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With Creative Storytelling, Corporate Videos Can Soar
One of the most popular buzzwords for marketing professionals (and especially content marketers) over the past several years has been “storytelling.” By now, you’ve likely heard that storytelling is critical to the marketing process and that you need to work hard to ensure all of your content tells a story. For videos, this is especially important.
The problem is that not many of us know exactly what this means. How do we tell stories with our corporate video content? What does it even mean to tell a story? Most importantly, how do we put these ideas into action?
To help you out, here’s everything you need to know about creative storytelling with corporate videos and why it matters:
What Storytelling Means
At its heart, storytelling is actually quite simple. A good story has three parts – a beginning, a middle, and an end. Of course, a good story has a bit more. You need characters, some sort of conflict or a problem, and an interesting setting. It means starting with a premise and slowly building to an interesting, dramatic resolution. A good story means engaging your audience in the media they prefer to consume: video.
.It’s important to know what doesn’t make a compelling story.t. A story isn’t a snappy marketing slogan or buzzword. It’s not an impressive result or statistic that you want to share with your audience. Stories are authentic and have a purpose. If you can figure out what the true purpose of your corporate video, you can tell a compelling story.
Why Storytelling Matters
Stories are important because you need a reason to make your audience care. A good story can tug at someone’s heartstrings, make them think, or give them a reason to smile. They’ll put themselves in in your story and start to really think about your brand.
A good story differentiates you from the competition. When you’re telling a story, people aren’t focused on how much something costs, or how quickly it can ship. They’re worried about what it does and how it makes them feel. When you start telling stories, you stop competing on price and start positioning yourself separate from the competition. If you truly want to start building your audience, you cannot avoid storytelling.
Putting Storytelling Into Action
Now that we understand why storytelling matters and what it means exactly, we can take a look at how to build great stories. The first step is figuring out what story we want to tell. This seems quite difficult, but you just need to think about why you’re making a video in the first place. Who is your audience and who do they identify with? There are your characters. What problems do they have? There’s your conflict. How are you going to solve those problems? There’s your resolution.
The next step is finding some sort of unique angle. This can also be tricky, but it’s imperative. A unique story grabs your audience’s attention and keeps them watching to the end. By offering them a fresh perspective, you’ll stick in their minds long after the video ends. The key here is simply using your creativity. Tackle an old story in a different way, or try to use some personality and humor. Think about what makes your company different and you should have a good idea of what direction to take your corporate video.
Finally, you simply need to put it all together and tell the story. Start off with your creativity to hook the viewer, build towards resolution, and end with a bang, then a call-to-action. With this framework in place, your videos will tell a truly interesting story.
Learning From the Best – Examples of Great Storytelling
The best way to get a handle on how to build a corporate video with a great story is by taking a look at other companies who have been able to do just that. Here are three examples of brands that got storytelling right:
Google’s video is a remarkable example of how to use your products in the background of an amazing story. It tells the tale of an old man who has been long separated from his best childhood friend. Using Google Search’s tools, his granddaughter is able to track him down and reunite him, tugging at everyone’s heartstrings.
Project Renewal is a company that helps men and women who are without a home. This powerful video tells the story of a specific family that they were able to help. Throughout the three-and-a-half minute video, they interview employees and members of the family who were helped. A good takeaway is that you should always use your own best customers and success stories. They have a great story to tell about your brand, and corporate video is the perfect platform for them.
M&M’s shows that you don’t have to be dramatic to tell a story. This creative video is actually a parody of an old Tom Cruise movie, with a focus on M&M’s candy. The approach is different, but it comes together in an entertaining and engaging fashion, making it a great branding tool.
Even with a strong framework in place, creating a corporate video that tells a strong story takes a lot of expertise. Every shot must be expertly crafted to keep viewers engaged. Without the right crew, it might be hard to get every shot exactly how you need it.
That’s where Crews Control comes in! We can help you find the perfect crew for your next corporate video shoot. All you have to do to get started is click here for a free quote.
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