Video Storytelling for Solopreneurs
Here's how video storytelling for Solopreneurs can be your most powerful marketing strategy!
What is Video Storytelling For Solopreneurs?
Video storytelling for Solopreneurs is the use of video that uses a compelling story to advertise your brand.
It’s differs from a tutorial video or an online course. A story-based video is used to build your brand’s success.
As a Solopreneur, you’re likely drowning in marketing demands.
In order to cope with this, you’ll probably consider only the most impactful and affordable marketing approaches.
Video should be one of them.
Why?
Because it will give you the most bang for your buck. In fact, video is the most powerful marketing strategy there is today!
So if you’re going to streamline your options, make sure to include video.
Why Is Video Storytelling For Solopreneurs So Important?
Consumers are becoming more and more accustomed to watching videos to educate themselves about a purchase. Learning about your brand should be no different.
Your business requires at least a basic level of visual education or promotion. And if you’re missing that, you’re at a disadvantage.
That’s why having a video is so important for Solopreneurs. Having a video that explains what you do differently, or how you help people, satisfies their needs to learn visually.
But any old video won’t elicit emotion. You need to tell a story!
Story elicits emotions more than words or pictures, and emotions lead to sales.
In this way, your story is your biggest factor in the impact of your video. But the story is often the hardest part of the whole process.
That’s why I’m presenting you with 5 tried, tested, and true techniques for video storytelling.
Storytelling Tip 1: Share Your Journey
By explaining to people where you’ve come from, people will have a greater appreciation for your brand in the present.
Cover the reasons why you decided to start your business. For most Solopreneurs, there’s a defining moment when you decide to break out on your own.
Oftentimes, it was because you saw a problem that you knew you could fix. Or perhaps you saw a better approach to a product or service.
Whatever the case, that story is interesting to people, and will draw them in.
Storytelling Tip 2: Share Your Uniqueness
As a Solopreneur, there’s a good chance you have a lot of competition.
Telling your audience you’re better or the best, is only going to look like bragging. Don’t do it.
One surefire way to increase your odds of beating your competition, is to communicate why you’re unique.
Every business including yours has a unique selling point, and it’s not often based on your product or service. It can be based on your personality, your mission, or who you want to serve.
And while every business has a unique position, it’s uncommon that Solopreneurs are able to communicate theirs in a way their prospects get excited about.
That’s where Script Writing comes in. Your script writing process will dictate what you need to say in order to tell your story so that it compels prospects to your business!
Storytelling Tip 3: Share Your Client’s Journey
One amazing strategy for Solopreneur video production is to focus your entire story on your client’s journey, instead of yours. This is highly recommended.
Afterall, its’ your potential clients who you’re targeting with this video, and they can relate more to a story about them, than one about you.
Makes sense right?
When you choose this option, you’ll want to focus on telling the story of your client’s pain point, or their struggle.
Feel free to tell a story about a previous client you’ve had. Otherwise you can tell a story about a fictional client – someone who would be a client.
Either option is totally fine. A lot of major brands favour the second option in their videos.
The key here is to appeal to your real clients, by showing you understand their challenges and needs. Showing that you understand this well, will win you big points and invoke people to want to choose your brand over others.
Storytelling Tip 4: Share A Success Story
Another alternative is to hybrid a story about you and your clients. You’ll still want to position them as the bigger focus of the story, but this is more about the part of the journey where they met your brand, and were transformed by it.
People want to know that your product services worked for others. But what makes it good storytelling is to actually show a transformation.
Your brand shouldn’t just work, it should transform!
If your story can reflect that, it will stand out tremendously.
Typically this kind of video is called a Testimonial Video, or a Case Study video, and this can transform your sales!
A video of this type is most effectively used after a prospect has some familiarity with your brand (a warmer lead), and is in the decision making phase. Here is where the video will have the most impact because it will give you social proof, and have others endorsing you.
It’s less about explaining what you do. It’s more about explaining why they should choose you 🙂
Here’s a great example of a testimonial video we made:
Storytelling Tip 5: The Story Of Your Product Or Service
One strategy for great storytelling is to put the focus of the story on what you offer.
This really helps educate people on what they get with their purchase.
But don’t just dive into mechanics or function. Really explain the need for the product or the reason behind it. This will give your audience more of an understanding of it’s uniqueness.
You’ll tap into people’s values, and that puts your video on a whole new level.
Sometimes you really need to explain functionality of your product, or at least your unique selling features. Very important. But just make sure you’re also including something emotionally engaging, and that’s where “the need for the product” stuff comes into play.
What’s The Best Way To Get Started?
Any one of these five of these options are a great place to start, but once you’ve made a decision on your video storytelling.. Then what?
The next critical step is to decide on how you’re going to produce your video.
Are you going to do it yourself? (You totally can!)
You’d just want to get a little bit of video training, to ensure your video production quality is good.
For this approach, we offer a Do It Yourself training. We’ll hold a virtual call and teach you everything you need to know to film your own video/s.
Now, if the thought of doing your own video terrifies you (like anchovies on pizza), you can look at hiring a video professional.
Either way, I recommend you produce something short and sweet, about 30-60 seconds. This ensures your video is affordable and doesn’t break the bank, but still keeps attention of a new viewer.
And by using the story ideas listed above, you will have an effective marketing video you can use to gain new clients.
If your budget is tight and you’re hesitant to invest a lot in video (totally understandable), we’ve designed a video package specifically for Solopreneurs.
It’s easy, affordable, and it looks sharp!
This video package is designed to save you money on your first video endeavour – and it’s called The SAVE.
Learn more about The SAVE here!
Good luck adding storytelling to your video, and get ready for some exciting exposure to your brand online!
Just getting started with video? Check out the S.A.V.E.
By Anthony Madani
