Blog: The uprising of Video Storytelling [and how to use it in 2020]

An easy guide on how video content and brand storytelling will dramatically increase your marketing results.

Video camera used as a representation of video storytelling

If you have been reading marketing blogs or articles, looking for tips and suggestion on how to improve your marketing efforts or if you have been browsing the web looking for expert advice, then you might have come across the terms “brand storytelling” or “video storytelling” already. But what does it mean? This guide attempts to answer this question and give you an outline of what video content can help you scale your business.

Video storytelling is a marketing method that uses video to tell a story about your brand to an audience of potential clients. Instead of selling your company using a sales pitch, brand storytelling appeals to the emotional side of the viewers, finding a common ground between you and your audience and developing an inner connection.

People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it and what you do simply proves what you believe

Simon Sinek

This quote is one of the most used in marketing blogs, courses and articles. Why? Because it’s true!

Brand promotion has changed in the last decade and those tactics that were booming ten years ago, are not working nowadays. Brand storytelling is now not only available to the big players. With the development of technology and resources being available to businesses of all sizes, now small businesses can benefit from it too.

Whether we talk about content marketing, pay-per-click, social media or any other form, the digital marketing world is becoming more and more competitive. That’s why businesses that succeed in humanizing their brand and connect to their clients are those who are winning.

The graphs above show the results of a survey conducted by Wyzowl about the state of Video marketing in 2020. The survey highlights the increasing trend of Video content across all industries.

As highlighted by this research, Video is a trend that has been constantly increasing in the last few years and will continue to do so. Brands that understand how to leverage storytelling and use video effectively are those that are destined to success!

Now that we have highlighted the benefits of video storytelling and what the trends and research have shown, let’s dive into the more “practical” side of this guide.

What should the brand’s story be about?

There are many stories you can tell to promote your brand through narrative-based content. This doesn’t mean that you have to stand in front of a camera and tell your business’s story.

Storytelling is about finding a way to describe a problem and offer a solution using an engaging tone and visual aids.

Check some great examples below!

How Kia reached more people using humour and a unique storytelling approach
Video storytelling leverages on people’s emotion to connect and inspire
Coca-Cola is famous for using storytelling to create an inner connection with its customers.

The elements of Video storytelling

These are the point you need to have clear in mind before venturing in producing a video.

  • Your Target audience
    Before you start rolling the camera you need to have your target clearly in mind. Who are you talking to? Having a clear audience is what will determine your tone, visual elements and even the distribution method.
  • The problem
    What is the problem your product is going to solve? What is the purpose of your business?
  • The solution
    How are you going to solve that problem? This is where you are showing your product and describe how it will help your target audience to address the issue they are facing.
  • The platform
    The distribution platform you choose influences many aspects of the creative, including the length, aspect ratio and tone. You need to have this in mind before you start.

The structure of a story

Many structures can be used to tell a brand story. However, most of the times the simplest structures are the most effective.

To tell a good story you need:

  • Introduction: you introduce the characters and highlight the peculiarity that your audience will identify with.
  • Inciting incident: this element is used to highlight the problem that your clients are facing and your brand wants to solve.
  • Action: how the problem evolves and how it influences the action of your characters.
  • Climax: the peak of the action, the character is overwhelmed and the problem seems not to have a solution.
  • Resolution: you are bringing your brand into the picture, showing how you can solve the client’s problem.
Brand video storytelling - the structure of a story

Stories can be longer or shorter and not all elements need to be extensively developed.
Sometimes some elements can be combined, like the action and the climax. Other times you can introduce the characters and the problem at the same time.

Watch the examples above and try to identify the 5 elements of the story. As you can see from those examples, the brand is not coming into the story until the very end.

This is what storytelling is! It’s about people, not logos.


Did you enjoy this guide to video storytelling guide? Are you ready to jump into it? Get in touch with the team at Quinlan marketing and find out how we can help you!

September 10, 2020 Christian
: The uprising of Video Storytelling [and how to use it in 2020] An easy guide on how video content and brand storytelling will dramatically increase your marketing results. If you have been reading marketing blogs or articles, looking for tips and suggestion on how to improve your marketing efforts or if...
Writen by Christian Interested in all things digital, including SEO, PPC, Web Design and more. Enjoys writing about using digital marketing to leverage results for smaller businesses.

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