A Visual Storytelling Masterclass with Brand Shaman, Shlomi Ron
Jul 8, 2021
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Shlomi Ron, CEO of the Visual Storytelling Institute, shares insights on developing resonating stories, leveraging data, and creating entertaining content. He discusses the power of visual storytelling, distinguishing between story and narrative, and the impact of the Dove Real Beauty Campaign. The podcast also explores techniques for visual storytelling, the future of online storytelling, and the importance of fact-checking in advertising.
Visual storytelling combines the impact of stories and the power of visuals to create a compelling and engaging marketing strategy.
Data can be leveraged in visual storytelling to inspire emotion and compel action.
The future of storytelling lies in addressing the challenges of fake news and echo chambers created by social media platforms.
Deep dives
The Power of Visual Storytelling
Visual storytelling combines the impact of stories and the power of visuals to create a compelling and engaging marketing strategy. It utilizes the three-act story structure and places the customer as the hero of the story. By using visual media formats such as images, videos, and infographics, brands can effectively communicate their narrative and validate it through relevant and meaningful visual stories. The combination of story and visuals creates a powerful tool for connecting with audiences and building trust.
Leveraging Data in Visual Storytelling
Data can be leveraged in visual storytelling to inspire emotion and compel action. Brands and presenters can use data to paint a picture of the customer journey, highlight pain points, and validate their narrative. By providing meaningful details, incorporating visual metaphors, and telling the story behind the numbers, data can be presented in a way that engages the audience emotionally and communicates the message effectively. The key is to understand the subjective meanings that your audience associates with the data and use storytelling techniques to mirror those meanings and build trust.
The Future of Storytelling
The future of storytelling lies in addressing the challenges of fake news and echo chambers created by current social media platforms. As the audience becomes more aware of the need for trustworthy information, there is a growing interest in creating new distribution platforms that break the mold of traditional social networks. This shift presents an opportunity to create communities of shared ideas, encourage pluralistic perspectives, and provide validation mechanisms for distinguishing between true and questionable content. The future of storytelling will involve leveraging emerging platforms and technologies to engage audiences and foster meaningful connections.
The Importance of Trust in Presentation
Building trust with an audience is crucial for effective presentations. The first few minutes of a presentation are the most important, as they provide the initial impressions that shape the audience's perception of the presenter. By engaging the emotional brain through storytelling, meaningful visuals, and relatable details, presenters can establish a connection with the audience and build trust. This trust creates an opening for further communication and the processing of logical information. Presenters should be mindful of the audience's limited processing capacity and strive to capture their attention and engage them emotionally from the start.
Advice for Presenters
Presenters should practice their presentations and pay attention to the visual, story, and delivery aspects of their message. The visual components, including slides, appearance, and backdrop, should be carefully considered and designed to engage and captivate the audience. Storytelling techniques can be employed to captivate the emotional brain and build trust. It's important to remember that audiences process information through visual, auditory, and reading channels, so presenters should strike a balance between delivering information through these channels. Lastly, presenters should aim to reduce distractions, engage the emotional brain, and provide meaningful details to ensure that their message resonates and has a lasting impact.
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.
