Visual Storytelling Techniques and a Powerful Example

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Everyone can recall a time when their emotions were moved by a story. On today’s episode, we explore the practice of harnessing the power of visual storytelling in order to educate consumers about brand and product. Our guest today is Shlomi Ron, CEO of the Visual Storytelling Institute or VSI, a seasoned digital marketing strategist with over 20 years of experience, having worked both on the agency and the brand sides for Fortune 100 and 500 brands such as Nokia, IBM, and American Express.

Join us for a candid conversation where Shlomi tells us about how he goes about developing a story that resonates with his clients through a three-part process, what story means to him, and what the three components of visual storytelling entail. He goes on to explain why he prefers the term visual storytelling to brand storytelling, and how to leverage data to tell a story. We talk about a number of strong examples of visual storytelling in the digital world, and Shlomi tells us why he aims to create content that feels like entertainment, rather than advertising. He uses the metaphor of a necklace to distinguish between story and narrative, where story is a bead and the narrative is the necklace. Next, we explore the Full Start technique, and Shlomi lets us in on his predictions for the future of visual storytelling. Finally, he tells us what advice he would give to his younger self, as a speaker, and introduces us to the tools he is using today that richly enhance his work.

Shlomi’s background in both corporate marketing and the brave new world of visual storytelling have fueled his passion to spread the gospel of visual storytelling to the marketing world.

Make sure to tune in today for some invaluable insights!

In This Episode, You’ll Learn… 

• Shlomi’s history working in corporate marketing with side hustles in visual storytelling.
• How Shlomi goes about creating a framework from which clients can work.
• Shlomi’s three-part process: storymaking as the brand strategy, the story visualizing as the production or the content creation, and the storytelling as marketing and distribution.
• What ‘story’ means to Shlomi and why a story is like a mirror; in order for it to work, it needs to reflect the personal story of the audience. 
• The three components of visual storytelling: the three-act story structure, the customer as the hero of the story, and a visual media format.
• Why Shlomi prefers the term visual storytelling to brand storytelling.
• How you can leverage data to inspire emotion through telling the right stories behind the numbers.
• Some examples of visual metaphors Shlomi has used in his work.
• Why Shlomi aims to create content that feels like entertainment rather than advertising.
• The movement towards brand documentaries.
• The power and backstory of Dove’s Real Beauty campaign.
• The metaphor of a necklace to illustrate the difference between story and narrative.
• What the Full Start technique is and an example of how it works.
• Shlomi’s prediction for the future: new distribution platforms to break the classic social network mold.
• Building trust, creating meaning, and nailing the delivery.
• The value of discovery research.
• Shlomi’s upgrade: the story library.
• What advice Shlomi would give his former self: stand still, and use the power of story.

People, Blogs, and Resources Mentioned

• Cafe Pellicola
• Life is Beautiful
• '5 Easy Ways to Create Narrative Images'
• Greenlights by Jason McConaughey