10 Simple Rules of Visual Storytelling
Visual storytelling is an art, a delicate balance of aesthetics and narrative. Mastering it can transform your communication skills. Discover ten simple rules that can guide you on this journey, enhancing your ability to captivate and engage your audience.
Learn How To Use Visual Storytelling For Your Brand or Content Marketing Strategy
Following these 10 Simple Rules
- Stories in text bore, stories told visually engage – and sell.
- Sstorytelling can happen with any kind of visuals. A short documentary, a 7-seconds Vine, a meme, a imely photograph… They all can tell your story.
Be Personal, Be True
Share something personal, unique, and set yourself apart.
- True stories are powerful because they’re human and they happened to someone like you and me.
- Spielberg directed Schindler’s List, a true story about the Holocaust, and won an Oscar for directing it, which changed his career.
Reveal hidden things
Take the audience to a hidden place that they don’t get to see everyday
- Social media apps like Snapchat, Periscope or Instagram can be powerful allies in this vital point of your content marketing strategy
- Behind the scenes, show your customers what they don’t normally see, but let those things be seen through your or your employees’ eyes
Don’t be obvious
Surprising your audience is the ultimate way of engaging them
- Be the one brand that always surprise its followers or customers
- Use visuals and storytelling in a way no one else is doing. Your story and your name will stick
Context Is Everything
Use shortcuts to better communicate with your audience
- Context is what everybody assumes, based on what we show or hint at
- Different audiences come from different contexts
- When it comes to brands, context can be the colors you choose, the fonts you use, your Instagram filters, or the very types of content you share with your followers
Teach something
Carry a message
- Teach a lesson
- Show or share a stance
- Convince people to listen to your story
- Storytelling is not the easiest way to market your brand
- Decide what you want to teach
- Come up with an entertaining way of doing it
Show People
Tell the story of the people behind the business, not just the product.
- It will be easier to relate to someone if we are familiar with what they do or who they are
- Another way of integrating this into your storytelling is making yourself seem more approachable and down to earth.
Show conflict
Conflict is the force that drives a story. Conflict happens whenever someone wants or needs something and must fight for it.
- What matters to storytellers is that audiences won’t be interested in a story if there is no conflict. Conflict sparks interest.
- Use contrast to add conflict to your visuals.
Over To You
The only way to get better at storytelling is by practicing
- Keep trying
- Ask yourself whether your visual content tells a good story
- Invest a little in image creation
- Rules out using stock images
- There are precious few opportunities in which a stock image is going to comply with all these rules
Show, don’t tell
Don’t rely much on words to tell your story. Let the visuals do the talking.
- Show the benefits of your product, don’t tell people about them. If you can feature someone using your product and service, and having an easier life for it, that will do wonders for your marketing.
Focus
Don’t get lost on the details. Tell the viewer where to focus, right and clear.
- The structure of your picture is key for this – the way you arrange things in your frame can speak volumes about the story you’re telling.
Keep Moving!
Stories flow
- Your images needs to move
- But that doesn’t mean that your image needs to be in fact a video or an animated GIF.
- Even if you choose a video format to tell your story, don’t get too confident and don’t stop moving!
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