Brand Video Storytelling: Testimonials, Company Histories, and Beyond

Last week, we looked at why brand storytelling is such a big deal, exploring everything from the psychology behind it to what it actually looks like when brands use this in their video content. At the heart of it, we learned that it’s all about adding humanity and connection into your brand’s video content.

This week, we’re going to expand on that, breaking down some of my favorite strategies of brand storytelling.

Strategy #1 - Lean into Emotion

Hopefully from last week’s post, I’ve already convinced you of the power of emotion as a marketing tool (if you haven’t checked it out yet, * learn about how emotionally-driven advertising campaigns are twice as effective as purely logical ones and other statistics here *).

…But what does that actually look like played out in your branding videos?

Music is one method that works like a charm. Its why any movie you watch in the theater has a soundtrack! Horror movies use minor chords and dissonant sounds to unsettle you. Grand overtures in dramas make touching moments that much more heartwarming. If you know the exact emotion you want your audience to experience, there’s absolutely a song that captures that feeling.

If you are a for-profit company, you will also tap into the emotional part of branding by showing you support good causes. If viewers believe an organization is only out to make money, they’re going to take their business elsewhere. Interestingly, brands with high rankings in the Global Empathy Index (like Apple, Tesla and Google) also were among the most financially profitable, suggesting the two go hand-in-hand. But please don’t do this just for clout… find a cause you really do care about or your audience will sense if your actions are insincere or done as an afterthought.

Strategy #2 - Tell Your Company History

Another way to bring emotion into your videos is by telling your brand’s personal story. There can be dozens of similar companies out there… but only you have your story. It makes you one-of-a-kind. So celebrate that!

Sharing how you started and how you’ve grown humanizes your brand. It might seem counterintuitive, but also consider sharing about the hurdles you’ve overcome along the way. Easy success can come off as inauthentic and besides, everyone loves an underdog.

Strategy #3 - Give Your Brand a Face

To go along with that last point, I highly recommend owners (and employees) make an appearance in their brand’s videos. Because what’s more humanizing than giving your brand a face?

Ads with faces get 11 times the engagement when compared to ads that don’t! We are biologically and socially conditioned to make eye contact with those who look directly at us.

But even more than that, introducing yourself on-screen lets your audience get to know you. Which in turn, builds trust and a stronger connection with them.

Tabrizi Productions specializes in documentary-style video content for this very reason. I find that sitting owners down for conversational interviews allows for genuine content that gets rid of the stiffness of a pre-planned script with a bunch of unappealing PR-lingo. It will do wonders for your video’s authenticity! To find out more about this particular style of filmmaking * check out my other blog post on the topic. *

Strategy # 4 - Invite Your Audience into The Story (Testimonials and beyond)

Happily-ever-afters shouldn’t be exclusive to fantasy movies. You can (and should) channel those warm fuzzies for your own brand by inviting happy clients to share about their experiences through video testimonials. First off, there are people out there whose lives are a little better because of your service/product—so why not find ways to make them brand advocates?

“Outsider” stories give your brand more credibility. If you sing your own praises too loud, it’s going to come off as cringey—but if you let others compliment you, that’s a whole different story. It also strengthens the sense of community behind your brand.

Videos of people interacting with your product or service also taps into one of the most essential rules of marketing: making your brand feel like a lifestyle. People express their individuality by surrounding themselves with brands that mirror their own vision and values. Its most obvious through fashion, but video ads for companies like Apple and Coca-Cola also show you a lifestyle.

If you can reflect back to your target audience their priorities and problems through a scene, then depict how your brand either solves or helps with that, you’re going to get a positive response.

(For more about that, you’ll have to * check out the power of testimonials and good questions to ask your testimonials in this post. * )

Strategy #5 - Don’t Gloss Over Details With “Big Picture” Videos

Capturing the Big Picture of your company through video is important… but don’t stay there! Get up close and personal.

We’ve already touched on this somewhat in the other strategies, but this comes back to showing the humans behind your brand. Overviews of an organization and its services are Big Picture—but for a more personal connection, you’ll need to human-scale your videos by showing individuals (like owners, employees, customers).

Intimacy can also be captured through the distance from the camera. What feels more like a conversation? A zoomed out shot of someone a few yards from the camera? Or a closeup of that person’s head-and-shoulders? There’s something about being close enough to look someone squarely in the eyes, close enough to read their mannerisms, that makes us feel like we’re actually getting to know that person.

Capturing closeups of objects also makes someone feel closer to the story because it’s as if they’re leaning in for a closer inspection of their environment. It’s in the details we find what truly makes your brand unique.

Strategy #6 - Narrative Storytelling Can Also Do The Trick

Last but not least, if you want to get extra creative with it, you might consider a narrative short film with made-up characters and scenarios. This can let you show your ideal client or employee without needing to hunt them down. It also lets you flex your imagination, taking possible scenarios that relate to your brand and making them larger-than-life in an unforgettable way. Finally, eliciting memorability or shock value in your ad can leave a lasting impression.

Take Lyft’s touching animated short film of a lonely old lady who becomes a driver for the community—if it doesn’t make you tear up just a little, I don’t know what will. There’s also this video GE shared of a quirky young inventor who grows up to be an engineer at their company. Both show problems their brands solve and exciting opportunities.

We would love to create brand storytelling videos for your brand. Whether that be through documentary-style interviews with you as the owner, testimonials with your clients, or footage of your services… let Tabrizi Productions help!

If you like what you’ve heard and you want to learn more about how to create video for Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or Youtube, then don't leave without signing up for more "quickie" video tips, course content and exclusive video coaching offers that will give you the confidence to do it on camera.