Why do we feel strong emotional connections to video storytelling? Because stories entice us to remember and connect with a company’s brand. Businesses that capitalize on storytelling as part of their video marketing strategies increase their traffic, leads and conversions, says, Shaq Abboud, Creative Producer, Scope Productions.
There’s a reason why you might have heard the buzzword ‘storytelling’ thrown around the marketing industry lately. Storytelling is a simple and natural way of making video content interesting. Told well, stories can influence your audience to take action. What more could you want as a business to elevate your brand and fend off the competition? In fact, businesses today are typically publishing 33 videos each month.
There are many reasons why businesses are leaping onto the video storytelling bandwagon. We have rounded some of these up and explored why marketers are investing in video storytelling like never before.
Storytelling Creates Memories
Right from an early age, our parents read us fairy-tales and nursery rhymes. Bet you can remember more than one you were taught as a child. Tales were designed to help us grow into people with moral principles and written in a way that made them interesting, enjoyable and memorable.
A good story can still impact us well into adulthood. We still love them, and we still remember them. We might not remember every intricate detail, but we will remember the important parts, the parts that make us feel something.
Told strategically, stories can effectively create memories in your listeners and viewers. There is no need for a ground-breaking Oscar-worthy story either. Champion storyteller, Kindra Hall says: ‘You don’t have to make someone cry. You just have to make them see the story and imagine themselves in it.’ This is because a story created in video format allows viewers to see, hear and even taste and smell your message.
All four senses activate the parts of the brain that build memories. So, it is important for marketers to focus storytelling around prominent messages. You want your audience to remember your message and be motivated to act. And this brings us to our next point.
Storytelling Is An Organic Incentive
Airbnb has not only taken the world by storm with its services and advertising, but it is notorious for its powerful storytelling. Its simple but smart animation, ‘Wall and Chain’, inspires people all over the world because the story is real and pulls you in with themes of connection, family and being a world citizen. The emotions it evokes are mind-blowing.
By making their brand ethos a part of the bigger picture, businesses can focus on the one key message they wish to convey and create a powerful and relevant story – just as Airbnb did with its animation.
On the flipside, you can also give your audience something to remember by telling them a somewhat clever story with humour scattered through it. Take the McDonald’s UK Madness video ad as an example. It makes a mockery of today’s expensive and extravagant coffee options.
Stories are a level-playing field for marketers. A good story with a well-defined moral will motivate your audience much more naturally than a forced sales pitch would. And with a memorable story that inspires your viewers, you can create some lifelong relationships – our next topic.
Storytelling Creates Lasting Relationships
Any marketer will tell you that relationships with clients are the jackpot. Viewers who engage with your brand will not only be repeat customers but will tell their friends about you too.
The best way to form relationships with your audience is through emotional connection. That’s because we are hardwired to respond to video, especially when it is telling a story. When your audience watches your story, their emotions start to mirror what is on the screen. Think about the anxiety you feel when you watch a thriller or horror. Spotify tapped into the anxiety-inducing emotions with its Spotify horror movie spoof. Just by briefly interacting with its audience and triggering a fear/anxiety response, Spotify makes a significant impact.
By building lasting relationships with your viewers, you can increase your sales and ROI (return on investment). Let’s investigate this in the next section.
Storytelling Boosts Conversions And ROI
Did you know that 71 percent of buyers who see personal value in and connection to a product purchase it? And that people are 118 percent more likely to purchase a product that is presented in story form over facts?
This is because stories sell. In 2016, Marks and Spencer in the UK released a video ad of Mrs Claus helping a little boy. The ad received more than 45,000 tweets and more than 8 million views on YouTube.
With such phenomenal statistics, it is no secret that a video which weaves storytelling into selling increases conversions and ROI significantly. All good stories, however, must follow a basic formula to prompt viewers into action. These are:
- A good, juicy plot that introduces a relatable character.
- A hero which your audience can identify your brand with.
- Conflict for your character to overcome.
- The hero’s journey where your character powers through, enticing your audience to become invested.
- A resolution that evokes emotion from your audience and inspires them to connect with your brand and take action.
And this takes us to our last point, brand authenticity – getting your audience to connect with the heart of your brand.
Video Storytelling Creates Brand Authenticity
It is paramount that you create an authentic connection with your customers. You don’t want to watch your leads walk out the door without striking a deal, do you? And you cannot build authentic connections with facts. You need stories.
Brand Budweiser knows just how to do this with its ‘Best Buds’ puppy and horse ad. Who doesn’t love an ad with a puppy in it? Storytelling gives your customers the chance to identify with your brand’s purpose. And you can’t communicate your company’s mission without introducing a powerful narrative. Equally, you can’t convey your message through data. You want to target your message by channeling a direct pathway to your audience’s hearts and minds.
And by provoking and inspiring your viewers your video content will be instantly shareable. Emotional connections are priceless, far more profitable than facts, data and dollars.
Wrap Up
Now that we have come to the end of our list, keep these pointers in mind when you tell your company’s story in a video. The take-home message is to make your story relevant and relatable, and most of all captivating, to evoke emotion and engage your viewers. Remember: Emotions move people to take action. So, get your story on now!
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This article first appeared in www.martechadvisor.com
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