Hey, you!
Phew, we’re glad we managed to get your attention there via the increasingly stale medium of mere words.
Because in the modern world of content and creation, visual storytelling is perhaps the most powerful means of connecting with customers and potential clients. Indeed, if you’re looking to grow your company’s audience, storytelling through video marketing will help you achieve this goal.
Here’s why; today, we’re looking at the value of visual storytelling in boosting brand awareness.
WHAT EXACTLY IS VISUAL STORYTELLING?
Before we dive into its importance, let’s first consider what visual storytelling actually is. The Content Marketing Institute define it thusly:
“Visual storytelling involves the use of graphics, images, pictures, and videos to engage with viewers in an effort to drive emotions, engage intercommunication, and motivate an audience to action.”
More often than not, this type of marketing is designed to take the consumer on a journey, convincing them through the length of the video or storyboard to engage with the company and ultimately, to trust them.
INCREASE BRAND AWARENESS
Visual storytelling helps create a positive image of your company in the minds of the public.
Keeping customers informed and apprised about new products, services or marketing campaigns gives people an opportunity to engage with your business on social media. This paves the way for greater opportunities as storytelling video production builds up trust between you and your target market, leaving them open and receptive to future advertising.
Through effective storytelling, companies can increase their online traffic through better visibility on search engines such as Google and Bing, with many Search Engine Optimisation experts believing that increasing the variety of your company’s content can boost its page rank. Indeed, according to a study published in Forbes, ‘’people spend 2.6 times more time on websites with video than those without.’’
And in the attention economy, that’s what it’s all about, right?
ENHANCE STORYTELLING WITH VIDEO PRODUCTION TO REACH A WIDER AUDIENCE
When storytelling through video production is done well, it catches the viewer’s attention and leaves them craving more content. Once you convert these clicks into custom, then that invaluable bond between consumer and company is firmly formed.
In today’s society, people are sometimes sceptical of marketing messages coming at them through traditional mediums, such as television and radio ads.
However, video storytelling produces a narrative that is unique and original in content because it’s been created with the input of the company themselves, with team members who have lived and breathed the growth of the business and understand its visceral, emotional appeal.
This, in turn, helps develop an emotional connection with potential customers, which can lead to brand loyalty; the ultimate goal. Just like any effective marketing program, storytelling through video production should be measured and evaluated continuously to ensure it’s doing its job well.
CREATING A SENSE OF COMMUNITY
Mind you, video production is no longer just for storytelling. It now encompasses many production formats, including, perhaps most pertinently, corporate storytelling. This aims to create a sense of community between customer and company in what is sometimes a standoffish relationship. And it’s through storytelling that businesses can weave stories into their marketing messages so they come across as more genuine and authentic.
In today’s society, where content is king, sovereign and omnipresent, companies need to take storytelling seriously in order to effectively deliver their message across all platforms – especially if that storytelling is integral to their overall brand identity or mission statement.
A business may incorporate storytelling videos into its marketing strategy to promote its social responsibility projects or corporate philanthropy. This allows storytelling and video production to become a key part of clarifying a company’s core values.
The only way to create truly original, engaging content is to first have a clear understanding of what makes your brand unique. As such, it’s essential prior to beginning a video marketing campaign, to identify as a company the precise message you’re trying to get across.
SPEND EXTRA TIME ON EDITING
A few words on the technical side of things…
During the video production process, make sure you are making use of video production software that allows you to go back and do video editing anytime during video creation. This way, you’ll have video content that’s ready to be distributed on video sharing sites, social networking sites and video hosting platforms, allowing your story to develop in real time.
SHARING IS CARING
Once your video marketing is captured and complete, it’s time to share it with the world. It’s at this point that your team has to decide whether it’s ubiquity or exclusivity that they value. Check out these 5 of the best online marketing tools to capture the attention of new customers for more on that.