A simple recipe for great video storytelling
Congratulations, you did it! You made a video. You wrote a script. Found some great talent. Worked out a compelling call to action. Got it looking flash in your editing software. Exported it in HD and finally, finally uploaded it to YouTube and hit PUBLISH.
You were about to sit back and watch the views roll in. But then you read that 30,000 hours of videos are published to YouTube every hour.
Yep – you read that correctly. Thirty. Thousand. Hours. Every hour.
You’re probably wondering if all of these videos get watched and the answer is: absolutely not.
But the ones that do get watched follow three commons steps. And that’s exactly what we’re discussing in this post.
There’s no time like the present so let’s get you up to speed with this recipe for great video storytelling.
Step 1 in your recipe for great video storytelling: Give some thought to your video’s purpose
So, what’s in your heart today?
What’s driving your forward?
What do you consider your life’s purpose to be?
Don’t worry this isn’t one of those blogs. You might not know the answers to any of these questions and that’s fine. Sometimes just getting out of bed is enough. And if you haven’t gotten that far yet, you can do what we’re about to ask from the cosy embrace of your 1000 thread count cotton sheets.
And what is that ask? Well, did the word ‘purpose’ give you any tips? No? Guess we’ll spell it out then.
We want you to think about the purpose of the video you’re making.
The good news is that it’s actually pretty quick to work out if you slow down and give some thought to why you’re crating a video at all.
Maybe you want it to increase sales for your jewellery line. Or build brand awareness for your dog grooming business. You might be trying to persuade your local council to increase how often they collect recycling. Or you could just want to use it to help you reach 2,000 followers on Instagram.
Big goals or small goals, it doesn’t matter.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself (and your team if you’re working with one):
Who am I speaking to?
What am I communicating with them?
What am I trying to achieve?
Once you know the answer to these questions, Eureka! You’ve got your purpose.
Step 2 in your recipe for great video storytelling: Create a strategy for your video
If you’re like most people just starting out in marketing, advertising or communications, you probably hear the word ‘strategy’ and think …Hmmm…I should know what this means…but …
Strategy is one of those scary terms that leaves many marketers shaking in their boots (even those with years and years in the game). Get it right and have people climbing over each other to watch your video. Get it wrong and well … crickets.
A solid strategy will outline the core intent of your video. Think of it as your plan for success. It will frame your vision and define your desired results. And it’ll pinpoint how you’re going to reach your audience and compel them to action too. Cool, huh?
You’ll also need to think about the messages you’ll communicate to your audience and the steps you want them to take after receiving your messages.
In basic terms, a great strategy will include:
Your goal. Where are you working towards? And how are you going to get there?
Your target audience. Who are you talking to?
Your messages. How will you reach your audience?
Your desired outcome. What do you want your audience to know, believe or do?
Getting your strategy down pat usually starts with knowing your audience through and through. It’s possible, trust us! We wrote the course on it.
Sign up to Define Your Ideal Audience now and discover the simple formula you need to create successful video projects that reach your audience.
Step 3 in your recipe for great video storytelling: Find a unique creative take on your topic
They say imitation is the highest form of flattery but sometimes it’s just better to go your own way.
Especially when it comes to videos. As we said at the top of this post, there are 30,000 hours of video content uploaded to YouTube EVERY. HOUR. So if your video is looking like all those other videos out there….well ….it’ll struggle to pull views.
Talk about a vibe killer, right? Especially after getting you so pumped about your video’s purpose and strategy.
The thing is it’s actually way more fun to add your own flavour to your video. And you don’t have to go all out with your style a la Baz Luhrmann either. Often just one creative take, like adding some animation or some cut away scenes can add a unique spin to your video that will keep it fresh, interesting and memorable for your audience.
If you’re a Moonshot Moonshine subscriber (and if you’re not, you can fix that problem by clicking here), you’ll have noticed that Mike and Sue are regularly interjected by a booming voice, often with some irreverent take on the topic it hand.
The voice sounds as if it’s coming from the heavens above but really (we’re about to pull the curtains back on our production process so stay alert!) we simply hired a voice over guy, got him to record a few pithy one-liners, handed it to our video editor and boom! A video series that’s conversational, informative and also distinctly Moonshine.
As Oscar Wilde famously said: Be you. Everybody else is taken.
There you have it. A simple recipe for great video storytelling
Here’s a super quick rundown for all the skim readers …
Step 1.
Purpose.
Work out why you’re making your video and what you hope it will achieve. This can be as ambitious as changing government policy or as shallow as boosting your online profile.
Step 2
Strategy.
Develop a strategy that outlines the desired results for your video and the steps you’ll take to get there.
Step 3
Creative take.
Don’t be afraid to make your video stand out! Add something a little bit different to your video that gives it a personal touch and keeps your audience super engaged.
After more video making advice? Jump over to the Moonshine Moonshot YouTube channel and get stuck in! And don’t forget to subscribe while you’re there.