In a world full of cat videos and online trolls, it’s a difficult task to tell stories — and especially hard to make these stories go viral.
The truth is that there isn’t one absolute strategy to create viral content.
However, we can become better storytellers with practice, hard work, patience and persistence. But you know all that. I’m here to tell you about video, and why video is a powerful tool to tell your stories and engage with your audience.
So, why do you need video? Everyone tells stories different ways. Some of us write. Some others recite. I prefer video, and here’s why:
1. Effectiveness and Efficiency
It’s very simple: A well-written story can encapsulate your ideas in a couple of pages. A video can do the same in a couple of seconds.
Video has the power to capture audiences within seconds and deliver a message that they will remember. Whether it’s an educational concept or a bedtime story, there’s nothing more effective and efficient when telling stories than a narrative that you see and hear.
Fun fact: We remember what we see more than what we read or than what we hear. But don’t just take my word for it, ask Mr.Edgar Dale and his Cone of Experience.
2. Measurable Results
Yeah, science, bros!* The results speak for themselves. Colleges and universities, small and big businesses, and any smart marketer that uses video can monitor the success (or lack thereof) of their content and improve upon those results.
I can bore you with a billion stats on the effectiveness of video marketing, but instead I’d like to invite you to take a look at this infographic made by our friends at HubSpot: 31 Video Marketing Statistics.
*(I was really tempted to use Breaking Bad’s Jesse Pinkman infamous catch phrase here, but we are professionals. Let’s keep it PG-13).
3. Choice and Optimization
Remember when 3D became normal for us? Me neither. At the pace at which technology evolves, we have to assume that we are always changing and the resources we have available right now will become obsolete not too far in the future.
This is also relevant to video. Sometimes I find YouTube clips from 5 years ago and they look awful compared to the video resolution we use today. Yet, we still find these videos because they have a long lifespan. So how do we keep up with the evolution of video?
The future of interactive videos translates into choice and optimization. Companies like Mighteor and Rapt Media are doing amazing things for the future of video, optimizing video for mobile and offering interactivity to users. Therefore, we should expect an increasing number of people watching video in the future, and that’s another reason why we need video in marketing.
Content creators and a massive wave of online influencers have taught us that there are unlimited ways how to communicate a story. Yet, Influencers aren’t the ones reading articles about best practices — they’re the ones writing them.
Through the power of storytelling and data integration, we can produce great content for video, engage with audiences, create leads, and grow your business. Isn’t that what this is all about?
Thank you for reading! Comment below if you want to give me feedback or ideas on what to write next.
Illustration | GIF by Carlos Aguirre, @carlosaguirre__ on Instagram
