Launching a business is exciting, but it can feel like you’re shouting into the void. You have so much passion, so many ideas, but the question is: how do you get people to pay attention?

You may think you need a huge ad budget, a polished website, and a massive marketing team. While those help, that’s not the key to success – it’s the connection you build. And the best way to do that is with short-form video.

Why Storytelling Works

People don’t really care about a corporate brand, logos, and slogans. They’re connecting with people, values, and missions. They trust in personalities, identities, and stories. That’s why you, the founder, are your best marketing tool.

A 20-60 second video isn’t just filler content. It’s an opportunity for you to build trust and nurture real connections. If you do it right, you can:

• Show off your personality, not just your products and services.
• Build credibility instead of pushing sales or subscriptions.
• Deliver genuine value that helps your customers, not delivers a pitch.
• In short, video humanizes your brand, and that’s what people remember.

Hook Them Before They Scroll

The average attention span in a digital environment is practically nonexistent. You have about 3 seconds to get them to stop scrolling and watch. That’s why your opening line matters.

Think of some of the lines that may have captured your attention as a consumer:

• “Here’s how I landed my first client without a single follower.”
• “Don’t launch your ecommerce business until you hear about this common mistake…”
• “What I wish I knew before starting…”

Forget the Sales Pitch. Focus on Connection

Consumers don’t want scripts or perfect ads. They want to see your journey, your wins and fails, all the messes in between, and how you got from there to here. That vulnerability is much more relatable than someone who never experienced any hurdles or setbacks in their pursuit of success. Relationships, not transactions, are what drive loyalty.

Your Story Is Your Competitive Edge

Plenty of businesses sell what you sell (probably). What they don’t have is your backstory. A failure you laugh about now, a tough lesson you learned the hard way, or a breakthrough moment that brought you success – these are the moments that stick with viewers. When they feel like they know you, you’ve built brand equity that money can’t buy.

A Simple Framework for Short-Form Stories

You don’t need a studio or film crew. Just keep this framework in mind:

• Plot: What’s happening in the story?
• Purpose: Why does it matter?
• Person: Who’s involved in the story?
• Place: Where does the story happen?

Even a 20-second clip can hit all four of these elements to deliver a great story.

Keep It Focused

Each video should deliver one idea. For example, you may want to talk about how a random DM turned into a lifelong client, or why you decided to ditch hourly pricing, or what extreme burnout taught you about maintaining professional and personal boundaries.

Whatever the story, rely on these familiar arcs:

• Problem and Solution: “Here’s the challenge and how I fixed it.”
• Before and After: Show the transformation and how it happened.
• Question and Insight: Frame yourself as a thought leader and share your industry opinions and thoughts on a specific question.

Don’t Leave Out Emotion

Logic informs, but emotion persuades. Emotions are a big part of decision-making, even when it comes to everyday products that solve common problems.

“Emotions” don’t need to be tearjerkers. You just have to make your audience feel something, which could be:

• Frustration: “I believed in my business and tried everything, but I couldn’t get anywhere.”
• Pride: “Here’s how I took a client from nearly closing to fully booked and highly sought.”
• Inspiration: “I made it happen, and so can you.”
• Hope: “Just when I was about to give up, I…”

Use a Mini-Series for Longer Stories

You can have impactful stories in under a minute, but some stories are too long to give justice in a short-form video. This is a great opportunity to create a mini-series of connected video stories that have their own individual arcs and tie into the grand arc.

For example, your brand story could be the arc of the series, but each video focuses on a different milestone. You may start with your inspiration for your brand, how you launched, the setbacks or challenges you encountered along the way, and the moment it all changed for the better.

Use Platforms Wisely

Each platform has a unique audience and purpose. Don’t put your video on every available channel in hopes of getting exposure. You’ll end up blowing your budget without getting a lot of traction from individual platforms.

Generally, TikTok is a good choice if you want to share creative stories about your wins or fails, relatable industry insights, or youthful, potentially viral campaigns. Instagram Reels also offers short-form videos, but it’s a better choice for behind-the-scenes content, brand building, and personal storytelling.

If your goal is more formal, educational content or thought leadership, stick with YouTube Shorts or LinkedIn videos. Start with a few platforms that make the most sense for your brand and audience, then slowly branch out and test new campaigns and audiences on different platforms.

Keep Track of Performance

Views aren’t the only metric you need to track with video marketing. It’s crucial to keep up with your video’s performance to understand what’s working and what isn’t so you can improve your future campaigns.

Here are some metrics to watch:

• Watch time: Do people watch the whole way through or drop off?
• Comments: Do you have a lot of comments and discourse, or silence?
• Shares: Are people passing your message along and sharing to their personal pages?
• Saves: Are people saving your video for later viewing?
• Clicks: Is your audience completing the action you want, such as buying a product or signing up for a service?

These metrics help you understand how your videos are doing. For example, if viewers are dropping off around the same time, it could mean the topic is getting boring or technical issues are disrupting the experience. If you’re getting saves, it could mean that your content is valuable enough for viewers to share for future reference or to show others privately.

Show Your Brand Authenticity with Short-Form Video

Don’t let the idea of videos intimidate you. What people want is you – your experience, knowledge, and passion. Brainstorm, start recording, and share the short, impactful stories that make your brand what it is. 

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