of product demonstrations allows you to take the product off the shelf and put it (virtually) in the hands of your audience. In doing so, they can see how it works and how it can be beneficial in real-world scenarios.

Explainer Videos

Depending on your industry, it may be difficult to convey the value of your product or service in your marketing messaging. This is especially true of brands that are in highly technical or niche markets, such as technology. Viewers may get bogged down with industry jargon or complexity, missing the benefits of the solution.

Explainer videos, which are short, animated videos that distill complicated topics into easy-to-digest content, are ideal for this purpose. You can break down the value of your product or service into digestible chunks of information to thoroughly explain a topic.

Tips for Success with Video Storytelling

Here are some best practices to embrace storytelling in your video marketing:

Keep It Short

While some long-form videos are effective, short-form videos have an incredible impact on social media. You only have a short time to gain the attention of the viewer and leave a good impression – typically about 30 seconds. Make sure your videos have a strong hook that captivates the audience in the first few seconds.

If you need a longer video to cover a topic, try to keep it under two minutes. If there’s a lot of information to cover, make a few shorter videos in a series.

Optimize for Mobile Devices

Many people watch videos on social media apps on their mobile devices. It’s crucial that your videos are optimized to play properly on small screens. For example, vertical video orientation is default on TikTok, so you may want to consider vertical video editing. Small text elements are also harder to read on a smaller screen.

Subtitles and Captions

Accessibility is essential for your videos. Subtitles and captions ensure that your video’s message is received by people with hearing impairments. Plenty of people watch videos on their phone in places where they need to be quiet, such as in a doctor’s waiting room, on a morning commute, or in the evening with family. Captions help them understand the video content with their phones on mute.

Distribute and Promote

Once your video is created, you have more work to do to get it front of the right audience. Consider the optimal distribution channels for your message and the platform where your audience spends most of their time.

Aside from social media, you can share a video on your website or in an email blast. For additional engagement, use paid video advertisements on video distribution networks like YouTube or Vimeo.

Connect with Your Ideal Audience

Video marketing is powerful on its own, but combining the elements of classic storytelling with video content can supercharge your message and help you build lasting connections with your audience. These tips should help you develop a video storytelling campaign that captivates social users and nurtures a loyal brand audience.

Guest Post by Torrey Tayenaka, Sparkhouse

— Author Bio: Torrey Tayenaka is the co-founder and CEO at Sparkhouse, a training video production agency. He is often asked to contribute expertise in publications like Entrepreneur, Single Grain and Forbes. Sparkhouse is known for transforming video marketing and advertising into real conversations.Rather than hitting the consumer over the head with blatant ads, Sparkhouse creates interesting, entertaining and useful videos that enrich the lives of his clients’ customers. In addition to Sparkhouse, Torrey has also founded the companies Eva Smart Shower, Litehouse & Forge54.