Video Marketing

4 Types of Small Business Videos That Tell a Story

Posted February 12, 2021
Written by Marques Coleman

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No matter what city you live in and what industry you work in, as a small business owner, you can use social media to introduce your product to a wide audience and compete with well-known brands. 

Right now, you don’t need to make any significant investments in marketing to get your brand noticed. You just need to choose the right content marketing strategy and create engaging videos to tell your brand story.

Small business owner smiling at her shop - 4 Types of Small Business Videos That Tell a Story - Clipchamp Blog

Need some tips on how to write a business narrative and create unique video content? Here's everything you need to know about storytelling and different types of small business videos:

Video idea 1: The story of your small business

Your company’s story is unique, and you can use it to create remarkable video content. If you don’t know from what to start, answer the following questions to come up with a video script idea:

  • When did you start your small business?

  • What did inspire you to start a business?

  • What is the main purpose of your business?

  • Who helped you to start your business? Who are the people who supported your business idea?

  • Was it your “big dream” to start a business

  • What challenges did you face on your way to success? 

The way to success is never smooth. And if you have experienced great challenges when launching your business, don’t be afraid to show those in your video. If you tell a story about your “big dream”, the obstacles to doing business, and your belief in “noble purpose”, your target audience will definitely appreciate your journey and connect better with your brand.

If you need some inspiration, check out the following video where the Donaldson family tells a story about how they managed to create Pegasus Bay Winery.

Video idea 2: The customer's story

Another great story you can tell is your customer’s story or a customer testimonial video. The “classic” script for this type of video content goes like this:

  • A customer realizes that he has a specific need – at this point, he feels unhappy

  • He starts searching for a product that can satisfy this need

  • He tries different options but fails to find a good solution

  • At some point, the customer discovers the X product that meets his need perfectly

  • The customer is happy. He recommends other people to use this product.

You can use this type of video storytelling to advertise your product. It’s a great way to show your prospective customers how they can benefit from using your product.

Here are a few ideas on how you can create such a story:

  • Invite your real happy customers for a video interview and ask them how your product helped them to solve their problems

  • Create an animated video. Portrait your “ideal customer” and show his journey from the need realization and struggles to need satisfaction and joy. 

Imagine that you run an educational platform. Your target audience is students who need help with essay writing and exam preparation. You can make a video about a student who was at risk of falling out of college but managed to get his study back on track by using your platform. You can make a drama around this topic and then show how a student’s life has changed for the better once he clicks the try this button on your website and starts using the flashcards you designed. You can create you own customer testimonial videos with our free online testimonial video maker.

Video idea 3: The employee’s story 

Your employees greatly contribute to the success of your small business. So why don’t you share their stories with your customers? It will allow you to strengthen your brand and improve customer loyalty – people tend to be more loyal to brands that value their employees.

Here are a few topics to discuss in your video to present your employee’s story:

  • What did your employee want to be when he grew up?

  • Why did your employee decide to join your small company? 

  • What did motivate your employee to choose this career path? What events/people did influence his decision? 

  • What is his purpose in life?

  • What does your employee like the most about his work?

  • What makes your employee happy?

If you have a few employees, we suggest you make a video series and tell one employee’s story per video. 

Let’s say you own a small bakery and provide jobs for five workers: two bakers, cashier, delivery driver, and digital marketer. You can create five videos about each of your employees and post them on your Instagram account, one video at a time. For instance, you can publish every new video on Wednesday to increase engagement.

Familiarize your customers with your team to get them emotionally attached to your brand. It will allow you to increase sales and achieve high results in the long run.

It’s worth mentioning that many famous brands use this tactic to strengthen their content marketing strategies. Here is an example for you. It’s a video about Nike’s employees and their stories.  

Video idea 4: The story of the product 

Not only your brand but also your product has its own story. 

Whatever niche you work in, the chances are your customers want to know how your product is manufactured, packed, and delivered. To satisfy this curiosity, you can shoot a behind-the-scenes video and turn it into a fascinating story.

Let’s consider a simple example. Imagine you open a coffee shop. You may tell a story of “one cup of freshly brewed coffee” to engage your customers:

  • At the beginning of your video, you will show beautiful photos of the plantation where the coffee was grown.

  • After that, you will use the map to show the way the coffee beans traveled from the plantation in Columbia to your coffee shop.

  • Next, you will show the videos of how you roast, ground, and brew coffee. Your main task here will be to show the magic of the transformation of coffee ingredients into a delicious, energy-boosting drink that you serve to your customers. 

  • The final shot will show your happy customer.

Do you want to create a video that tells your product’s story, but you don’t have enough video materials? Blend videos you have with images and other visuals you can source online. Using video editing tools like Clipchamp, you can add audio, images, text, titles, and other elements to your video to create a compelling story from available content pieces.

Key elements of a good small business video that tells a story

All good stories are different...but there are some basic aspects they have in common!

  • The main hero of the story: Depending on the video type you choose, it can be you, your customer, your employee, or even your product.

  • Narrative arc: It includes exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution of the story. To put it simply, your story should have a logical beginning, culmination, and ending.

  • Emotional appeal: You should create a story that will resonate with your target audience on a deep emotional level. 

Wrapping up 

Video storytelling is a powerful marketing technique. If you use it right, you will take your small business to the next level. 

We hope this article will inspire you to create new video content for your brand and help you achieve your goals. Good luck!

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