Any marketer worth their salt knows that eliciting the right emotion in consumers can greatly increase sales and engagement. Emotion creates a strong connection with the customer and makes them feel an integral part of your brand. It however takes a skilled and experienced video consultant like the team at Tall Boy to get the emotional note just right.
Emotional storytelling has long been used to build bridges between businesses and potential customers. The good news is that video is one of the easiest ways to get this kind of engaging content across.
- Emotions make the stories you tell about your brand a lot more credible to your audience.
- Brand films that contain emotional messaging also tend to stick in the mind longer than simple product promos.
- Stories with emotions help overcome various objections to your brand, for example, for customers who prefer to use one of your competitors.
- They can, done well, elicit behaviour change that benefits your business.
It’s essential, however, to make sure you have a strategy in place and know what you are trying to achieve. The good news is that emotional storytelling has three die-hard components that have been shown to work again and again.
Create Interest
The first job of a brand film utilizing emotional storytelling is to grab the consumer’s attention. This is often called ‘the hook’ or the thing that makes the individual stop and take a second look. Hooks can have all sorts of purpose. They might intrigue, excite, create fear, cause sorrow, joy or make someone laugh. Above all, they are relevant to your chosen audience.
For your brand film, this normally comes at the very start. If you check out an RSPCA advert, this normally beings with an animal or several animals in distress. It creates an immediate emotional connection with the target audience who are animal lovers.
Reveal Your Pitch
The next stage to think about is how your brand fits with that emotion. It’s no use throwing in something disconnected here as it will quickly separate the audience and you from the initial hook.
If you’ve got that first step right, your viewer should already be invested in some way and it’s an opportunity that you don’t want to waste. With the RSPCA example, the ad will normally move from sorry-looking animals to happy ones that are being cared for and found new homes after they are rescued.
Involve the Customer
Once you’ve put together your opening hook and added your role with a strong pitch, you need to bring the customer directly into the mix. How can they help? How can they benefit? What happens next? Again, the RSPCA example progresses the story and moves to asking for donations.
With other products, this is more subtle. It’s not just about a call to action asking viewers to buy your product or hire your service. You may, for example, like to show how your product can change their life or brighten their day, make things easier or give them more time to do the other things they enjoy in life.
Emotional storytelling is a powerful tool that can be used in a variety of brand films, from online advertisements to corporate videos. Focusing on how you want customers to feel rather than what you want them to buy means you build a stronger and longer-lasting connection to your brand and the products or services that you offer.