Why You Need to Use Video to Help Tell Your Story

By Jessica Alex

Gary Vee (Vaynerchuk), entrepreneur and bestselling author, once said, “No matter what you do, your job is to tell your story.” Storytelling can be such an effective way to communicate, and when done right, it can leave a lasting impression. In fact, storytelling can have such a huge impact for businesses that, as Seth Godin, author, entrepreneur and marketing genius, puts it, “Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.” Mic drop.

So, you’re convinced that you need to be more of a storyteller — but how do you go about it? One of the ways to reach people more quickly and effectively is through video content. James Wedmore, entrepreneur and marketer, says, “Video is an effective form of communication that needs to be integrated into each and every aspect of your existing marketing efforts” — and I couldn’t agree more. Video content tends to have higher engagement rates on platforms such as Instagram, it can help with credibility (for instance, creating how-to videos) and tends to reach a wider audience. People seem to connect more with video, and if your content is engaging enough, they will stay longer than they would with a photo or text.

Here are a few stats on why you should be using video to tell your story.

According to Insivia, viewers retain 95 per cent of a message when they watch it in a video compared to just 10 per cent when reading it in text. Do you want your message to be digested by your target audience? Think about adding videos to your marketing strategy.

And if that stat didn’t blow your mind, how about this one:

The average user spends 88 per cent more time on a website with video (Forbes, 2018).

Tip: Think about adding a video that welcomes visitors to your page, and tell your story to get them to stay.

Not sure if your audience wants to see videos from you?

According to a survey by HubSpot, 54 per cent of consumers want to see more video content from a brand or business they support.

Video may seem like a daunting addition to your content, but a video can be as simple or as high-tech as you want it be. The key is to tell your story — and to tell it really well. Whether it is an introductory video, a product launch or an event, video content can help get your message across in a more meaningful and memorable way.

Here are videos that we recently did for x, by Reinhard Senger and Ollie Quinn during OssFest 2019: