Storytelling: Tips and tricks for captivating stories in explainer videos

Delicious recipe with spice: Take an exciting starting position, an interesting protagonist, add a few obstacles and a pinch of emotion and stir until the story comes together to form a creative solution. Et voilà. Storytelling is currently in vogue and is used for successful marketing strategies in content marketing. Because the target audience is becoming more and more demanding and needs more persuasive power than in the past, when a more or less clumsy request to buy was often enough.

Today, the large-scale offer is more homogeneous and fast-moving, it takes original ideas to stand out from the crowd. With the help of an exciting and expressive story, products, services, messages and knowledge packed in comparisons and metaphors can be ideally marketed in an explanatory video. With the following 6 tips for successful storytelling, you will ensure that your story stays positive in the minds of your audience.

Short and concise to the point

Once upon a time… You don’t need to go that far for a successful storytelling. Rich stories can also be told in less than three minutes. A well-made explanatory video invites the viewer to forget everyday life and immerse themselves in a lively visual world for a short time.

Storytelling can be used to convey the company’s history to the outside world, but you shouldn’t get lost in the details. That’s why you should ask yourself what are the most important key messages, what goal you are pursuing and what audience you want to address. These are the cornerstones of the story and help to focus on the essentials. Long explanations are out of place here, as they quickly become tiring for the viewer. What has no place in storytelling does not necessarily have to be forgotten. With a call-to-action (CTA) you accompany curious onlookers to the company website or straight to a more detailed product description.

All these images in my head

When it comes to storytelling, the focus is no longer just on text; strong images are much more likely to attract attention. And pictures make it possible to keep the storytelling short and sweet. Because our brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text (source: https://dietergeorgherbst.de ). Vivid images are easier to remember, evoke associations and arouse our curiosity.

Should the story be funny, light-hearted, serious or serious? Good images support and reinforce the intended effect and are much more likely to put us in the desired mood . And pictures make another important contribution to successful storytelling: they trigger emotions. Use meaningful pictures and let them tell your story!

protagonist with empathy

When it comes to storytelling, in addition to a gripping plot, an interesting protagonist or a clever protagonist is crucial. It doesn’t have to be a knight in shining armor. A nurse, a construction worker, or even a cat can embody the hero or heroine, overcoming obstacles and saving the day. As the central figure in the story, she accompanies the viewer through the events. The target group should ideally identify with the main character and be able to empathize with him.

What drives the protagonist, where does he want to go and how does he want to do it? His decisions and actions influence the course of the story, conflicts and complications complicate his path and can even throw him off track. But not for long: With a clever idea or a suitable tool, he is back on track and in the final sprint he reaches his longed-for goal.

Emotions come to life

With storytelling, you want one thing above all: to target the emotions of the viewer. If the story triggers certain feelings in the desired target group and puts them in the intended state of mind, you have done everything right. Storytelling is ideal for emotionalizing content in content management – it’s even easier with the right images. The closer the story is to real experiences, the more authentic it radiates. These can be everyday problems, strange situations, longings and much more. Make people laugh, touch them, make them curious or make them think. Because no good story can do without emotions.

Tension with a red thread

All beginnings are difficult. Where do you start with the storytelling? There are certain rules that make a story exciting and believable. Causalities of events are crucial and one should know the premise of the plot, otherwise one can quickly get lost in the plot. When designing your story, it helps to divide the story into different sequences . Strikingly, it needs a captivating starting point, a goal to be pursued, conflicts and obstacles, and a happy ending. All around you can then determine the course of the story: A clear development should be recognizable, which culminates in a climax after a clever build-up of tension and leads to a coherent conclusion. Popcorn check, legs up and film!

How to market now?

Digital media has transformed the way we tell and consume stories. Stories are not just distributed through one medium, but across multiple platforms – and success depends largely on the choice of platform. First of all, when it comes to storytelling, you should know the story and then choose the right platform to align the two. If you want to reach many people, social media is ideal. However, your story should definitely be of high quality and the facts must also be correct (in the past people were probably less precise with the facts ). Due to the wide range, disagreements can quickly have a negative effect, such as loss of control or denigration.

Interactive videos are also a nice option to actively involve the viewer in your storytelling. Due to the multiple options, everyone can shape the development and pace of the story to their liking.

The happy ending

Would you also like to have your finger on the pulse with successful storytelling? Then contact us and we will be happy to support you in implementing your idea for an explainer video.