A Fool-Proof Guide To Telling Good Video Stories

With the proliferation of video content online and the speed with which it needs to be created, it’s easy to forget that video should be used for telling good stories.

The fundamentals of good storytelling are the same whether they are applied to video content, a great Hollywood blockbuster or a New York Times’ bestseller.

The seven fundamentals of good storytelling are as follows:

1. Create an opening sequence that will grab your audience’s attention.

2. Plot out your narrative arc with a beginning, middle and end.

3. Map out the emotional journey you’ll take your viewer on – the highs and lows; the suspense and the revelations.

4. Craft a narrative thread that helps carry the viewer from one scene to the next.

5. Consider how the characters will connect with the target audience.

6. End in a way that leaves the viewer wanting more and then, direct them to the next episode or more content.

7. Choose a style and treatment that evokes the right mood.

These choices around narrative arc, character and treatment will all depend on the objectives of the piece of content – what medium it’s going to be published on and who it’s created for.

While there’s no one size fits all, there is a toolkit of techniques that lends itself to branded video content. If you want to hook people in and create a strong narrative, hold their attention and inspire action by the closing frame.

The surprise

Surprise stories are structured around a surprise moment. Good examples of this are Red Bull and GoPro videos that focus on incredible human feats. But surprise videos aren’t just about amazement and awe; they can also be about unexpected, real life emotional responses - like the Tesco Mum of the Year film.

Research from Unruly shows that strong emotion and exhilaration are the biggest drivers behind sharing content, which is why surprise moments are often used in brand advertising.

But be cautious. Audiences can also suffer from exhilaration fatigue. WestJet’s Christmas 2013 campaign (below) - which surprised passengers by giving them Christmas gifts - was incredibly successful, but the stunt was copied by others and soon became stale.

Brands should take stock of this - remember to surprise and delight viewers, but in original ways.

The how-to

The how-to is a much-loved format for guidance content such as recipe videos and make-up tips. Usually structured in linear, process order, this approach should leave the viewer feeling more confident in taking a particular course of action – which can be as varied as helping people with barbeque-cleaning tips, mastering new cooking techniques or making courgetti without a spiraliser.

Although less likely to be shared because of its targeted nature, the how-to is highly searchable. The key is therefore to leverage your understanding of the target audience to hone in on a genuine pain point, and create something of real use and value.

The series link

Series link narratives usually takes a standard set of interview questions and repeats them in different settings - creating a set of videos around the same theme.

The questions are designed to explore a topic, usually combining expertise - perhaps fashion or film - with personal insight from the interviewee. Vogue’s 73 questions series is a great example of this, as is Meet the Makers from Mr Porter.

One of the great things about this kind of approach is that once you have captured an audience, you can easily direct them to the next video in the series, hold their attention and build a deeper level of engagement. It’s your hub content that earns you an audience over the long term.

My advice? Keep your surprises surprising, your advice helpful and your series link consistent…and your video content will sparkle.