Why Video Is Becoming The Main Form Of Online Content

It's possible you're still old school in your marketing efforts, and you continually wonder why video is becoming the main form of online content. If you realize how much of a visual culture we live in, it shouldn't surprise you, even if you've used other visual media for marketing purposes. While it's true other marketing tools using imagery helps in conveying ideas (especially Instagram), videos enable something much more effective.

No doubt you've heard about how storytelling is becoming the center of importance in marketing campaigns. For companies big and small, you're starting to see the idea of telling a story in compact form through videos. Further evidence of its role in business marketing comes from Entrepreneur that deemed last year "the year of the story."

Storytelling, though, encompasses a wide area. It's still the true backbone to why video rules, despite the challenges of length. The key aspect to being successful at video marketing is telling a compelling story in as short of time as possible.

You can create video storytelling in several different ways to help communicate your company message, or through a fictional piece representing something everyone can relate to.

Storytelling in Background Videos

Giant videos that fill the entire background are a popular trend lately on business websites. You can see a good example of this on PayPal where a video plays automatically the minute you visit their home page. Mind you, it's a silent video, which gives you a good starting point in realizing how effective storytelling doesn't always need sound.

Take a closer look at PayPal's video, and you can see how they manage to convey all the benefits of using PayPal for business in just a few seconds. It's a good template to borrow from in telling a story that makes gears turn in a viewer without having to explain everything.

This isn't to say you still couldn't use audio on a background video. Using this concept all depends on what you want to convey. That's your next challenge in determining how to tell a story in short form.

Crafting a Story in a Short Video

Many companies use Instagram Video now for a good reason: It runs only seconds and can create an immediate impact with the right narrative idea. The real secret is to set a scene already in progress with visual cues so the viewer can piece everything together. Look at many corporate Instagram videos out there today to see exactly how this works.

Humor is always a good approach to these, especially with a lot of irony. It also helps to set up a story situation everyone can relate to, which usually means a problem underway your product helps solve.

How-To Videos

In other business fields, videos aren't always stuck in micro-form. How-to videos are some of the best ways to tell a story using your products. Creating a how-to vid doesn't mean boring step-by-step tutorials either if you can deftly incorporate a story into the proceedings.

For many companies, a how-to video means giving a tour of where products get made and introducing employees behind the scenes. When you do this, you personalize your company to the viewer so it feels like everyone in the business is a good friend.

SEE ALSO: Video for Business Crash Course

The Story Behind Your Company

Another good use of video is telling the background about the founding of your company. Whether you do this with actors or with real people, it can set up an emotional connection to the viewer if your story fits their own backgrounds.

Almost all company owners have an emotional story that led them into the industry they're in. Search for that in your own company and bring it out in video form, though in bite-size pieces.