Capture and share the human reality behind the product
People want to connect in an authentic, emotionally resonant way. When physical means of connecting become complicated or even impossible, we can and must turn to virtual means to engage. Storytelling as part of a digital strategy offers a solution that hybridizes both the emotional effectiveness of short films and the accessibility of social media. When you tell visual stories that reflect the lives your viewers lead on the other side of the screen, your brand becomes a part of their experience.
Cultural Current
Business audiences across functions and titles increasingly rely on video to research, understand and learn by proxy
Operational Current
Brands must go beyond product news and features to curate and share stories that connect to your audience’s passions
Tactical Current
From unboxing videos and podcasts, to explainer demos and webinars, the best solution is more than any one solution
Cultural
Marry your storytelling with tonality and timing to deliver precisely what people want to see
Audiences are only becoming more self-guided in their information needs, and it’s during this independent discovery that they begin to align with brands. Consider the power of the right story at the right time and place to build the foundation of their relationship with your brand. And consider how tonality affects the way the message is delivered and received. When you create that perfect interaction of environment and tone, your story becomes part of your audience’s as well.
Ask yourself the right questions
- Are you fully confident that your video content is as rich and relevant as it could be? If not, what would it take?
- What stories are your customers sharing through video?
- What data do you or could you have to illuminate your customers’ experiences today?
- How can your brand institutionalize a scalable storytelling process to ensure what’s being created will resonate and support people’s self-guided discovery?
- How could your brand’s story and tonality come to life across mediums so that it further resonates with audiences?
- How do your brand’s stories need to remain fresh and work harder so they continually make you stand apart from the crowd?
- As people’s needs and consumption behaviors change, how can you best stay ahead of the pulse?
70%
Increase year over year in how-to searches on YouTube
– B2B Content Marketing Trends –
70%
of B2B prospects go through multiple steps before interacting directly with a brand
– B2B Content Marketing Trends –
Operational
Go beyond product news and features; reach your audience’s passions
People are looking for a personal experience that meets their unique needs directly, quickly and with empathy. Whether a how-to video that answers just the right question, a credible testimonial that emboldens their decision-making or a story that introduces them to someone they feel they already know, video has the power to engage at a one-on-one level.
Prepare for a virtual future
We’re all in a learning laboratory now, using the tools available to create new ways to communicate. It’s already impossible to imagine returning to the old ways of knowing our audiences, so what’s next? Consider how your virtualization strategy needs to change in the coming days to maintain your existing connections and build new ones.
Tactical
Make the most of available options to tell your brand’s story
Now and for the foreseeable future, brands are facing the challenge of producing meaningful messaging with reduced resources. But DIY needn’t lead to ineffective production; in fact, it can enhance your storytelling. Changes that embrace the limited production options, including exploring different formats and making small changes to improve audio and video, can honor your brand’s identity while creating the authentic experience audiences seek.
Explore different formats:
- Interviews
- Testimonials and client stories
- Explainer videos
- Demos
- VR experiences
- GIFs
- Podcasts
- Webinars
Embrace (and enhance) the new DIY
Changes in how we work are the inevitable outcome of the COVID-19 era, and many content creators may not return to the office anytime soon. Brands must use available resources to deliver messages to their audience but still communicate with quality. Consider how small changes can transform an at-home presentation from amateur to authentic.