In Public Relations, the essence of storytelling remains timeless. American author and professor of literature Joseph Campbell studied stories across cultures and, through the ages, found similarities in archetypes and explored them in his book The Hero’s Journey. 

Humans are strongly pre-disposed to narratives, and certain emotional structures are triggered when we encounter stories, images and human interaction. Classic storytelling typically involves a three-act structure with a beginning, a middle, and an end. 

However, in the age of digital dominance, the medium through which we tell stories has undergone a profound transformation. Video, with its immersive and engaging nature, has emerged as a powerful tool in the PR arsenal.

Videos are relatively friction-free

Videos are processed a lot faster than text. In fact, they are processed a whopping 60,000 times faster in the brain than text. The friction-free nature of videos means you can convey a lot of messaging through videos as content, as the brain can handle the ‘work’ of viewing the video without tiring the brain.  It’s no surprise that One-third of all online activity today is spent watching videos.

Videos have a higher retention and recall rate. 

Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, compared to 10% when reading it in the text.  Incorporating videos into your communication tactics allows you to create a more memorable and impactful experience.

Edutainment Videos

With the rise of Masterclass and TED, audiences are increasingly looking for educational content packaging in an entertaining and engaging way. Herein lies the opportunity to create a video series in bite-sized formats to showcase thought leadership and expertise whilst giving educational value and insight to the audience. Remember to make the audience the ‘hero’ in the video experience, not the brand. 

Support Search and SEO 

Videos are an effective way to appear in search results as they appear at the beginning of search results, and due to their image-led appearance, the human eye is drawn to the videos first. Search engines such as Google display video carousels, which place your brand in prime view for search queries. It is critical to use SEO techniques to include relevant keywords, proper metadata and closed captions, which can help search engines understand the content of your video and display it to users searching for related content.

Historically, video production was both time-consuming and required technical equipment as well as expertise. However, the evolution of online video editing tools has lowered the barriers to entry for video storytelling. These tools serve as equalisers, enabling PRs to overcome technical barriers and budget constraints and explore the moving image terrain as a key message carrier.

Curzon PR is a London-based PR firm working with clients globally. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Business Development Team [email protected]