Effective storytelling for video marketing

The digital advertising market has created new opportunities for business expansion for SMBs. Beyond expensive TV advertisements, a robust technical revolution stimulates marketing performance based on sophisticated targeting. However, competition is getting tougher as competition beyond national boundaries arises and ad fatigue increases. Various tactics are used to survive in this competition. In this post, I will explain the compelling storytelling arc for video marketing.

Traditional storytelling arc vs. digital marketing storytelling arc

Think of the typical storytelling arc, you know. You can think of a movie. The story starts quietly, peaks at the climax, and then descend again. It is the general narrative structure as we know it. However, in digital marketing, the storytelling arc needs to be structured in a completely different form. For example, to create a thumb-stop moment, you need to catch the eye of the customer in the moment. Thumb-stop in this context refers to a customer’s habit of continuing to scroll down with the thumb on social media in a timeline format.

Are your customers ready?

The biggest mistake we make as producers is overlooking the fact that our customers aren’t ready to listen. Our customers don’t care what products we make or what services we provide. We must first recognize that our products can directly solve the problems of our customers. That way, you finally get the first chance to mention your service. Everything you say before that is just unnecessary garbage. You can tell your product name, product strengths, promotions, etc., only when you accurately state the customer’s problems and are ready to listen to your video ads.

The appropriate length of video ads

First, the concept of proper length is relative. It depends on the product and platform, and it depends on the industry you belong to. For example, in a YouTube ad, the Bumper ad is fixed at 6 seconds. There is no time limit for general TrueView products, but it is recommended to design it for 15 to 30 seconds. Here too, it is essential to pay attention to eye-catching in the beginning. As the length of the entire video is short, a hooking point that can catch the customer’s attention in 3 to 5 seconds is necessary. However, this criterion is not absolute. If you look at the ads that performed well among the actual YouTube ads, many videos are longer than one minute. Most of them are based on good storytelling, so they immerse customers and keep them watching the ads to the end. However, unless we make a high-quality video with a sufficient budget, fancy shooting equipment, and lovely models, it is better to keep the video shorter than 30 seconds. To make short videos with small budgets, there are many free online video makers. If needed, you can also source quality stock video footage from Artgrid. Use this Artgrid discount code to get two months free.

Eye-catching, and then what?

It is also important to finish well if you have attracted customers’ attention and mentioned your product. Proper Call-to-Action (CTA) can give you more than 2x conversions. CTA here is not a physical button. Instead, it tells the audience what to do next within the video ad. For example, it is good to put a direct message such as “Join now” or “Apply for a consultation now.”

Storytelling arc in video marketing

So far, I have introduced the crucial points of storytelling for effective video marketing. First, I said that the narrative structure in the digital advertising era is different. Second, it is essential to put the most important message at the beginning. In that way, it is vital to design the early part so that you can get your customers’ eye-catching from a limited audience and limited inventory. And next, I said that it is essential not to mention the strengths of our products from the beginning, but to show that you fully understand the problems, pain points, and needs of our customers. That’s the next step to make a bond with your customers. And at the end, I said it was essential to give the audience clear guidance. If the audience is interested after seeing the ad, you should message what action to take next.