5 Tips for Selling Your Story on Video

With Mobile video views up 400% in last 2 years (RealSEO), 6 Billion hours of videos watched EVERY MONTH on YouTube and 2.4B hours of video watched on mobile devices, video is an essential tool to telling your brand story. What do you need to know to make your #video #storytelling more effective?

1. Shorter stories are usually best. Mobile share of time watched for videos 1–3 minutes long is the highest ever at 22%. That said, if you can grab viewers with your opening “hook”, they are likely to stay for the long run. (See Wistia’s handy https://wistia.com/library/understanding-audience-retention )
2. Human stories drive engagement. Real stories sell. Note all the real stories being turned into feature films these days (Selma, Unbroken, Interstellar, Race). So if you can, put real people on camera to tell your story. That might mean someone walking through your factory giving viewers a “point of view” shot of your production line, or it might mean brief testimonials from donors or product users. For more on coaching good interviews, see my Lynda course https://www.lynda.com/Shooting-Video-tutorials/Art-Video-Interviews/141499-2.html 
3. Stories must be consumable on small screens, any time, anywhere. In 2014, mobile overtook desktop in terms of screen usage (Comscore). That translates into a new way of producing video content: frame shots that are not too wide or too busy; use bold graphics and fonts that are easy to read on mobile devices; audio matters more than ever—be sure to get high quality.
4. Consumers are also content creators. Every mobile phone user is also storyteller in their own communities. Don’t underestimate them by delivering over-branded, under-creative content. And encourage sharing by using embeddable links (available through YouTube, Wistia and other platforms) and hashtags in your videos.
5. Create Action Steps. People are primed to DO SOMETHING once they’ve watched your video. Take advantage of that fact. According to Forbes Insight, 59% of senior executives would rather watch video than read text, and 65% of those who viewed a video clicked through to visit the vendor website. That’s a huge opportunity you don’t want to miss!

Your stories have hundreds of potential channels and champions. But also lots of competition.  Position your stories as easily consumable content worth viewing, with an action to take at the end, and you’ve got video content that helps promote your brand story.