Since the beginning of human expression, storytelling has enabled humans to thrive. Stories allow communities to pass on knowledge and social habits, and share beliefs and values. In short, stories help us relate to others.
Storytelling isn’t just reserved for people, though. Brands need stories to stand out in today's noisy marketing landscape. Stories win because they elicit emotions and affect the decision-making process.
Moreover, video storytelling is vital to any brand’s education, entertainment, or marketing strategy. It brings life to ideas and personalities and allows you to convey your brand's character in a matter of minutes.
This guide unpacks video storytelling from start to finish. To better understand the art of video storytelling and how brands can leverage it for growth, I spoke to Rob Alderson, Vimeo’s former Director of Community & Engagement.
What is video storytelling?
Video storytelling is a marketing technique that allows people to experience a company, product, or service through a creative and visual lens.
"The amazing thing about video is that, at its heart, it’s a simple combination of sounds and images. But within those parameters, the possibilities are extraordinary. So for me, video storytelling is how you harness [sounds and images] to tell the most engaging and resonant story possible."
Video is uniquely immersive and engaging, more so than other visual marketing tactics like images, GIFs, and infographics.
“Video cuts through like no other medium and engages people on a deeper, maybe even more primal level,” said Rob.
Moreover, whether watching videos to shop, learn, or relax, over 70% of people reported happier moods and reduced stress when watching videos.
Recent data by MotionCue supports this:
- 76% of respondents said that product and service explainer videos help them make a buying decision
- 69% of consumers said that video testimonials and reviews help them make a buying decision
- 59% of consumers spent a quarter or more of their time watching social media videos
- 56% of people said that the pandemic pushed them toward online learning via video
There's tons of excellent video storytellers making incredible work today. Here are four examples of video storytelling we love:
1. Vimeo Staff Picks
“You only have to spend a couple of minutes in our curated Staff Picks to see a huge array of brilliant examples,” said Rob. “I like how our curation team thinks about quality—across storytelling, technical craft, originality, and championing diverse voices.”
2. WeTransfer
WeTransfer commissions a wide range of video work, from animation and documentary to drama. “Its piece with Riz Ahmed won an Oscar earlier this year,” Rob pointed out.
3. Patagonia
Patagonia tends to focus more on short-form documentaries, but “it’s one of the best brands around at telling stories with video,” Rob added.
“Both [WeTransfer and Patagonia] share a desire to tell stories that people will genuinely care about, will respond and react to on an emotional level, combined with a confidence to keep their brand and logo in the background,” Rob said.
4. Black Country Living Museum
Rob also said he loves what the UK’s Black Country Living Museum has built on TikTok.
“It’s far from polished, but it’s fun, compelling, and uses the vernacular of the platform to bring this slightly old-fashioned museum bang up-to-date,” he explained.
Video storytelling elements
Now, we’ll discuss the strategic and creative elements of storytelling with video and how you can use them in your next video project.
(Note that your audience and project goals should inform how you weave these elements into your storytelling.)
Theme
There are many different themes or messages that you can share through video storytelling, but they all share one purpose: to incite something from the audience—whether to scare them, inspire them, or teach them something.
If your video narrative is the backbone of your story, the theme is the “why.”
People and other visual elements
Few stories can be interesting without people, whether fictional or based on reality. Interesting stories have a conflict of some kind—with oneself, others, or due to something outside a character's control. Characters also provide a point-of-view through which your viewers can experience your story.
Including real people in your video storytelling projects allows your viewers to relate to your story and brand. Give your audience a good reason to love your characters and root for them. When viewers can see themselves in the stars of the video, it makes for better engagement.
Video storytelling allows you to communicate in obvious and in more subtle ways. The style and tone that underpin your visual storytelling can help you create emotion and set moods. Through choices around color and imagery, you can also incorporate your brand and personality.
Think about how your camera angles, scenery, and fonts can draw your viewers' attention spans to your video and make it resonate with them.
Emotion
Emotional stories allow viewers to connect with your characters and brand. Video storytelling provides a more immersive experience, encouraging emotional reactions and engagement through sharing.
One way to incite emotion is through pacing. Videos with a fast pace convey chaos and excitement, while slower-paced films often convey tranquility or gravity.
In Rob’s opinion, pace and timing are critical for the best video storytelling. “I have some reservations about this idea that everyone’s attention span is shot to pieces, and so everything needs to be short, sharp, and snackable,” he said. “It comes down to pace – I think viewers luxuriate in a story that takes its time to unfold if they have faith that the story is going somewhere.”
Lighting is another way to incite emotion. A dark atmosphere is often associated with a mood of seriousness, fear, or gloom, whereas a brightly lit one may suggest happiness and joy.
Sound and script
Quality audio makes your videos more impactful. Without it, your video may lose its visual appeal—after all, people's “ears are their eyes” when they watch videos. Sound is always in the background or forefront; it emphasizes moments and actions and helps string moments together.
The right music is a powerful tool and can positively affect your video story. This is especially the case where the music develops an emotional connection with what is happening on screen and pulls on viewers’ memories or nostalgia.
If your video has narration, a quality script is vital. A script can provide clarity and consistency across your video and ensure you deliver a captivating story. Good scripts should capture these aspects and help illustrate the final product.
Are you including a voiceover in your video? Your choice of actor and/or voiceover artist is very important because they should embody the style and feel of your script.
Lastly, don’t forget "natural sound," which includes whatever sounds are picked up while recording. While not always necessary, natural sound can add to the realism of your video and make it more immersive for your audience.
Length
The optimal length of your video depends on a few factors. If you’re primarily posting on social media, your chosen platform will dictate the length of your video for you.
If you’re publishing on Vimeo or elsewhere, a good video length is ten to twenty minutes. If your video is too short, you risk leaving your audience with more questions than answers.
"Brands are often blind to how little of people’s mental real estate we get granted. So when we do get that access, we need to respect and reward the attention we’re given. Video storytelling is really well-placed to justify that intrusion into someone’s day," said Rob.
How to weave video storytelling into your marketing strategy in 5 steps
Over the last five years, video has carved out a solid place in marketers’ playbooks. According to research, 86% of businesses used video in 2022, up about 20% from 2016.
Moreover, “87% of video marketers shared that video gives them a positive ROI—a world away from the lowly 33% who felt that way in 2015.”
As video has grown in popularity among marketers, it has also shifted in how it’s used. “Marketing has gone on a journey in recent years, from reach to resonance,” Rob mentioned.
“Remember when it was all about views, and we used to talk in terms of eyeballs?! Ugh. Now the conversation is much more about engagement, which boils down to: 'How do we create content that people care about?'”
This section demonstrates how to weave storytelling into your marketing strategy—so you can invest in and create successful, impactful video content.
1. Identify your audience, goal, and platform
Video storytelling can be used as a powerful marketing tool, as an educational tool, or just for entertainment purposes.
Whatever your goal, the first and most important element of storytelling with video is your audience. Your audience’s problems, pain points, and priorities should inform every aspect of your video storytelling, including the elements above. Fail to connect with your audience, and your investment into video storytelling may go to waste.
So, tap into your audience research and buyer personas as you craft your video storytelling strategy. Understand what matters to them and who they relate to. This information can help you make decisions about your video storytelling elements.
Before you get started, you should also understand the goals behind your video storytelling project. Just as your intended audience shouldn’t be “everyone,” your video storytelling goals can’t be “anything and everything.”
Work with your team to define what success looks like for your video project. Ask yourselves, “What action do we want our viewers to take after watching this video?” Your answer could be anything from “gaining awareness of our brand” to “purchasing our product.”
This answer will also inform your key performance indicators (KPIs) and allow you to measure the impact of your video storytelling project.
Lastly, decide where you’ll publish your video. Are you crafting a long-form video that will live on your website or a platform like Vimeo? Are you posting on social media? A video for Instagram will look quite different from one created for TV.
Where you’ll publish your video will affect its script, format, length, distribution strategy, and more.
2. Write your story
After digging into your target audience and project goals, create your narrative. What story do you want to tell? What message do you want to convey?
This step typically calls for a professional screenwriter or someone with experience writing for video. Since viewers will likely only see your video once or twice, every element of your video needs to be intentionally crafted.
Don’t shy away from using common tropes as inspiration at this stage. Looking at different types of stories, you'll notice a few proven plotlines, such as “the underdog,” a common theme in sports videos.
This could work well for businesses, too: the protagonist may still encounter a few enemies on their journey, but their main goal is usually to transform and evolve as a person. They often learn things about themselves that they didn't know before, sometimes featuring the brand’s product or service as a part of their journey.
Following proven tropes or themes allow viewers to connect with a familiar plotline and relate your story back to their own lives.
Consider other popular storytelling narratives like the linear narrative (tells a chronological story), the non-linear narrative (tells the story with flashbacks and different timelines), the quest narrative (also known as the “hero” story), and the viewpoint narrative (features different POVs of customers or employees).
3. Decide how you’ll tell your story with video
Technology (Vimeo!) has allowed us to tell video stories in many different ways—with live actors, through animation, with special effects, and even using our smartphones.
While your chosen video format will predominantly depend on your video storytelling budget, you should also consider your target audience, brand, project timeline, and available resources when making this decision.
Making a video with stock footage, B-roll, and/or animation will take significantly less time than a video with real actors or live interviews.
4. Hire a production team or studio
When interviewing video experts, review their portfolio to confirm their style and storytelling approach matches your brand and project goals.
Projects like these may also call for a Request for Proposal (RFP) so you can compare multiple studios and see which aligns best with your needs.
For example, if your team has prepared a video script and has already secured voice artists, perhaps you only need an animation team to bring your video to life. Alternatively, if you’re a small team or have no video experts in-house, you may want to bring on a full-service production agency. The latter can manage everything from scriptwriting and casting to filming and editing.
However you choose to outsource your video production, be sure to stay close to the project. Don’t forget to add a final call to action to remind your audience of your message.
5. Determine your video distribution strategy
Recall the platform(s) you determined in step one. Where will you publish your new video?
If your video is long and published on a platform like Vimeo, work with your production team to create a shorter highlight reel or trailer to promote it on social media or via ads and drive viewers to your intended platform. If it was made for social media, consider repurposing it for other channels for maximum reach.
Don’t forget to share your video with your established audience, too. Add it to your email newsletter, share it in your communities, and consider posting a press release.
Why you should pay attention to interactive video
Interactive video takes video storytelling one step further, engaging consumers in a world where skimming, scanning, and scrolling is the norm
What is interactive video, you ask? It elevates standard video, allowing viewers to interact with different content elements. For example, while you may watch a traditional video from start to finish, interactive video enables you (as the viewer) to have a more immersive experience and even shop the videos.
Interactive video storytelling is more immersive. It underscores the importance of structure, chaptering, and storyboarding to keep viewers extra invested.
Brands like Colada Creative create interactive videos on Vimeo to connect with their audiences in new, exciting ways and immerse them in realistic and educational content.
One powerful use case for interactive video is to tell immersive brand stories—a great addition to your video storytelling strategy.
With Vimeo, you can add interactive touch points like hotspots or overlays, offer a self-directed viewing experience, customize each touchpoint to match your branding guidelines, and gain a new perspective on your audience through unique data.
Over to you
“It’s quite easy in modern marketing to talk at people and spray content and communications out into the world,” Rob shared. “But that’s not enough—we want people to engage with what we’re saying and remember it so that our brand is top of mind, with all sorts of positive associations. Video does that better than text, better than audio, better than still imagery.”
According to Rob, video can be applied across marketing touch points if we focus on those key principles. He reminds us: How do we use the combination of sounds and imagery to create something people will care about?
Take advantage of Vimeo's innovative solutions like the AI-powered script generator, video prompter tool, automated captioning tool, and AI translation service for seamless video production.
