The 4 Essentials To Using Video To Tell Your Brand’s Story

Video marketing is essential these days for any brand or business whether they are online or brick and mortar.

Video is engaging, effective, and has the power to reach a lot of people. When it comes to viral content, a video almost always tops the list. 

However, many brands are using video all wrong. Since the goal is to make more money, they tend to want to use it as a sales page and it ends up coming across as pushy or as a high-pressure sales pitch. This turns people off of your brand or business. 

Instead, a video should delight your potential customers or clients by telling your brand story in an entertaining way. Once you do this, then you will eventually see your revenue grow. In this article, we will go over several ways that videos can help tell your brand story effectively.

1 - Know What You’re About

The very first thing a corporate video production company is going to ask you when you hire them to make your video will be to define what your brand is about. They will want to know this because it determines what kind of video is going to work and what won’t. 

It sounds so obvious that it doesn’t need defining, but many businesses will struggle to say what their brand is actually about and what makes them tick. For instance, many will respond that they offer financial planning for people, but it is what the company does, not what it is about. 

An example of what a company is about is a brand like Patagonia. They make apparel for the outdoors, but they are about more than that. They are about ethical and environmental outdoor activities. They care about the environment and this helps guide them through their business decisions. It also is what defines their advertising.

Watch any ad done by Patagonia and the theme of environmental activism or awareness is a common thread throughout all of them. This is knowing what they’re about. 

2 - Have a Hook 

Having a hook may come across as saying that you need to have a gimmick to get people’s attention, but it is not the case and is really important. 

A good hook draws a viewer in and allows you to set the tone of the brand’s story within just a few seconds. There are many different types of hooks and ways to employ them but the essence of what you’re trying to achieve is to tap into an emotion. This will leave the viewer wanting more and allow them to connect with your brand on another level.  

Let’s use Patagonia as an example yet again. Their ads almost always begin with a scene set in immense natural beauty in its pure form. This elicits a feeling of wanting to experience nature that way and leads the viewer to watch more. 

Even humor can bring out emotion so a funny hook within the first few seconds will work to keep the viewer engaged. 

3 - Make Sure You Deliver

After the hook, the viewer will have a certain expectation of what is to come in the video. If they feel like they are going to get an engaging story or some other experience and then get hit with a sales pitch right away then they will be disappointed because the promise wasn’t what they expected.

Set the tone and give a preview of what is to come and then make sure that the content and tone match the expectation you led a viewer to have. This builds trust and will have the viewer wanting more. 

4 - Have a Unique Voice 

It is highly likely that your business has plenty of competition and you need to separate yourself from the pack. If you could see your competition coming out with a similar video, then this means that your voice is not unique enough. It didn’t have a unique angle that would help a viewer identify you from your competition. 

Make sure to align the story of your brand with a certain element that will make somebody want to be loyal to you over the competition. This unique identifier will be what the ideal customer needs to become a fan instead of just a customer.  

Conclusion

Every company is different even if there are a lot of other companies that offer the same product or service. The trick is to make sure to bring out that difference and let it shine to win people over.