Short-form video rose to popularity after the pandemic, when people were stuck at home browsing social media newsfeed. It was more than just a passing trend, however. The preference for bite-sized video content thrust TikTok into the spotlight – and Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts along with it.
If you want to build your brand and tell a story, video is one of the best ways to do it. There’s a lot of craftsmanship that goes into engaging, concise, and impactful bite-sized videos, though, and here’s what you need to know.
The Power of Storytelling
In general, visual content captures attention more than the written word. However, there needs to be a story tying it all together. Visual appeal for the sake of it won’t hold an audience, no matter how beautiful your video is.
The right story paired with stunning visuals gives your content depth, shares your brand’s message, and humanizes your brand. This is not only more effective than content that’s strictly promotional, but also brings an emotional hook that builds trust with audiences.
Here are some benefits to storytelling in your bite-sized videos:
Attention Grabbing
Capturing the attention of a social media user is no easy feat. With tons of content crowding newsfeeds, it can be difficult to get a user to stop scrolling long enough to absorb a message. However, video content with storytelling can help you create an emotional hook that grabs attention and holds onto it.
Information Retention
Stories can be used to explain, move, educate, inspire, and much more. As a result, viewers are more likely to remember what they learned in a video compared to the written word. Just think of how easily most people recall critical moments from a movie, but not a book.
Brand Humanizing
People want to purchase from brands that align with their values. They want to support the human behind the brand, not a faceless corporation. Storytelling in video form can develop this deep connection and authenticity that helps your audience see the human that built your brand and the people who make it happen.
How to Use Storytelling in Short-Form Video
Short-form video can be powerful, but it has to be effective. Here are some tips to incorporate storytelling into your short-form video content:
Use the 4 Ps of Storytelling
The 4 Ps of storytelling are a framework to create a focused narrative that drives a message home:
- Plot: The story you’re telling.
- Purpose: The goal or purpose of the story and what you expect to inspire in the audience.
- People: The characters and their relatable characteristics that audiences connect with.
- Place: The location of the story and how it plays a role in the message.
Once you know your 4 Ps, you can craft your story to make an impact.
Have a Concise Message
Marketing messaging should always be concise and to the point. Your story is the same way, focusing on a single message at a time. This is especially important with shorter videos, as you don’t have the time to deliver multiple messages. If you try, you’ll have a chaotic, vague, and purposeless story.
The core message that your story is trying to tell should be tailored to your audience. Make sure you understand your different audience segments and their goals, challenges, problems, pain points, and aspirations, as well as how your products or services can offer value to them, to focus your message.
Craft the Structure and Story Arc
Stories have a beginning, middle, and end, no matter their format. Short-form videos present this arc in a much shorter time than a long-form video, so you have to think about every single detail to fit in all you want to say.
Most stories follow one of these arcs:
- Three-act: These stories have a beginning that introduces the characters and the setting. Then, the conflict is introduced that the characters have to overcome, which could be the pain points that your customers have and the way your product helps.
- Two-act: These stories introduce a problem and its solution. Two-act stories can be effective in short-form videos because they’re direct and maximize time, such as introducing the common problem customers have and highlighting your product or sharing a product demonstration.
- Hero’s journey: The hero’s journey is a popular story structure that’s found in Hollywood films of all genres, featuring a hero and the challenge they face in a journey of transformation. You can modify the hero’s journey to your brand by using a relatable character and the challenge they must overcome.
Rely on Emotional Hooks
Emotions drive decision-making, just like logic. However, emotions can be especially powerful when it comes to memory. People tend to recall a video that inspired an emotional response, whether it’s sadness, anger, happiness, humor, or nostalgia.
For example, this Children’s Aid video highlights challenges faced by many children in the path to living their dreams and delivers a message of hope and perseverance. This video from the Nature Conservancy focuses on the drive to build urban forests, blending factual information with a sense of urgency to inspire action from the audience.
Include Micro-Stories
Some stories are simply too long to tell effectively in under a minute. In this case, you can break your story into micro-stories – smaller, digestible videos that connect with different audience segments and relate to the overall arc and narrative – that can be used in a video series.
For example, a “about us” video can start with the brand story and history, then an introduction to products and customer success stories. Industry news, employee highlights, or charitable initiatives also make for great micro-stories in your narrative.
Embrace Bite-Sized Videos to Tell Your Brand Story
Short-form video is a wildly popular option for marketing, capturing attention, building trust, and making an impact, especially when you include some storytelling. These tips should help you craft a story perfectly suited to short-form content.
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