Since the caveman days, humans have been hardwired to pay attention to stories. But instead of drawing on rocks, smart marketers are now leveraging the art of the story to engage users on a deeper level.One content format that is playing a pivotal role in storyselling is video. Video has the potential to not only tell a great story, but also drive real business results. In a recent Think with Google article, founder of Chamber Media, Travis Chambers, offers his top three tips for creating a video that increases both brand awareness and bottom line. Read on to find out what they are.Storytelling vs. storysellingEveryone knows what storytelling is, but what is storyselling? Storyselling is the act of selling your product or service through telling a story. It puts a human angle to the traditionally dry and boring concept of selling by connecting people to people rather than a faceless corporation to its followers.So while many marketers understand that content is king, that’s only half the battle. In addition to producing good content, your brand must create trust with your customers, which comes through the art of storyselling. Storyselling starts with the right content, and spans the “content spectrum”. At one end, your brand’s messaging is about being helpful and at the other end, your brand’s messaging is about being entertaining:

• Helpful content - The pragmatic part of the spectrum that builds trust and rationale for purchase by showing how the product will fit into the customer’s life.
• Entertaining content - The emotional part of the spectrum that gives your customers something to relate to, creating the “human side” of your brand.

It’s important to build both sides of the equation in order to sell a successful story. Regardless of what industry you’re in, your ability to deliver compelling, empowering brand material is what sets your business apart from the rest.Storyselling in the video format1. Grab attention and educate through humourSo many companies are doing the exact same thing when it comes to video:

• Before-and-after testimonials
• Product demos
• Credible spokespeople

In order to get your brand noticed and help viewers learn about your product or service, you need to break through that noise. And one way is by using humour.Two of the main reasons people turn to platforms like YouTube is to be:

1. Entertained
2. Learn something new

So it’s no surprise that a video campaign that blends these two things together are the most effective.2. Make it easy for viewers to become customersIt’s no secret that storytelling has taken over marketing. Stories give us a chance to escape reality, if even for a short amount of time, so an inspiring story can do wonders for brand awareness.But marketers should never forget their ultimate goal: to convince customers to buy their product or service. So, you need to focus on making it easy for viewers to convert.A great way to do this is by inviting viewers to click on a link to purchase your product or service throughout the video. This full-funnel approach can not only result in millions of views, but also contribute to a huge incline in sales. 3. Test and measure the things that matterDigital marketers often set targets around views and click-through rates, and then fail to accurately measure and correlate these metrics to sales and return on ad spend. For direct-to-consumer brands, it’s conversions that matter. So the best way to make sure you’re reaching those conversion goals is to test your way through. For example, when shooting a video, why not script and film in modular formats? This gives you a lot more creative to experiment with. Then, if you test one cut and it doesn’t meet your acquisition goals, you can quickly swap in another edit of the video to see if that works better.How will your brand be using storyselling in 2019? Tell us your plans in the comments section below!